About this time last year I was finishing up a multi-week exploration of the greatest piano sonatas from each period from Classical to contemporary. This topic may not be as cosmically significant as the Spider Nebula (pictured above), but I think it's worth discussing in the piano community. I always meant to create a landing... Continue Reading →
Once this idea popped into my head, I found I had a harder time than I expected. The majority of classical “one-hit wonders” (or Oneders, to nod to the image I chose) seem to be in the orchestral realm. Luckily, we pianists have a few of “those” pieces that we can match to a composer... Continue Reading →
I don’t know about you, but I played a lot of rags growing up. I had a complete Scott Joplin collection and some auxiliary mixed-composer collections, and spent endless hours sightreading until my left hand ached from all the bass leaps. It was always a nice change of pace from Beethoven sonatas. The pieces tended... Continue Reading →
Not every piano concerto has a significant cadenza, but we tend to remember the ones that do. They are spotlights for the performer to show their skills without any orchestral accompaniment in the way, and often composers save both their most challenging material and some important thematic development for these sections. In the Classical period... Continue Reading →
#1: Ives - Sonata No. 2 “Concord, Mass., 1840-60” (1915) Well, here we are at the end of the “Top 5” sonata-ranking journey. And though this is the fifteenth sonata I’m writing about, I think I’ve saved the best for last. I’ve already written extensively about the Concord Sonata: in program notes for my junior... Continue Reading →
#2: Prokofiev - Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 82 (1940) This is the first of Prokofiev’s “War Sonata” trilogy, and boy is it a harrowing journey through wartime emotions. For a while I thought No. 7 would be the one to represent Prokofiev in the ranking, but No. 6 just kept grabbing me.... Continue Reading →
Hal Leonard Classical Piano Blog 