SKU: HH.HH539-FSP

ISBN 9790708185543.

Jean-Xavier Lefèvre’s Clarinet Method, published at the beginning of the 19th century, contains a number of sonatas that are significant stepping-stones to the more difficult clarinet master works of Mozart and Weber. They are also invaluable first pieces for those studying period performance on the classical clarinet. Lefèvre’s original notation for the instrument has been retained, and the bass lines are transposed down a tone so that the sonatas are playable on the B flat clarinet. The piano accompaniments, whose right-hand parts have been realized from a single, unfigured bass line probably intended for the cello, are stylistic, always complementary to the clarinet line, and satisfying (if occasionally challenging) to play.

SKU: BT.EMBZ15061

Zoltán Kocsis (1952 - 2016) was not just a phenomenal pianist. He was also regarded as a musical 'polymath' whose genius embraced the activities of a composer, conductor, editor, instrumentalist, and arranger. In the last capacity, he added some 150 works to symphonic, chamber, song and piano repertoire. He gladly adapted music of the turn of the 20th century, as appears from his transcriptions of Richard Strauss, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Enescu, and above all, Debussy. (Many of these are distributed by Editio Musica Budapest.) 'In Debussy's case, (...) I was always interested in works that offered possibilities beyond the bounds of the piano, possibilities for orchestration.Just as with Liszt it was often possible to see that certain of his works had been written for piano for publication purposes, so with Debussy it is clear that mainly his song accompaniments exceeded the bounds of possibility for the piano,' Kocsis stated in one interview. Perhaps that recognition also encouraged him to arrange the popular piano work Valse romantique (1890) for clarinet and piano. The arrangement superbly pinpoints the sensitive, almost ingratiating tunefulness of the Waltz, adding a piece that sounds great and is rewarding to perform to the clarinet repertoire.

Mit dem unlängst verstorbenen Zoltán Kocsis betrauert die Nachwelt nicht nur einen phänomenalen Pianisten, sondern auch einen 'Polyhistor der Musik': Sein außergewöhnliches Talent entfaltete sich ebenfalls in seiner Tätigkeit als Komponist, als Dirigent, als Herausgeber und nicht zuletzt auch als Arrangeur und Bearbeiter organisch. Durch letztere Aktivität bereicherte er die symphonische, Kammer-, Lied- und Klavierliteratur um etwa einhundertfünfzig Werke. Sehr gern adaptierte er die Musik aus der Zeit der Wende zum 20. Jahrhundert, wie auch seine Richard-Strauss-, Ravel-, Rachmaninov-, Enescu- und vor allem Debussy-Transkriptionen belegen. (Mehrere davon werden auch von unseremVerlag vertrieben.).

SKU: ST.C143

ISBN 9790570811434.

Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov (1865-1936) trained under Rimsky- Korsakov and became the most illustrious Russian composer and conductor immediately succeeding Tchaikovsky. Glazunov’s close affinity with the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, of which institution he would later become Director for more than two decades, placed him ideally to assist in the Institute’s transition to the Petrograd Conservatory in the immediate wake of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. For the last six years of his life, Glazunov left the USSR, feeling hemmed in by propagandist restrictions and at the same time out of kilter with the Modernist movement.

He lived in exile for a time, touring the USA, before eventually settling in Paris, though his stoical brand of Russian Romanticism never waned. Despite being partly remembered for having taught Shostakovich, Glazunov was never known as a revolutionary composer, more inclined to align himself with 19th century ideologies than with the thrusting new compositional paths forged by Prokofiev and others. Indeed, the nationalistic movement so successfully espoused by Balakirev found a new energy in Glazunov’s hands, and he discovered an opulence of scale which leaned more in the direction of Borodin.

There can be no doubting Glazunov’s technical mastery, which successfully drew together contrapuntal, lyrical and virtuosic skills, and which were admired by the likes of Liszt. Glazunov steered a steady course at a time when it was most sorely needed; one need only hear the marvellous Violin Concerto in A minor to experience the full power and authority of his writing, though he possessed an enviable touch with more intimate forms too, such as those readily to be heard in these three charming Miniatures Op.42, originally composed for piano.
Clarinet and Piano
Transcribed by Mark Tanner
Grades 6 & 7 (Trinity Grades 6 & 7 syllabuses)
Former Spartan Press Cat. No.: SP1360.

SKU: HL.14021781

UPC: 884088524791. 9.0x12.0x0.056 inches.

Xavier Montsalvatge (1912-2002) was a consummate Spanish composer who explored many 20th century styles including Impressionism, Serialism, Modernism, and Wagnerism, while maintaining a distinctive Catalan character. He first came to prominence in 1940, after the Spanish Civil War, and is seen to represent the lost generation which was active in the second half of the 1900's. He helped to advance Spanish music from the Nationalistic style that dominated before the war, and began to introduce West Indian influences into European music. Self-Parafrasis for Clarinet and Piano was written around 1968, when Montsalvatge was just coming into the height of his compositional prowess. Itis presented here in a high-quality glossy cover, and would make the perfect gift for any clarinettist.