SKU: HL.14042937

Monsoon Toccata by Anthony Gilbert. 3'33; for solo piano. In memoriam Janet Owen Thomas (1961-2002). In 1988, Janet Owen Thomas met up with me in Sydney at the end of a short organ-recital tour - possibly her last before devoting herself entirely to composing. We returned to England together, doing a rapid circular tour of Northern India on the way. Alighting from the plane at Delhi we were hit by the whirling wind and torrential rain of the seasonal monsoon, and early the following morning there was also a minor earthquake. This experience determined the spirit of the music, and Northern Indian Raga determines the purely technical approach, with thequasi-improvisatory toccatalike textures acting as decoration to a slow-moving, widely-spaced modal top line which almost loses control of the overall shape at the mid-point - a reflection of the impact of those natural phenomena. A.G. Monsoon Toccata by Anthony Gilbert. 3'33'; for solo piano. In memoriam Janet Owen Thomas (1961-2002).

'In 1988, Janet Owen Thomas met up with me in Sydney at the end of a short organ-recital tour - possibly her last before devoting herself entirely to composing. We returned to England together, doing a rapid circular tour of Northern India on the way. Alighting from the plane at Delhi we were hit by the whirling wind and torrential rain of the seasonal monsoon, and early the following morning there was also a minor earthquake.

This experience determined the spirit of the music, and Northern Indian Raga determines the purely technical approach, withthe quasi-improvisatory toccatalike textures acting as decoration to a slow-moving, widely-spaced modal top line which almost loses control of the overall shape at the mid-point - a reflection of the impact of those natural phenomena.'

A.G.

SKU: PR.110418250

ISBN 9781491133859. UPC: 680160683345. 9 x 12 inches.

This intriguing 11-minute work builds on alternations between declamatory unmetered phrases (beginning as “sonorous, rubato, with great aplomb and resonance”) and strictly motoric rhythmic sections, developing in waves of increasing drama and intensity. Commissioned by the Naumburg Foundation for pianist Xiaohui Yang’s Carnegie Hall premiere.
Ballade is a one-movement work of approximately 11 minutes, divided into three main parts that are played without significant break.Ballade alternates sections where the performer is invited to apply great interpretive freedom, especially on the temporal plane, with contrasting sections that are quite precise and rhythmic. Although carefully notated, the “freer” sections (often marked rubato) certainly allude at times to the kind of repertoire that is familiar to most concert pianists, doing so not by way of quotation but by the type of expressivity, affect, and even passagework. Thus, the performer should think of the score as a “blueprint,” where the many descriptive words I have inserted throughout the score (ranging from sonorous, rubato, with great aplomb and resonance as the work begins, to with greater motion, in a series of ever-expanding “waves” later on) are intended to act as triggers for one’s sense of imagination and fantasy to take off and bring the music alive! An inscription in the score urges the pianist to play fearlessly and exuberantly, but also tenderly!

SKU: BT.MUSME0180

English.

This assortment solely comprises solo jazz piano pieces. Here the objective is not to play with a complete band, but to learn how to bravely hold the fort alone - and that in a musical style which best suits soloing, namely jazz. The assortmentincludes a number of particularly original musical pieces, veritable etudes, which will give you the opportunity to study the harmonies, rhythms and tone colors typifying jazz and its numerous variants such as swing, bebop, bossa nova, blue jazz orragtime. You may rest assured that here you will find something for all tastes and ages! Here you are taught which fingering is best suited to a specific playing situation. In so doing, you learn how to perform the many musical pieces that are partof this assortment in a technically flawless manner. The DVD pertaining to this tutorial gives you the possibility to carefully observe the jazz piano pieces treated therein, but above all it gives you the possibility to discover what their exactperformance style should be.