SHEET MUSIC REVIEWS

JOHANNES BRAHMS AND HIS FRIENDS Breitkopf & Härtel

This 150-page book contains a fascinating array of piano works by Brahms’s friends. These include well-known composers such as Robert and Clara Schumann, but the majority of the book is devoted to lesserknown musical friends such as Elizabeth and Heinrich von Herzogenberg, Albert Dietrich, and Otto Dessoff. Many of these works are out of print or are published here for the first time, and although compilations by peripheral Romantic composers often contain trivial trifles of salon music, that is not the case here – one can easily imagine these composers playing their pieces to Brahms and receiving warm approval. The only quibbles are the high cost, and lack of an English translation of both the titles of the pieces and the biographical notes at the back of the volume.

MOVIE & TV AT THE PIANO Patrik Pietschmann Schott

Patrik Pietschmann is a full-time German YouTube pianist, whose talent at creating arrangements of TV and movie themes is reflected in the 1.6m subscribers that his channel containing around 100 videos has accumulated. These are not simplified arrangements, but are intended to do justice to the original orchestral scores, so require good technical facility (at least Grade 7 in the easiest pieces). Jarrod Radnich’s version of Pirates of the Caribbean has more wow factor, but all of Pietschmann’s arrangements will come to life under the right hands. At almost £20, this book is expensive, but if you plan on playing at least three of the pieces, it works out cheaper than buying the pieces individually online.

TOLL IN MOLL/ TOLL IN DUR (Finer in Minor/ Greater in Major) Breitkopf & Härtel

Toll in Moll (Finer in Minor) was originally published almost three decades ago. This new edition has upgraded the musical typeface, added bar numbers, and increased the number of pieces from 24 to 33. Massenet’s Mélodie and Pachulski’s Prelude are two of the interesting additions, and although most of the original pieces are still here, I’m disappointed to see that Gillock’s Autumn Sketch and Kabalevsky’s The Horseman have been removed. There is now a complementary volume, Toll in Dur (Greater in Major), also containing 33 pieces that is likely to enjoy the success of its ‘minor’ counterpart. Here too, washes of colour at the foot of each page add an attractive touch. Available individually or as a set, both are recommended to all pianists around Grade 3 to 6.

PRELUDES: 40 PIANO PIECES FROM 5 CENTURIES Schott

Monika Twelsiek has compiled several themed volumes of piano music for Schott, such as Night and Dreams, Emotions, Toys, and Water. For her latest collection that is devoted to Preludes, Twelsiek has harvested music from five centuries, presenting a typically rich and diverse selection of pieces in chronological order, from Johann Fischer (who predates Bach) to Nikolai Kapustin. Many of the works are familiar, but some unusual curiosities are included as well, such as Satie’s True Flabby Preludes for a Dog.

The 40 pieces range in difficulty from Grade 2 to 8, and from one to four pages in length. The idea of these themed volumes is creative, but I do wonder if it is matched by consumer demand.

HÄNDEL VARIATIONS Martin Stadtfeld Schott

German pianist Martin Stadtfeld has big hands. I arrive at this conclusion not by looking at the front cover of this book, but by listening to how effortlessly he plays the plentiful tenths in his Händel Variations album (on the Sony Classical label). With the exception of the Harmonious Blacksmith variations, all the pieces from the album are included in this book. These are highly personal and free arrangements of some of Handel’s most expressive melodies, such as Lascia ch’io pianga, Ombra mai fù, and Wher’er you walk. Difficulty is mostly Grade 8 and above, and if this level is out of reach, I’d wholeheartedly recommend exploring his other, more accessible, collections of repertoire.

WILSING Sonatas 1, 2, 3 and 4 Edition Dohr

If you’ve never heard of Daniel Friedrich Eduard Wilsing, you’re not alone. Born in the same year as Felix Mendelssohn (with whom he shared a composition teacher), his work received praise from Brahms and Schumann, yet his career as a composer was cut short by mental illness. His fourmovement Second and Third Sonatas (Op 1) were composed in 1838, not long after he received his first instruction in composition, whilst his three-movement Fourth Sonata was written nine years later. They are remarkably well-written for the instrument – textually similar to the writings of Mendelssohn or Hummel, but perhaps without the melodic gift of the former. Biographical information and notes about the pieces are printed only in German, but these works are certainly worth investigating for advanced pianists.

THE PIANO COLLECTION Carl Davis Faber Music

Carl Davis has written almost 400 film and TV scores, and he is also a composer for ballets and musicals. The Covid-19 pandemic provided him with an opportunity to revisit his orchestral scores from the past several decades and rewrite them for solo piano. The pieces range in length from one to five pages, and in difficulty from Grade 4 to 8. The notes lie well under the fingers, reflecting the composer’s pianistic background, whilst images from the original manuscripts add interest. People unfamiliar with the original music will not be pulled towards the music as strongly as those who recognise its origins, but the Charlie Chaplin ‘Inebriate’ theme would work well as a standalone number.