Part biography, part criticism, and part analysis, this fascinating study of one of music's greatest geniuses is above all an authoritative commentary on the entire corpus of Debussy's work for solo piano. Includes 21 illustrations.
Beginning with Deux Arabesques (1888), this excellent collection also includes Suite bergamasque (1890-1905), Masques (1904), the first series of Images, and 12 others, all in corrected editions.
Paris at the turn of the 20th century was obsessed with the interrelations of the arts. It was a time when artists and writers spoke of poetry as music, sounds as colors, and paintings as symphonies. The music of Claude Debussy, with its unique textures and dazzling colors, was the perfect counterpart to the bold new styles of painting in France. Paul Roberts probes the sources of Debussy's artistic inspiration, relating the "impressionist" titles to the artistic and literary ferment of the time. He also draws on his own performing experience to touch on all the principal technical problems for a performer of Debussy's piano music. His many suggestions about interpreting the music will be particularly valuable to performers as well as listeners.
These beautiful French works are a must for all pianists. Titles: Book 1 * Danseuses de Delphes * Voiles * Le vent dans la plaine * Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soir * Les collines d'Anacapri * Des pas sur la neige * Ce qu'a vu le vent d'Ouest * La fille aux cheveux de lin * La serenade interrompue * La Cathédrale engloutie * La danse de Puck * Minstrels Book 2 * Brouillards * Feuilles mortes * La Puerta del Vino * Les Fées sont d'exquises danseuses * Bruyères * "General Lavine" * La terrasse des a udiences du clair de lune * Ondine * Hommage à S. Pickwick Esq. * Canope * Les tierces alternées * Feux d'Artifice Kalmus Editions are primarily reprints of Urtext Editions, reasonably priced and readily available. They are a must for students, teachers, and performers.
The brilliant pianism at the heart of Debussy's musical imagery and his affinity for the unexpected abound in these two four-hand works: Marche Ecossaise and La Mer. Reprinted from authoritative French editions.
An essential resource for scholars and performers, this study by a world-renowned specialist illuminates the piano music of four major French composers, in comparative and reciprocal context. Howat explores the musical language and artistic ethos of this repertoire, juxtaposing structural analysis with editorial and performing issues. He also relates his four composers historically and stylistically to such predecessors as Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, the French harpsichord school, and Russian and Spanish music. Challenging long-held assumptions about performance practice, Howat elucidates the rhythmic vitality and invention inherent in French music. In granting Fauré and Chabrier equal consideration with Debussy and Ravel, he redresses a historic imbalance and reshapes our perceptions of this entire musical tradition. Outstanding historical documentation and analysis are supported by Howat’s direct references to performing traditions shaped by the composers themselves. The book balances accessibility with scholarly and analytic rigor, combining a lifetime’s scholarship with practical experience of teaching and the concert platform
Is business, for music, a regrettable necessity or a spur to creativity? Are there limits to the influence that economic factors can or should exert on the musical imagination and its product? In the eleven essays contained in this book the authors wrestle with these questions from the perspective of their chosen area of research. The range is wide: from 1700 to the present day; from the opera house to the community centre; from composers, performers and pedagogues to managers, publishers and lawyers; from piano miniatures to folk music and pop CDs. If there is a consensus, it is that music serves its own interests best when it harnesses business rather than denying it.