Par DOBRZYNSKI IGNACY FELIKS. Ignacy Feliks Dobrzynski wrote eight nocturnes for piano. Five of them were published in 1833–1834 in two books as Opp. 21 and 24, while the remainder appeared in various occasional collections issued much later. The Nocturne in A major was written in 1846 and belongs to the group of works composed by Dobrzynski during his tour of German cities. That tour was designed to increase the composer’s popularity and boost his finances. Besides concerts and meetings promoting Dobrzynski’s music, the ‘marketing campaign’ also included the publication of his new salon miniatures in particular cities. This Nocturne appeared in print in Berlin as Op. 52, together with a short mazurka constituting a transcription of the earlier song ‘Gdzie lubi’ (‘A fickle maid’). The form of this piece is based on an A-B-A1 scheme typical of the genre, with a quite elaborate epilogue. In section A, the composer based the melody on a one-bar motif in mazurka rhythm, which he combined with a bass led in widely spread chords, often used in nocturnes. He thus obtained a specifically idyllic mood. The sonorities, the type of melody and texture and, above all, the ornaments that appear as the work progresses bring to mind the early work of Fryderyk Chopin. The chordal section B, of lively expression, in the key of F sharp minor and a uniform triple rhythm, triggers associations with the middle section of Chopin’s Nocturne in A flat major, Op. 32 No. 2. After a short bridge, the reprise comprises a reiteration of the opening part of section A, which then passes into the epilogue, in which the composer splices motifs from both contrasting sections. It is difficult to date the second Nocturne published here and to establish the circumstances surrounding its composition. It was published posthumously (in 1868, in Warsaw), in the Album Pamiatkowe IG.F. Dobrzynskiego (‘Souvenir album of I. F. Dobrzynski’), which also contained two mazurkas, two songs and an excerpt from his incidental music for the play Konrad Wallenrod arranged for four hands. These compositions were not previously published and probably come from private collections. The Nocturne carries a dedication to Miss Wanda Miecznikowska. Determining the principal key of this work is rather problematic, since it falls into two tonally and expressively contrasting sections, divided by a lengthy caesura. An agitated, emotional episode in F minor (in A-B-A1 form, section B in A flat major), ending with a distinct conclusion, is followed, rather unexpectedly, by completely new material in the key of F major; adhering to a slower tempo and of very restrained expression, it serves as a sort of post scriptum, a lengthy and calming musical commentary to the foregoing segment. One may even gain the impression that this Nocturne is essentially a diptych consisting of two separate ‘songs without words’. Judging by its style, which is close to the lyric writing of Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy or John Field, with elements of the style brillant, this work could have been written earlier than the Nocturne in A major. One may also discern here a certain melodic-rhythmic similarity to the above-mentioned Nocturne in A flat major by Chopin. Both these Dobrzynski mazurkas could make interesting additions to the repertoire of both professional pianists and more advanced amateurs interested in nineteenth-century salon music. They may also enrich the programmes of concerts and broadcasts, particularly those devoted to Polish music, and also be included on the curricula of secondary schools of music. The present edition was based on the first editions. The proposed fingering in both works and the pedalling in the Nocturne in A major are entirely the work of the editors; other editorial performance markings are given in brackets. / Répertoire / Piano

Treasury of piano music by great Norwegian composer, including the perennial favorites, Peer Gynt Suites Nos. 1 and 2 and the Holberg Suite, as well as a rich selection of other pieces: Vier Stucke, Op. 1, Humoresker, Op. 6, Sonata in E Minor, Op. 7, and many others. Content :
Four Pieces [Vier Stücke], Op. 1 (dedicated to E. F. Wenzel)
I. Allegro con leggerezza
II. Non Allegro e molto espressivo
III. Mazurka
IV. Allegretto con moto
Poetic Tone-Pictures [Poetiske tonebilleder], Op. 3 (dedicated to Benjamin Feddersen)
I. Allegro, ma non troppo
II. Allegro cantabile
III. Con moto
IV. Andante con sentimento
V. Allegro moderato
VI Allegro scherzando
Humoresques [Humoresker], Op. 6 (dedicated to Rikard Nordraak)
I. Tempo di Valse
II. Tempo di Menuetto ed energico
III. Allegretto con grazia
IV. Allegro alla burla
Sonata in E Minor, Op. 7 (dedicated to Niels W. Gade)
Allegro moderato
Andante molto
Alla Menuetto, ma pocco più lento
Finale
Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16, Arranged for Solo Piano (dedicated to Edmund Neupert)
Allegro molto moderato
Adagio
Allegro moderato e molto marcato
Four Album Leaves [Fire albumblade], Op. 28 (dedicated to Minna Petersen)
I. Allegro con moto
II. Allegretto espressivo
III. Vivace
IV. Andantino serioso
Two Elegiac Melodies [Zwei elegische Melodien], Op. 34 (dedicated to Heinrich von Herzogenberg. arrangement of a work for string orchestra based on the songs Op. 33, nos. 3 and 2)
I. Heart's Wounds [Herzwunden]
II. Last Spring [Letzter Frühling]
From Holberg's Time [Fra Holbergs tid. Holberg Suite], Op. 40 (dedicated to Erika Lie-Nissen)
I. Praeludium
II. Sarabande
III. Gavotte
IV. Air
V. Rigaudon
Piano Pieces after His Own Songs [Klavierstücke nach eigenen Liedern] (I), Op. 41
I. Lullaby [Wiegenlied]
II. Little Haakon [Klein Haakon]
III. I Love Thee [Ich liebe dich]
IV. She Is So White [Wenn einst sie lag an meiner Brust/Sie ist so weiss]
V. The Princess [Die Prinzessin]
VI. To Springtime [An den Lenz]
Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46 (arrangement of orchestral work)
I. Morning Mood [Morgenstimmung]
II. Åse's Death [Åses Tod]
III. Anitra's Dance [Anitras Tanz]
IV. In the Hall of the Mountain King [In der Halle des Bergkönigs]
Piano Pieces after His Own Songs [Klavierstücke nach eigenen Liedern] (II), Op. 52
I. A Mother's Grief [Mutterschmerz]
II. The First Meeting [Erstes Begegnen]
III. The Poet's Heart [Des Dichters Herz]
IV. Solvejg's Song [Solvejgs Lied]
V. Love [Liebe]
VI. The Old Mother [Die alte Mutter]
Two Melodies [Zwei Melodien], Op. 53 (dedicated to Franz Neruda. arrangement of a work for string orchestra based on the songs Op. 33, no. 12, and Op. 21, no
I. Norwegian [Norwegisch]
II. The First Meeting [Erstes Begegnen]
Peer Gynt Suite No.2, Op 55 (arrangement of orchestral work)
I. Ingrid's Lament [Ingrids Klage]
II. Arabian Dance [Arabischer Tanz]
III. Peer Gynt's Return Home [Peer Gynts Heimkehr]
IV. Solvejg's Song [Solvejgs Lied]
Moods [Stimmungen], Op. 73
I. Resignation
II. Scherzo-Impromptu
III. Night Ride [Natligtridt]
IV. Folksong [Folketone]
V. Study [Studie] (Hommage à Chopin)
VI. Students' Serenade [Studenternes serenade]
VII. The Mountaineer's Song [Lual?t]
Nordraak's Funeral March [Sörgemarsch over Rikard Nordraak], WoOp.
Three Piano Pieces [Drei Klavierstückel], WoOp.
I. White Clouds [Hvide skyer]
II. Gnomes' Tune [Tusselsl?t]
III. The Dance Goes On [Dansen går]

Par ZELENSKI WLADYSLAW. Wladyslaw Zelenski had the Six Character Pieces for piano, op. 17 ready around 1871, although it is quite possible that he composed them earlier, even in 1864. Such is indicated by the opus number. At that time he was giving opus numbers to works in chronological order of composition. This set is dedicated to Auguste Auspitz-Kolár, a pianist whom Zelenski could have met on one of his trips to Vienna. The composer published these works in 1872, with Gotthard of Vienna, in two books under the common title Sechs Charakterstücke. The present edition is based on Ludwig Doblinger?s Viennese edition (cat. no. 1221 comprises the Praeludium, Promenade and Tanz, cat. no. 1222 the Canon, Scherzo and Abschied). The compositions collected in Zelenski?s opus 17 have been unjustly forgotten. Their undeniable qualities include advanced harmonies and expressive melodic writing, as well as a wide range of textural means and composition techniques. Quite ?densely? written, these miniatures may prove challenging, but the right fingering eliminates many difficulties of performance. The second book of Wladyslaw Zelenski?s Six Character Pieces contains three miniatures: Canon, Scherzo and Farewell. They manifest characteristic features of the composer?s style, such as the use of counterpoint and a rich, organ-like texture. The Canon, with its emotional charge and build-up of tension, brings to mind miniatures from the brilliant piano cycles of Robert Schumann. A very simple phrase is imitated canonically between the top voice and the two bottom voices, passing through different keys. A touch of finesse is added by the triplet figuration in the middle plan. The next miniature is a classic Scherzo in ABA form. The outer sections, with an imitated theme, are in G minor. With its rather ominous, perhaps somewhat tragic, character, it contrasts with the middle section, Un poco più tranquillo, in the parallel key of G major, which clearly represents a more luminous, dance-like episode in this set of works. The title Farewell given to the last piece in opus 17 may stir associations with Ludwig van Beethoven?s only programme sonata, Les Adieux. This miniature is far more expansive and texturally richer than the other works in this set. The virtuosic elements are of the highest order, not overwhelming the composition, but emphasising its powerful emotional charge. Each of these miniatures can function as a separate work, but when played as two three-part cycles they fall into logical wholes, in which the climax is reached in the last, most elaborate piece. Yet a performance of all six works from both books, so the whole of Zelenski?s opus 17, allows us to discern an even larger cyclical form, developed in an equally deliberate way. - Anna Miernik/ Répertoire / Piano

This volume presents easy pieces for piano by great virtuosos. It unites the two greatest, and perhaps best-known, pianists of the 19th century, Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt. The technical requirements of these works are very moderate without muting the stylistic characteristics of these two composers. The ability to play an original composition by Liszt in the first years of lessons can be very motivating for the piano student. Also featured in this collection are works by the virtuoso Ferdinand Hiller, to whom Robert Schumann dedicated his Piano Concerto. As in many of the works by Liszt and Chopin, Hiller's works are frequently reminiscent of folk music. His Irländisches Lied and Fandango, included in the collection, are fine examples of 19th-century 'world music'. / Piano

Par ZELENSKI WLADYSLAW. Wladyslaw Zelenski had the Six Character Pieces for piano, op. 17 ready around 1871, although it is quite possible that he composed them earlier, even in 1864. Such is indicated by the opus number. At that time he was giving opus numbers to works in chronological order of composition. This set is dedicated to Auguste Auspitz-Kolár, a pianist whom Zelenski could have met on one of his trips to Vienna. The composer published these works in 1872, with Gotthard of Vienna, in two books under the common title Sechs Charakterstücke. The present edition is based on Ludwig Doblinger?s Viennese edition (cat. no. 1221 comprises the Praeludium, Promenade and Tanz, cat. no. 1222 the Canon, Scherzo and Abschied). The compositions collected in Zelenski?s opus 17 have been unjustly forgotten. Their undeniable qualities include advanced harmonies and expressive melodic writing, as well as a wide range of textural means and composition techniques. Quite ?densely? written, these miniatures may prove challenging, but the right fingering eliminates many difficulties of performance. The first book of the Six Character Pieces opens with a Prelude. Here the voices are often led in thirds, sixths and octaves. This work is ideally suited to practising parallel intervals, but with its expressive qualities it can also be successfully played in a recital by a mature pianist. The second piece, entitled Promenade, displays a distinct ABA form. The composer gradually builds up to a climax, beginning with an initially innocent motif and an intricate right-hand part. The Dance is the most complex of all the three pieces. Here the composer juxtaposes two different characters: a waltz in A flat major in the outer sections with a playful scherzando in the middle, led in E major. The virtuosic triplet progressions in a Chopinesque brillant style lend this miniature a light feel. The closing coda recapitulates the principal motifs. In the first book of Six Character Pieces, besides the Chopinesque subtleties, one also notes inspirations from the German Romantic tradition, while Zelenski himself comes across as an extremely interesting figure in Polish neoromanticism and a composer who elaborated his own original, distinctive style. Anna Miernik/ Répertoire / Piano

Par BOULEZ PIERRE. “Fragment d‘une ébauche” is a very short piano work which Pierre Boulez dedicated to Jean-Marie Lehn in 1987 on the occasion of his Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Jean-Marie Lehn held the chair of chemistry at the Collège de France while Pierre Boulez gave lectures in invention, technique and language of music. A friendship connected the two persons. Pierre Boulez dedicated this piece to Jean-Marie Lehn and wrote on the score: ‘The fragment of a future work for piano and instrumental ensemble, still in draft form. But for a Nobel Prize winner, one can make an exception and give a simple draft as a token of sympathy and admiration.’/ Répertoire / Piano

Par BEETHOVEN LUDWIG VAN. It was not until 1814, five years after the Sonata op. 81 ; Les Adieux, that Beethoven, then at the height of his popularity during the Congress of Vienna, returned to the piano sonata. The highly lyrical Sonata in E minor, the last piano sonata from his middle period, consists of two movements with solely German tempo marks and is dedicated to his piano-playing friend and patron, Moritz Count von Lichnowsky. In terms of technical difficulty regarding Beethoven's later piano sonatas, this sonata is one of the more accessible for advanced students. - Well-suited for advanced student lessons - Scholarly-critical Urtext edition at the forefront ofmusical scholarship - All known sources taken into account - Elegant musical engraving with optimal page turns - Valuable notes on period performance practice (Eng/Ger)/ Répertoire / Piano

PIANO SONATA NO. 4 from the years 1962?1964 is dedicated to the memory of Fiser?s friend, the pianist Antonín Jemelík, who died tragically. As a tribute to their friendship the composer incorporated into the introduction a quotation from their favourite work, Piano Sonata No. 10, Op. 70,by Alexander Scriabin. The tragedy of the death of the composer?s friend pervades the emotionally intense passage of unison octaves which follows the three-bar quotation. From a compositional point of view this work is a masterpiece of the mid-Sixties. Written as one movement, the piece is divided into numerous mutually contrasting segments which themselves are clearly grouped into two sections, exposition and development. The individual themes are introduced in the first section and thematically expanded in the second section. The motif treatment lies almost exclusively in the fragmenting or curtailing of the theme, or in the use of a combination of several themes, for the most part brief and eloquent. This compositional method, together with a clear-cut manner of execution, mainly semitonal melody and sharply contrastive dynamics, lends force and transparency to the piece. Piano Sonata No. 4 was completed in 1964 together with Symphonic Fresco, Concerto da camera for piano and orchestraand Fifteen Prints after Dürer?s Apocalypseand has earned its rightful place alongside them as masterpieces of Fiser?s ?uvre. The work was first performed by Pavel Stepán in Prague?s Rudolfinum in 1965. The new setting for this piece is based on the single edition to date (Panton, 1969) only with regard to a few inconsistencies in the score was it necessary to consult the composer?s manuscript (kept at the National Museum ? Czech Museum of Music, acquisition number 297/2006). H 7988, ISMN 979-2601-0447-1

Sir Edward Elgar was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos for Violin and Cello, and two symphonies. He was appointed Master of the King's Musick in 1924.Composed in 1892, Etudes Caracteristiques For Violin Op.24 is dedicated to the preeminent Hungarian Jewish Violin virtuoso, and Elgar's former Violin teacher between 1877-1878, Adolphe Pollitzer. Pollitzer believed that, as a violinist, Elgar had the potential to be one of the leading soloists in the country, but Elgar himself, having heard leading virtuosi at London concerts, felt his own Violin playing lacked a full enough tone, and he abandoned his ambitions to be a soloist. / Piano

These 48 pieces were composed over a period of two decades, beginning in 1832, and published in eight groups of six each. Many of these songs were dedicated to the women in Mendelssohn's life and reflect the sunniest qualities of his melodiousness, spontaneity and invention. Maurice Hinson has skillfully researched and edited these works back to their original form and provides a very informative introduction, which includes many detailed suggestions for a stylistic interpretation and performance, as well as biographical information on the composer's life.

Quatre-vingt-quatre magistrales compositions courtes pour piano qui sont parmi les plus admirés de Grieg et souvent interprété des oeuvres musicales, y compris les danses bien connues norvégiennes, op. 35, Photos de Country Life, op. 19, et la Ballade en sol mineur, op. 24. Reproduit à partir des éditions autorisés publiés par CF Peters, Leipzig .. / Piano

La série 'Festival Collection' est composée de 8 volumes rassemblant des thèmes couvrant les périodes : Baroque, Classique, Romantique et 20ème/ 21ème siècle. Cette série est étudiée pour correspondre au niveau du pianiste. Le CD audio contenant tous les morceaux du songbook guidera l'étudiant dans son interprétation. / Piano