SKU: ST.C204

ISBN 9790570812042.

Pat Goddard was left to ponder what the great composers were doing in their early years. Following meticulous research, the result was a new series for piano: Great Little Composers.

The examples of Beethovenâ??s early piano works included in this album were written when Beethoven was between the ages of 11 and 27 â?? he did not have such an early start as Mozart! All but one have been relegated to the end of the catalogue of his works under the heading â??Werke ohne Opuszahlâ? (works without an Opus number WoO). However, they are varied and interesting and although showing strong traits of Haydn and Mozart, the germ of Beethovenâ??s future strikingly individual expressive language is clear.

SKU: HH.HH421-SOL

ISBN 9790708146223.

The three pieces that make up Quasis appear, at first glance, to have little in common, but nothing could be further from the truth. Although the dances and songaEURdances come from disparate parts of the world -- Poland, Austria, America -- and from different periods, Avi Schonfeld unifies them stylistically and brings them up to date through his own musical language. He also juxtaposes contrasting forms and compositional procedures -- songaEURdance versus danceaEURsong; intimate, introvert small-scale mazurka v. epic, extrovert waltz; improvisation v. more structured writing -- and in so doing portrays different human temperaments. His aim in 'Quasi Blues' was not so much to write a traditional blues number as to create a link between his own compositional idiom and the characteristic elements of the blues.