Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 292
•
Trim: 6⅜ x 9¼
978-1-4422-3265-5 • Hardback • September 2015 • $89.00 • (£68.00)
978-1-4422-3266-2 • eBook • September 2015 • $84.50 • (£65.00)
Richard P. Anderson is professor of piano at the School of Music of Brigham Young University. He teaches piano performance and pedagogy, serves as the group piano coordinator, and has taught music theory and composition. He is the editor of The Pianist’s Craft: Mastering the Works of Great Composers (Scarecrow Press, 2012), has published two college-level textbooks, and has contributed to Clavier and the Piano Pedagogy Forum.
Contributors:
Hilary Demske, Alexandre Dossin, Timothy Ehlen, Robin Hancock, Joel Hastings, Scott Holden, Caroline Hong, Jeffrey Jacob, David Korevaar, John Milbauer, Louis Nagel, Barbara Nissman, Timothy Shafer, Christopher Taylor, and Jerry Wong
Foreword by Norman Krieger
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: C.P.E.--Thinking Outside the Bachs: The Music of Carl Phillip Emanuel Bach
Louis Nagel
Chapter 2: Soler’s Fandango
Robin Hancock
Chapter 3: Lyricism and Lightness in the Piano Music of Felix Mendelssohn
Joel Hastings
Chapter 4: Interior Virtuosity: Grasping Fauré's Piano Music
David Korevaar
Chapter 5: Reflections on Performing Dohnányi's Variations on a Nursery Song for Piano and Orchestra
Timothy Ehlen
Chapter 6: Francis Poulenc's Early Writing: A Critical Analysis of Trois pièces (1918) and Mouvements perpétuels (1919)
Jerry Wong
Chapter 7: Drinking from the Source of Universal Folklore: Villa-Lobos, Bach and Chorões
Alexandre Dossin
Chapter 8: The Musical Imagination of Dmitri Kabalevsky
Timothy Shafer
Chapter 9: Remembering Alberto Ginastera
Barbara Nissman
Chapter 10: Improving ‘The Long Line’ Through Score Markings in Piano Repertoire
Caroline Hong
Chapter 11: Aaron Copland and the Musical Idea
Hilary Demske
Chapter 12: Some Suggestions for Playing the Piano Music of Samuel Barber
Jeffrey Jacob
Chapter 13: A Practical Pianist’s Introduction to Messiaen: Technical and Theoretical Approaches via the Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus
Christopher Taylor
Chapter 14: A Pianist Looks at the Music of John Cage, 1946-1948
John Milbauer
Chapter 15: The Importance of New Music in the Pianist’s Repertoire
Scott Holden
Index
About the Contributors
About the Editor
Continuing what he began in The Pianist’s Craft, Anderson brings together 15 essays—all by concert pianists, recording artists, college professors, or scholars—about specific composers and musical concepts. Anderson did not impose a particular format for these essays, so they vary significantly in length and depth of content. Some contributors provide a broad overview of their assigned composer/topic, whereas others go much more into detail on specific compositions. All of the essays are interesting to read, providing insights into performance practices from the perspective of a pianist who is well acquainted with the particular composer’s output. Some essays stand out: Barbara Nissman writes about Ginastera and her personal connection to him; Christopher Taylor provides a meticulous, in-depth look at Messiaen’s Vingt Regards; Alexandre Dossin takes on fellow Brazilian Villa-Lobos; and Robin Hancock provides a phrase-by-phrase dissection of the Soler Fandango. Also included is an appealing essay by Scott Holden on the importance of playing music by living composers. More than 260 musical illustrations are helpful in clarifying the concepts discussed. This is a book for those with significant piano background. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division through faculty and professionals.
— Choice Reviews