Par DE HAAN JACOB. Who did it? is a composition for youth bands with limited instrumentation. While composing it, Jacob de Haan was inspired by a familiar situation: a child caught doing something mischievous such as taking another child’s toy, and trying to get away with it. The other children, however, notice this. The fast tempo of this work reflects the chase that follows - this will be fun fo…

Par JANACEK LEOS. The composition “ 1. X. 1905 , ” generally referred to as a “sonata, ” stems from the autumn of 1905, the peak of the riots between the Czech- and German-speaking populations in Janá ek ’s hometown Brno. Reacting to the violent death of a Czech worker, Janá ek wrote a three-part composition for Piano originally bearing the title “From the Street, on October 1, 1905. ” Dissatisfie…

Par CHYRZYNSKI MARCEL. In 2017, after my monographic concert organised by the Polish Music Center in Los Angeles, I hired a car and drove to Las Vegas. However, I didn’t take the interstate highway, the quickest and most used road, but followed an acquaintance’s advice and headed up the picturesque old route through the Mojave Desert formed partly by the famous Route 66. The Mojave Desert made an …

Henryk Mikolaj Górecki's career spans more than 40 years, dating from the post-Stalinist era of the mid 1950s and embracing a catalogue of more than 70 acknowledged works. It was not, however, until the phenomenal success of his third symphony, Symphony of Sorrowful Songs Op 36, which brought the composer world-wide renown through its numerous performances and recordings, that his music reached an…

Par RICHARDS ERIC. This is part of a series of inter-related instrumental workbooks for keyboard, guitar, bass guitar and percussion. Planned so that concepts are carefully introduced, consolidated and extended, this is the second of three workbooks each containing twenty-five units. They support and complement the teacher's resource through an innovative approach that encourages a creative attitu…

Par HUGHES DAVID. This is part of a series of inter-related instrumental workbooks for keyboard, guitar, bass guitar and percussion. Planned so that concepts are carefully introduced, consolidated and extended, this is the last of three workbooks each containing twenty-five units. They support and complement the teacher's resource through an innovative approach that encourages a creative attitude …

The Sonata is one of Erkin's works which the casual listener may fail to attribute to a particular geography at a first hearing. He will however become absorbed by a unique sense of identity, surprising harmonies and rhythms which integrate with such sincerity and authenticity in the flow of the music. At a more attentive hearing, one can discover features of ancient Anatolian music which Erkin al…

Par BOULEZ PIERRE. French composer, Pierre Boulez (b. 1925) is best known for his serialist, experimental and electronic compositions. However, his work for Soprano, Mixed Choir and Piano Reduction, Le Soleil Des Eaux also remains regularly performed. Having studied at the Paris Conservatoire under Olivier Messiaen, Boulez soon began his own creative experiments. Amongst his earlier works was his …

Par DE HAAN JACOB. Utopia is the name of a book written by the English author Thomas More and was published in 1516. The title is a word thought up by More himself, after the Greek language, meaning 'Nowhereland' and leading to the invention of the words utopian scheme and utopian. Utopia pictured an ideal state on an island far from the inhabited world. This idea was the basis of the composition.…

The Big Collection from the best-selling Complete Piano Player series includes some of the greatest songs, old and new, from the renowned Piano sheet music songbooks. With exceptional variety, this compendium will never leave you at a loss for something to learn and play.Featuring some timeless arrangements from past editions of The Complete Piano Player songbooks, as well as new arrangements of g…

The Four Hymns are in similar vein to the Five Mystical Songs (1911) although on a smaller and more intimate scale. Together with the Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis these form a succession of works displaying a strong mystical, meditative content.The first of the hymns, 'Lord! come away!', employs vigorous Purcellian recitative in a setting of a Palm Sunday text from Bishop Jeremy Taylor's G…

Par BEARD RICHARD. This is part of a series of inter-related instrumental workbooks for keyboard, guitar, bass guitar and percussion. Planned so that concepts are carefully introduced, consolidated and extended, this is the second of three workbooks each containing twenty-five units. They support and complement the teacher's resource through an innovative approach that encourages a creative attitu…