SKU: PR.11641861SP

UPC: 680160685202.

What?! - my composer colleagues said - A concerto for the piano? It's a 19th century instrument! Admittedly we are in an age when originally created timbres and/or musico-technological formulations are often the modus operandi of a piece. Actually, this Concerto began about two years ago when, during one of my creative jogs, the sound of the uppermost register of the piano mingled with wind chimes penetrated my inner ear. The challenge and fascination of exploring and developing this idea into an orchestral situation determined that some day soon I would be writing a work for piano and orchestra. So it was a very happy coincidence when Mona Golabek phoned to tell me she would like discuss the Ford Foundation commission. After covering areas of aesthetics and compositional styles, we found that we had a good working rapport, and she asked if I would accept the commission. The answer was obvious. Then began the intensive thought process on the stylistic essence and organization of the work. Along with this went a renewed study of idiomatic writing for the piano, of the kind Stravinsky undertook with the violin when he began his Violin Concerto. By a stroke of great fortune, the day in February 1972 that I received official notice from the Ford Foundation of the commission, I also received a letter from the Guggenheim Foundation informing me I had been awarded my second fellowship. With the good graces of Zubin Mehta and Ernest Fleischmann, masters of my destiny as a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, I was relieved of my orchestral duties during the Hollywood Bowl season. Thus I was able to go to Europe to work and to view the latest trends in music concentrating in London (the current musical melting pot and showcase par excellence), Oslo, Norway, for the Festival of Scandinavian Music called Nordic Days, and Warsaw, Poland, for its prestigious Autumn Festival. Over half the Concerto was completed in that summer and most of the rest during the 72-73 season with the final touches put on during a month as Resident Scholar at the Rockefeller Foundation's Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio, Italy. So much for the external and environmental influences, except perhaps to mention the birds of Sussex in the first movement, the bells of Arhus (Denmark) in the second movement and the bells of Bellagio at the end of the Concerto. Primary in the conception was the personality of Miss Golabek: she is a wonderfully vital and dynamic person and a real virtuoso. Therefore, the soloist in the Concerto is truly the protagonist; it is she (for once we can do away with the generic he) who unfolds the character and intent of the piece. The first section is constructed in the manner of a recitative - completely unmeasured - with letters and numbers by which the conductor signals the orchestra for its participation. This allows the soloist the freedom to interpret the patterns and control the flow and development of the music. The Concerto is actually in one continuous movement but with three large divisions of sufficiently contrasting character to be called movements in themselves. The first 'movement' is based on a few timbral elements: 1) a cluster of very low pitches which at the beginning are practically inaudibly depressed, and sustained silently by the sostenuto pedal, which causes sympathetic vibrating pitches to ring when strong notes are struck; 2) a single powerful note indicated by a black note-head with a line through it indicating the strongest possible sforzando; 3) short figures of various colors sometimes ominous, sometimes as splashes of light or as elements of transition; 4) trills and tremolos which are the actual controlling organic thread starting as single axial tremolos and gradually expanding to trills of increasingly larger and more powerful scope. The 'movement' begins in quiescent repose but unceasingly grows in energy and tension as the stretching of a string or rubber band. When it can no longer be restrained, it bursts into the next section. The second 'movement,' propelled by the released tension, is a brilliant virtuosic display, which begins with a long solo of wispy percussion, later joined in duet with the piano. Not to be ignored, the orchestra takes over shooting the material throughout all its sections like a small agile bird deftly maneuvering through nothing but air, while the piano counterposes moments of lyricism. The orchestra reaches a climax, thrusting us into the third 'movement' which begins with a cadenza-like section for the piano. This moves gently into an expressive section (expressive is not a negative term to me) in which duets are formed with various instruments. There are fleeting glimpses of remembrances past, as a fragmented recapitulation. One glimpse is hazily expressed by strings and percussion in a moment of simultaneous contrasting levels of activity, a technique of which I have been fond and have utilized in various fixed-free relationships, particularly in my Percussion Concerto, Contextures and Games: Collage No. 1. The second half of the third 'movement; is a large coda - akin to those in Beethoven - which brings about another display of virtuosity, this time gutsy and driving, raising the Concerto to a final climax, the soloist completing the fragmented recapitulation concept as well as the work with the single-note sforzando and low cluster from the very opening of the first movement.

SKU: HL.14041307

ISBN 9788759819333. 10.25x14.5x0.052 inches.

Waterways (Vandveje) - Three Pieces for Piano by Per Nørgård (2008-09).

Written for Anne Marie Fjord Abildskov.

Preface / Programme Note
The three small piano pieces collectively called WATERWAYS was composed in 2008-2009 for Anne Marie Fjord Abildskov and they are dedicated to her.
You will hear traces of earlier piano works of mine – GROOVING from 1968 and ACHILLEUS AND THE TORTOISE from 1983 – in these new pieces.

The first movement is characterized by echo-like sounds, which also appear in GROOVING. Semitones are overlayered and soundsimultaniously, and then they are muted one by one to give a reminiscence of the initial sound. In this new movement an extra echo is added, like an extra skim of the stone
across the water surface – three skims, actually.

In the second movement you may hear traces of ACHILLEUS AND THE TORTOISE. The left and right hand both play arpeggio-like scale patterns. The music is shimmering, like a moiré on a water surface, with constantly changing, very short durations.
In the third movement the pattern of irregular durations is maintained and expanded, but only in fragments – and you may catch a glimpse of a new melody emerging.

Per Nørgård

SKU: BT.DHP-0991451-030

Pacific Dreams describes the experience of Miguel, a traveling composer from Spain who, feeling somewhat alienated from his homeland, is wandering through an area of Sydney known as The Rocks. At a small outdoor market in a typical street of this oldcolonial neighbourhood, he discovers a print of William DeShazos painting Pacific Dreams Portrayed in the painting is the surf of one of the exotic islands in the Pacific. Next, with the impressive Sydney Harbour Bridge looming over the narrowstreets of The Rocks, he envisions sultry Pacific beaches. Suddenly a theme he once composed about the lakes in Japan comes to him. Is it the Asian influences present in cosmopolitan Sydney that bring this theme to mind? Or perhaps the waters aroundSydney, over which he could sail to Tahiti? He is uncertain. Could this same theme be used to create a new composition about his feelings for the metropolis Sydney? How then to work his Pacific Dreams into the mix? Miguel is certainly no fan ofHawaiian music. Mayby he could use the vocabularies of islands like Hawaii and Tahiti, their beautiful vowel combinations being sung ad libitum by a mixed choir.With these ideas and his newly purchased print of Pacific Dreams, he boards the Metroat Circular Quay. He has a final glimpse of the harbour and the Sydney Opera House as the train races into the ground. On to the hotel! To work! He must compose!Maestoso : Miguel is impressed as he gazes upon the Sydney Harbour Bridge. And yet, hewants to go away from this city. Away, to an exotic island in the Pacific.Steady Rock : In the Rocks, musicians are playing at a square. Miguel basks in the atmosphere but at the same time he is fantasizing about Hawaii and Tahiti.Andante Lamentoso :In his hotel room, Miguel is feeling sad and lonely in this big city. He takes comfort in his Pacific Dreams.Allegro : Miguel boards the boat that takes him from Darling Harbour to Circular Quay. In his mind he is traveling on to Hawaii. Or is ithome, where the bolero is playing? He is pulled back to reality by the skyline of Sydney.

Wir schlüpfen in die Haut von Miguel und reisen mit ihm nach Australien. Einigermaßen entfremdet von seiner spanischen Heimat schlendert er durch das Viertel The Rocks in Sydney. Auf einem kleinen Markt entdeckt er einen Druck des Gemäldes Pacific Dreams von William DeShazo. Das Bild stellt die Meeresbrandung auf einer exotischen Insel im Pazifik dar. Während die eindrucksvolle Harbour Bridge von Sidney vor ihm auftaucht, ist er in Gedanken bei den heißen Stränden im Stillen Ozean. Auf einmal kommt ihm das Thema in den Sinn, das er einst über die Gewässer Japans komponiert hatte. Liegt es an den asiatischen Einflüssen, die im kosmopolitischen Sydney so vielfältig vertretensind? Oder sind es die Wasser rund um Sydney, über die er nach Tahiti segeln könnte? Er ist sich unsicher. Könnte er genau dieses Thema für eine neue Komposition über die Metropole Sydney verwenden? Wie sollte er seine Träume vom Pazifik, seine Pacific Dreams, in diese Mixtur einbringen? Vielleicht könnte er den Wortschatz von Inseln wie Hawaii und Tahiti für seine Komposition verwenden. Und einen gemischten Chor die schönen Vokalverbindungen ad libitum singen lassen. Mit diesen Ideen im Kopf steigt er in die Metro am Circular Quay. Auf ins Hotel und frisch ans Werk! Jetzt muss er einfach komponieren....

SKU: CL.026-5037-01

One of Quincy Hilliard’s most exciting compositions, Variations on an African Hymnsong has been skillfully arranged for the flexible instrumentation Build-A-Band series by Jimi Bergeron. Based on a Nigerian folk hymn, this very appealing selection features interesting harmonies, beautiful tone colors and driving polyrhythms, all combine to make this a stunning work for band, especially for groups with large percussion sections. Give your students a glimpse of music from another culture rarely heard or performed by wind bands. Perfect for contest or concert use. Truly exceptional!

SKU: PE.EP11503

ISBN 9790014127084.

The Notebook for Johann Christian Bach completes the collection of surviving instructional works from within the Bach family, following the highly praised Notebooks for Anna Magdalena and Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. Together, Bach's Notebooks provide a fascinating glimpse into the domestic music academy of the Bach family home. They contain original compositions, exercises, and model examples by other composers, all collected with a view to providing a rounded musical education to family members. Presented as a luxury linen-bound edition with gold-embossed cover lettering, illustrations and critical commentary, this volume includes pieces not featured in previous collections.

This first Urtext edition Notebook for Bach's son Johann Christian has been reconstructed by renowned Bach scholar Christoph Wolff from copies from the estate of C.P.E. Bach. It includes pieces for keyboard by J.S. Bach, Johann Christian's initial attempts at composition (minuets and polonaises), and pieces by the older brothers Carl Philipp Emanuel and Johann Christoph Friedrich and son-in-law Johann Christoph Altnickol. The collection is completed by two sets of short preludes and fughettas from Bach's early Leipzig teaching practice, which may have come from other lost notebooks for his family, possibly the one for C.P.E. Bach.

Clavier-Büchlein für Johann Christian Bach

Nach den hochgelobten Ausgaben der Clavier-Büchlein für Anna Magdalena Bach und Wilhelm Friedemann Bach vervollständigt das Clavier-Büchlein für Johann Christian Bach die Sammlung an überlieferten Unterrichtswerken innerhalb der Bachfamilie. In ihrer Gesamtheit bieten Bachs Clavier-Büchlein einen faszinierenden Einblick in das häusliche Musizieren der Familie Bach. Sie enthalten Originalkompositionen, Übungen für den Unterricht sowie beispielhafte Werke anderer Komponisten, die alle gesammelt wurden, um den Familienmitgliedern Literatur für eine umfassende musikalische Ausbildung bereitzustellen. In e.

SKU: BT.EMBZ15000N

English-Hungarian.

In the autumn of 1974 György Kurtág began to copy selected pieces from the series Games into a music notebook for Zoltán Kocsis who was his student in earlier years and who, throughout his entire life, was one of its most authentic performers. Kocsis played from this notebook in the first public performance of Games in 1974. The gradually expanding series of piano pieces also appeared in print in the course of later decades however, he always used this collection - expanded over 32 years since by Kurtág - whenever he played pieces from Games in concert. Since the time of this 1974 concert, as Kocsis wrote later: ''I didn't know that the spiral notebook I received at thepremiere would later become, as it were, my permanent companion. That I would take it with me from Japan to Canada, from Australia to Iceland, travelling to the world's most prominent concert halls, surviving fire damage, flood, transport catastrophes, theft attempts, forced landings and so on, and that - well beyond the intention of its being 'copied with love' - it would include works and sketches for which this notebook would become the principal source.''The manuscript gives a glimpse into Kurtág's workshop from the viewpoint of both performers and musicologists. The former can understand more from Kurtág's handwriting about the composer's intentions than from the printed score. The musicologists, however, can study the historical origins of the works: some works can be found here in more than one version, others appear in a version different from the printed score.The publication is accompanied by a booklet and a CD supplement. The booklet contains Kocsis's own personal preface, as well as András Wilheim's essay providing information about the collection and the pieces contained therein. On the CD we hear 11 works performed by Kocsis, from a recording made in 1982 which has not previously been commercially issued.