Composer’s Choice: PIANO 1 - May/June 2015

PIANO 1 - MAY/JUNE 2015

CCA Composer´s Piece: The Four Seasons - David Fisher

Web page reference: www.composersalliance.com/composers/work.cfm

This suite for piano has been performed many times and won second prize in the Charnwood Arts Composers’ Competition. Originally written as part of an MMus portfolio the four movements are designed to test the skills of Grade V or VI pianists. The have to use the full extent of the keyboard, play melodies in each register and play extremes of dynamics – notably in “Winter” (which is laid out on four staves) in which the upper parts a graded from loud to very soft and the lower parts from soft to very loud. The recording on the page is from the CD recording by Julian Hellaby although the dedicatee’s recording [it was written for Nêst Harris] will be added soon.

The Other Piece: Piano Sonata in B minor - Franz Liszt

YouTube video with score:

YouTube video with live performance:

Not being a pianist – except just for teaching and accompanying – I have always admired the techniques of the art and the extreme virtuosity and Liszt’s Sonata in B minor has almost everything that demonstrates the use of a piano. This was an A level set work for some time and my job was to enthuse orchestral players in pianistic techniques. Fortunately, for my brass players in the Desford Brass Band, many of them already used to playing virtuoso pieces, they could appreciate the technical facility, the dexterity, the physical strength and the many, many hours of practice require to master this pinnacle of the piano repertoire. Analysing it was easy and they assimilated the loose sonata structure very well although they were more impressed with the story that Brahms was alleged to have fallen asleep whilst the composer was playing the work.