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New Music Review
We welcome the following reviews by Sharon Stosur. Soaring on Air by Naoko Ikeda, The Willis Music Company, 2006. An absolute gem, Soaring on Air is a collection of three piano solos by Naoko Ikeda. Each of the three pieces includes a poem that served as the composer’s inspiration and a short note with suggestions for approaching the piece, immediately engaging the performer’s own imagination and creativity. These pieces are easy to read and look deceptively simple on the page, but call for the skills of a late intermediate student. Highly imaginative and beautifully melodic, with sophisticated harmonies and interesting pianistic demands, the pieces could be played just as successfully individually or together as a set, and will appeal to both teenagers and adult students. “Wings of the Rainbow” is written in A-flat major and begins quite simply. The texture grows thicker throughout the piece with the use of octaves and four and five note chords. Students with smaller hands may find the four-note chords encompassing an octave difficult to play comfortably. The middle piece, “Wings of Sand,” is light and dance-like in character. Written in G minor and 6/8 meter, the student will need to navigate some quick and tricky shifts, but the writing fits well in the hand and is easily mastered. “Wings of Snow” completes the trio, and is the most passionate of the set. Its poignant F# minor melody moves to the left hand in the middle section, and the contrast of chordal and single line textures adds to the beauty of this piece. Dynamics, expressive indications and pedal markings are plentiful throughout, helping to guide the student to a musical performance. Because of its creative and expressive qualities, Soaring on Air is one of my studio favorites. Portraits of the Sky by Randall Hartsell, The Willis Music Company, 2008. Portraits of the Sky is an interesting and colorful collection of eight intermediate piano solos by Randall Hartsell. Using only C, G, and D Major key signatures and shifting tonalities, Hartsell creates a wide range of moods. Sometimes impressionistic, sometimes evoking a jazz sound, these pieces have a contemporary, modern feel, each depicting a “sky” scene, such as “Sunsets in Savannah,” “Tomorrow’s Rainbow,” and “Toward the Rising Sun,” among others. Pianistically the demands are modest, and well within the range of an average intermediate level student. Rhythms and meter are simple, and the well-constructed, straightforward forms will make memorization easy. Clear indications for fingering and pedal are provided in such a way as to be helpful without being excessive. The greatest strength of this collection is the way in which Hartsell allows the student to explore the full range of the keyboard, using ledger lines, hand crossings, harmonic and melodic figures divided between the hands, and simple pattern repetition. This provides an opportunity to explore color, range, and affect, leading to vivid and artistic performance. Reviewed by Sharon Stosur, Rochester New York Duets provide a joyful means to acquire fluent reading, rhythmic and listening skills. To select repertoire for this column, I distributed elementary to intermediate level duets to my piano ensemble students and gave them fifteen minutes to prepare for a class performance. Latecomers had less or no preparation time. They had a great time selecting their favorites for you. Three Odd Meters for One Piano, Four Hands by Sondra Clark, Hal Leonard, 1999. Late Intermediate to Advanced. Odd or irregular meters, common in music since 1900, can be simultaneously captivating and frightening for many students. Sandra Clark’s three rhythmically and harmonically engaging duets will help develop a comfort level with these meters. Students grounded in scales, legato chords and key signatures will be able to focus on the metric feel without struggling with varied patterns moving in unfamiliar tonal areas. The score is easy to read, facilitating fingerings are abundant. Note values are limited to eighths, quarters and dotted quarters. The lively dance, “3+3+4”, exemplifies the additive meters so prevalent in Bartok. Tuneful scalar melodies are accompanied by blocked and broken triads. In the A section, four bars in C Major are followed by four bars of E Major. The more chordal and chromatic B section moves through B major, B-flat Major and E-flat Minor tonalities. The 5/8 meter and seventh chords give “Pentatempo Waltz” an appealing easy jazz feel. Eighths in the A section are grouped 2 + 3; those in the B section are grouped 3+2 with occasional 6/8 bars adding interest and clarifying phrase ends. The waltz begins simply with a single-note C minor melody in the primo over a descending walking bass in the secondo. The texture becomes more complex as the primo melody shifts from hand to hand. The B section moves to B-flat major; accidentals are abundant. Both primo and secondo parts require control of two legato voices in the right hand. “Two-Timing” is a whirling exploration of the 6/8, 3/4 hemiola relationship. The primary rhythmic unit in the A section is a 6/8 bar followed by a 3/4 bar. In the B section the primo frequently plays in 3/4 while the secondo plays in 6/8. Within the key signatures of C and D-flat major, blocked and broken chordal patterns move through a wide tonal palette. Fifth Avenue Stroll for Piano Four Hands by Glenda Austin, The Willis Music Co. 2007. Intermediate Glenda Austin achieves a convincing swing feel with simple notation — primarily quarters, eighths, and half notes. In the A section the primo plays syncopated unison scalar melodies in C, A, and G Major while the secondo plays a syncopated chordal pattern in the right hand over half note roots in the left. The B section is more complex with scales and syncopated chords appearing in both parts. The scalar passages present an opportunity to reinforce fingering basics: thumb crossings, extensions and contractions. Danny the Drummer by Kevin Olson, Piano Ensemble Series, FJH, 2006. Elementary “Danny the Drummer” was the unanimous class favorite. With just quarter notes, an unchanging C position, and some rhythmic percussion (tapping underneath the keys), Kevin Olson has created miraculously varied and interesting music. After a rousing 4-bar drum entry, the legato melody (with words for singing) and accompanying staccato fifths alternate between primo and secondo parts. The percussion duet in the middle section makes a good study in rhythmic precision. In Recital Duets Volume I, edited by Helen Marlais, FJH, 2006. Early Elementary In Recital Duets Volume I includes eight duets — six with equal parts and two with an easier primo. The accompanying CD, with tracks for the primo, secondo and complete performance, facilitates home practice. Edwin McLean’s lively arrangement of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” generated spontaneous group singing. The primo melody, divided between the hands, requires no shifting. The more difficult secondo accompaniment has left hand roots or fifths on beat one and right hand triads on beats 2 and 3. The round “Are You Sleeping”, also arranged by McLean, encourages careful listening. No hands together playing is required. In Timothy Brown’s arrangement of “Ode to Joy”, each player gets the melody as well as interesting subordinate material. Other duets are “Yankee Doodle” (Melody Bober), “Double Trouble” (Kevin Olson), “Roller Coaster Ride” (Melody Bober) and “Bingo” (Kevin Olson). Submitted by Beverly Smoker, Chair, New Music Review | ||
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