Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Forget-Me-Not: A Birthday Gift!

Today is my birthday, and, as has been the custom over the past couple of years, I’m offering a free elementary piece for you to download and enjoy. Forget-Me-Not was written a few years ago, and then re-written in 2021; it’s often the case that I ‘revisit’ pieces at a later date and alter them slightly.

The Forget-Me-Not is a traditional flower which proffers interesting symbolism. It apparently indicates remembrance, true and eternal love, and devotion. During the reign of King Henry IV, this delicate, graceful flower, with its blue hue, came to symbolize royalty and endurance, and he adopted it as his formal emblem in 1398. The Forget-Me-Not is also the State Flower of Alaska.

For me, this flower embodies a slight sadness, perhaps it feels as though someone or something is leaving; I’m reminded of that wonderful Aria in the opera Dido and Aeneas (by Henry Purcell), When I am Laid In Earth.

My piece, which is a fairly simple melody with a two-note chord accompaniment (it’s probably around Grade 2 level), certainly feels melancholic and would be best played with very smooth legato phrasing and plenty of sustaining pedal. I hope you enjoy it.

You can download the score, here:

Forget-Me-Not by Melanie Spanswick

And you can hear the audio file, here:

Image: Andrei Lavrinov


My publications:

For much more information about how to practice piano repertoire, take a look at my piano course, Play it again: PIANO (published by Schott Music). Covering a huge array of styles and genres, the course features a large collection of progressive, graded piano repertoire from approximately Grade 1 to advanced diploma level, with copious practice tips for every piece. A convenient and beneficial course for students of any age, with or without a teacher, and it can also be used alongside piano examination syllabuses too.

You can find out more about my other piano publications and compositions here.



from Melanie Spanswick https://melaniespanswick.com/2022/05/31/forget-me-not-a-birthday-gift/

Monday, May 23, 2022

Weekend Competition: Winners

Many thanks to all those who took part in my weekend competition. The prize comprises a selection of books from the new Celebration Series® courtesy of The Royal Conservatory of Music Certificate Programme.

The three winners are:

Donna Reed

Diane Van Cleef

Sinden Collier 

Congratulations! Please send your full name and address via the contact page on this blog and your prize will be on its way.

For more information about this series, click here.

More competitions coming soon, so do keep any eye on this blog.


My publications:

For much more information about how to practice piano repertoire, take a look at my piano course, Play it again: PIANO (published by Schott Music). Covering a huge array of styles and genres, the course features a large collection of progressive, graded piano repertoire from approximately Grade 1 to advanced diploma level, with copious practice tips for every piece. A convenient and beneficial course for students of any age, with or without a teacher, and it can also be used alongside piano examination syllabuses too.

You can find out more about my other piano publications and compositions here.



from Melanie Spanswick https://melaniespanswick.com/2022/05/23/weekend-competition-winners-4/

Friday, May 20, 2022

Weekend Competition: Celebration Series®, Sixth Edition

It’s been a while since I offered a weekend competition, and today’s post is particularly exciting because it focuses on the new, highly anticipated Celebration Series®, published by The Royal Conservatory of Music Certificate Programme. This Programme is based in Toronto, Canada. A very popular examination board in Canada and North America, the RCM works in a similar way to the ABRSM and Trinity College London, although their grading system is a little different, as it comprises several ‘Preparatory’ exams, 10 ‘Levels’ as well as diploma exams.

The Celebration Series®, Sixth Edition for piano is a comprehensive 22-book collection of graded repertoire and études. This cleverly curated series includes an abundance of styles and is a useful guided path for teachers to encourage and build a student’s artistic and technical development. The selection spotlights 514 pieces by composers from over 20 countries, and it specifically highlights the work of many Contemporary composers alongside traditional classical repertoire. These books can be used by teachers for studio recitals, competitions and festivals, and they also serve the RCM Certificate Programme, too.

I enjoyed perusing the syllabus and noting the differences between the RCM and the UK-based exam board syllabuses. In general, there is a huge variety of music on offer for students and teachers to choose from in the RCM Certificate Programme, and there’s also a pleasing focus on diversity. Some of the selections are similar to those in the UK syllabuses, but there are significantly more Contemporary composers, with an emphasis on composers from Canada and US. I feel that the UK exam boards could do well to note the important addition of études (there is a separate volume for each level featuring studies), and this is an element which could be introduced more widely in UK exam syllbuses, although the London College of Music already do this to some extent.

I have three prizes to give away, and each one will include the following:

  • RCM Celebration Series®, Sixth Edition Syllabus
  • Celebration Series®, Sixth Edition Level 3 Repertoire
  • Celebration Series®, Sixth Edition Level 3 Etudes

To win, all you need to do is leave a comment in the comment box at the end of this post, saying why you’d like to explore these volumes. I look forward to reading your comments and will announce with three winners on Monday evening (UK time). Good luck!

Find out more about this series, here, and purchase the books, here.

www.rcmusic.com


My publications:

For much more information about how to practice piano repertoire, take a look at my piano course, Play it again: PIANO (published by Schott Music). Covering a huge array of styles and genres, the course features a large collection of progressive, graded piano repertoire from approximately Grade 1 to advanced diploma level, with copious practice tips for every piece. A convenient and beneficial course for students of any age, with or without a teacher, and it can also be used alongside piano examination syllabuses too.

You can find out more about my other piano publications and composition



from Melanie Spanswick https://melaniespanswick.com/2022/05/20/weekend-competition-celebration-series-sixth-edition/

Sunday, May 15, 2022

The Recording Process: Yuki Negishi

Today’s guest writer is no stranger to my blog; Japanese pianist Yuki Negishi has written many articles chronicling her pianistic journey to date and you can read them in my Blog Archives, under Guest Post Series.

In this post, she describes her most recent project; the recording of her new album, Enigma. I’m both honoured and grateful that my piece Enigma (written for Yuki), features on this new album. Over to Yuki…


I have been performing for many years since graduating from the Royal College of Music in London in 2006. The idea of recording an album commercially wasn’t on my agenda for nearly two decades since then, not because I didn’t have enough pieces to record, but I wanted it to be something different and personal. I had, in fact recorded a CD in 2007, with the late Peter Katin, who I was having lessons with at the time, acting as my producer. I recorded selections of Schubert, Liszt, Debussy and Chopin with no intention of releasing the album commercially, though I did sell them at my concerts.

Enigma (from Simply Driven, published by Schott Music) is the title of the piece written for me by the esteemed British composer, writer and educator, and also a genuine friend and colleague, Melanie Spanswick in February 2019. It is a gorgeous, romantic and dramatic work, and was premiered two months later in Tokyo as part of Piano Week; I have performed it several times since then. Around the same time, I was obsessed with Nikolai Kapustin, the Ukrainian pianist and composer’s jazzy pieces – I was playing some of his Etudes Op.40, his Preludes Op.53 and I ordered more music by him to look at and study. His music is so much fun to play (and very difficult!!) and is absolutely intoxicating for me; I have always loved jazz, which led me to receive some lessons from one of the top jazz artists of our time, Robert Mitchell. I learned some basics from him, and how to build improvisation from just a few notes. This was back in 2007/2008. Unfortunately, I could not attend further lessons after this time, as I became increasingly busy with my own teaching and performing schedule. As fate would have it, I recorded Robert’s own poetic and reflective composition Our Hearts Dance the Infinite (as the Giant Puya Blooms), which was a world-premiere recording, 13 years later. This was commissioned by the London Sinfonietta in 2020, and is written for the left hand only.

I’ve always admired and listened to a lot of Bill Evans, particularly during the lockdown in 2020/2021. His impressionistic sound world combined with his unmistakable signature harmonies also became all-encompassing. I looked for arrangements of his classics such as Autumn Leaves, and it led me to Peace Piece, which immediately reminded me of Satie’s Gymnopedie: but even more, Chopin’s Berceuse with the consistent underlying left hand accompaniment combined with  a free and embellished right-hand part. Therefore, I also wanted to include Chopin’s Berceuse in this programme, a piece which I have played since my student days, during a period which I refer to as my “Chopin phase”. To round off the recording list, I added Chopin’s Second Sonata in B flat minor Op. 35, another work that I have been performing multiple times since my teens; and which strikes a nice balance with Kapustin’s First Sonata Op. 39; both are about 20 mins long and contain four movements. The structure in Kapustin’s Sonata is separated into two parts; the 1st, 2nd and 3rd movements as one block, and the Finale (4th movement) with its 7-minute plus length, acting as a full-blown Sonata movement on its own. In Chopin’s Second Sonata, the weight of the work lies in the very famous third movement, also known as the Funeral March (Marche Funebre), written two years prior to the rest of the Sonata.

This became my commercial debut album of contrasts and fusions; a jazz element on a very classical base, a combination of drama and passion versus poetry and meditation. There are plenty of virtuosic fireworks and weighty chords, as well as sensitivity and lyricism. The left hand features significantly, in Robert’s piece, of course, but also Melanie’s piece showcases the left hand with challenging semiquaver figurations throughout the piece. Kapustin’s left hand writing requires as equally demanding attention as the right, and Chopin’s Sonata includes many octaves in the left hand. The Berceuse and Peace Piece offer the left hand some respite, with their gentle nature, calmly staying in the background and giving way for the right hand to weave, improvise and soar.

Harmony and improvisation are the key to this album. I love the connection of harmonies and how they evolve and resolve. I also love spontaneity and the improvisatory nature of organic music. These are the things, along with rhythm, that draw me to jazz. Personally, I am terrible at improvisation, so you can imagine my astonishment and delight when I first discovered Kapustin; here is a classical composer, who writes out jazz to the note! As someone who has had a conventional and traditional classical training, this was right up my street. Melanie’s Enigma is rich with beautiful harmonies, Robert’s piece also explores more abstract but equally enthralling harmonies, and Chopin needs no introduction; he improvised and his harmonies, as they matured, influenced countless composers, from Scriabin and Rachmaninoff to Wagner and Szymanowski.

The music is most important in a recording, of course, but equally important is a good sound engineer. An album cannot be made by the performer/artist only. The roles of the sound engineer and producer are monumental, if not the most essential. I was fortunate to come across the sound magician, Michael Ponder. Michael’s excellent listening skills and his precision were both essential. He also gave me advice from his vast experience, which helped me focus on what was needed to create a top-class recording. Wathen Hall in St  Paul’s School in Barnes, London was also recommended by him as a venue with a good Steinway D.

There were tuning issues in the first session in December 2019, and the school offered one extra free day to rectify this. I then had to pause the recording for 18 months during Covid before I could record again there (due to Covid restrictions at the school), this time with my newly added pieces – Robert’s and Bill Evans’. Michael was away when I was finally able to set a date in June 2021, and he introduced me to his trusted friend and colleague Adaq Khan, another wonderful engineer. A good partnership is always easy; they were both extremely professional and so easy to work with!

The recording was finally completed in June 2021, but it needed a home. I was introduced to the Quartz Music label, which was formed by the brilliant violinist Roman Mints. Their artist roster includes many artists whom I admire: from Katya Apekisheva, Alex Kobrin, Jack Liebeck to Evgeny Samoyloff and Boris Brovtsyn. I had also attended the CD launch of violinist Lisa Oshima in London a few years back when she released her Prokofiev album with Quartz. My introduction came from Michael, and my point of contact was Charles Padley, who was experienced in the recording industry as the former Naxos A&R Manager and who also worked for the BBC. We met one day to discuss the album, and the fact that he is such a pleasant and trustworthy person provided even more faith in the label. I signed immediately, and we worked on getting the album released in May 2022.

The album isn’t complete without a good booklet and photos. I approached Robert, with his poetic and creative use of words to write the liner notes for the album, which he said made it all the more special because this was his first commercial release of writing  liner notes. He has written an original, engaging and insightfully deep liner notes for Enigma, the album. Melanie kindly wrote the story behind her piece for me, and as I wanted to have this released in my home country of Japan as well, I asked the distinguished translator/critic/writer Nahoko Gotoh (who writes for Bachtrack, amongst many other music journals and magazines) to translate the notes into Japanese.

And, finally, the London-based and much in-demand photographer, Matthew Johnson, who was introduced to me by my long-trusted friend and Artistic Director of Absolute Classics, Alex McQuiston, and Matthew’s assistant Ben, kindly agreed to do a photoshoot for the cover image. I must also mention Narelle Freeman, who gave me so much advice regarding the design aspects, and Katherine Camps Kilgour, who undertook all the PR related to the release. I’m also indebted to many friends and family members, who took the time to give me advice and assistance.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Quartz Music and everyone mentioned above for their utmost professionalism and support to make this release possible.

Find out more about this recording and purchase your copy here:

Quartz Music

Apple Music

Spotify

Amazon Music

Yuki Negishi


My publications:

For much more information about how to practice piano repertoire, take a look at my piano course, Play it again: PIANO (published by Schott Music). Covering a huge array of styles and genres, the course features a large collection of progressive, graded piano repertoire from approximately Grade 1 to advanced diploma level, with copious practice tips for every piece. A convenient and beneficial course for students of any age, with or without a teacher, and it can also be used alongside piano examination syllabuses too.

You can find out more about my other piano publications and composition



from Melanie Spanswick https://melaniespanswick.com/2022/05/15/the-recording-process-yuki-negishi/

Sunday, May 8, 2022

Eton College at Coach House Pianos

Just along the New King’s Road in Chelsea, London, stands an impressive white Art Deco building. Such buildings, generally constructed in the early part of the Twentieth century, frequently exhibit a certain majestic quality, even if they also tend to harbour a faded grandeur. This particular building, however, is the renowned Talisman building. Constructed in the 1930s, it was originally a petrol station and garage, and, after being extensively refurbished, is currently the premises and showroom for Coach House Pianos.

Already a long-established company, Coach House Pianos opened its doors in South West London on November 4th 2020, offering prospective buyers a vast selection of new and reconditioned instruments, all housed in this elegant yet cavernous building.

I visited Coach House Pianos for the first time this week. On entering the shop, one is immediately struck by the variety of pianos on display, from antiquated historic pieces to much newer instruments; this flagship store is also home to Bösendorfer Hall, and there are a plethora of new and older Bösendorfer pianos to explore.  Those who appreciate ornate decorations will particularly enjoy this space, because it’s festooned with various crystal chandeliers, grand pillars, intricate candelabras, sumptuous gold statues, and an abundance of opulent mirrors.

A Steinway once owned by Queen Victoria

Wandering around, it’s possible to spot a few unusual instruments such as a Steinway once owned by Queen Victoria; apparently a gift to her husband, Prince Albert. A beautifully painted Pleyel piano has been carefully placed at the front of the showroom, which, whilst it probably doesn’t function as well as it once did, is certainly a show-stopping piece.

Dedicated to music education, Coach House has an established website The Pianists Platform, encompassing disparate events, both online and ‘live’, all hosted by its artistic director Russian pianist Yulia Chaplina. This platform seeks to offer opportunities for various educational projects,  performances and master classes which run throughout the year. This week, students from Eton College were the beneficiaries.

I’ve taught the piano at Eton College for over two years, and can attest to the very high standard of piano playing which pervades the piano department, under the direction of Gareth Owen, who is head of keyboard.

An historic Pleyel piano

On Wednesday this week, four outstanding Eton College students performed a short concert at Coach House, which was given on two large Bösendorfer instruments, in the small recital venue which is set-up for such occasions (see photo below).

The concert was followed by a brief interview, hosted by Chaplina, in which all four students gave an account of their piano studies to date. After the performance, distinguished Russian professor Dina Parakhina, who is professor of piano at the Royal College of Music in London, The Royal Northern College of Music and Chetham’s School of Music (both situated in Manchester), gave a short master class.

The evening began with Lucas Zhang who performed the first movement of Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor Op. 54, with Gareth Owen providing the orchestral part at the second piano. Zhang was to perform this piece as part of the Concerto Prize at Eton College the next day, so in her master class, Parakhina deliberately chose her words carefully in order to encourage a favourable outcome at the competition. However, she gave most interesting comments regarding sound, and the shaping of phrases. Tingshuo Yang was next to play. He offered the first movement of John Ireland’s underplayed Piano Concerto in E flat major, again accompanied by Owen, which Yang was also preparing for the Concerto Prize.

Ryan Wang with Professor Dina Parakhina

Pascal Bachmann offered a totally contrasting sound world to that of the Ireland, with an account of Debussy’s Cloches à travers les feuilles (Bells Through The Leaves) from Images Book 2. Parakhina’s thoughtful remarks were fascinating, and centred on varied sound timbres and tonal palates – a surprisingly tricky element to implement into this work, but Bachmann was able to integrate some of the ideas quite swiftly into his interpretation. The evening concluded with student Ryan Wang, who performed Chopin’s Waltz in F major Op. 34 No. 3 and this was followed by an exuberant and breath-taking account of Ravel’s La Valse.

The small audience contained friends and family members of the students as well as Coach House associates. Whilst the event was filmed, one future suggestion might be to live-stream concerts and classes, which would allow for a considerably broader appeal. I thoroughly enjoyed discovering the pianos exhibited at this unique showroom combined with a superb student concert and master class, and I look forward to attending again soon.

www.etoncollege.com

www.coachhousepianos.co.uk

www.thepianistplatform.com


My publications:

For much more information about how to practice piano repertoire, take a look at my piano course, Play it again: PIANO (published by Schott Music). Covering a huge array of styles and genres, the course features a large collection of progressive, graded piano repertoire from approximately Grade 1 to advanced diploma level, with copious practice tips for every piece. A convenient and beneficial course for students of any age, with or without a teacher, and it can also be used alongside piano examination syllabuses too.

You can find out more about my other piano publications and composition



from Melanie Spanswick https://melaniespanswick.com/2022/05/08/eton-college-at-coach-house-pianos/

Sunday, May 1, 2022

Women Composers – A Graded Anthology: Pianist Magazine Competition & Schott Interview

Pianist Magazine is currently running a competition featuring Books 1, 2 and 3 of my new series. The competition can be found on Pianist’s website and the closing date is May 10th.

You can enter to win a copy of Book 1 here, Book 2, here, and Book 3, here. Just click on the links highlighted, log in to Pianist’s website, and answer the questions.

Women Composers – A Graded Anthology For Piano series has proved very popular with readers so far, and I will be touring later this year around the UK, presenting some of the pieces in the volumes and offering some practice ideas. There will be more details regarding these events nearer the time.

In the following interview, recently recorded for Schott Music, I talk a little about the concept behind the series, and why I decided to compile these volumes:

Find out more about this series, here, and purchase the books (both hard copy and digital version), here.


My publications:

For much more information about how to practice piano repertoire, take a look at my piano course, Play it again: PIANO (published by Schott Music). Covering a huge array of styles and genres, the course features a large collection of progressive, graded piano repertoire from approximately Grade 1 to advanced diploma level, with copious practice tips for every piece. A convenient and beneficial course for students of any age, with or without a teacher, and it can also be used alongside piano examination syllabuses too.

You can find out more about my other piano publications and compositions here.



from Melanie Spanswick https://melaniespanswick.com/2022/05/01/women-composers-a-graded-anthology-pianist-magazine-competition-schott-interview/

Sunday, April 24, 2022

Chord Playing and Improvising: Christopher Norton

This is the first of five articles written especially for this blog by renowned composer and educator Christopher Norton. These posts are intended to encourage classical players (and teachers) to explore jazz and pop styles. Deep in Thought is the first featured piece, and you can download it here for free. Chris also offers some practice tips and suggestions too. Over to Chris…


DEEP IN THOUGHT

(Connections 4)

Connections for Piano has been very popular since its launch in 2007. It is a major part of the new Royal Conservatory syllabus in Canada .

It features a variety of pop and jazz styles, with (free) backing tracks, and it is also available on Superscore.

There are 11 levels, Preparatory and 1-10.

Deep in Thought is a subtle, mysterious ¾ piece. There are composer performances on Youtube of all 11 Connections volumes (and lots more besides!); do subscribe to my YouTube Channel!

Here’s the complete score of Deep in Thought for you to dowload:

You can hear the solo piano part, here:

And here’s Deep in Thought‘s chord progression:

Play each individual chord at first – savour them!

Then play the progression, without the track, then with the track. Here’s the track for you to download:

Try your own rhythms (with the track).

SIMPLE IMPROVISING on Deep in Thought

Play the opening 2 bars of Deep in Thought and improvise freely. Here’s the track for the following two-bar loop:

Use the scale below (up or down, starting on any note)

Do this without the supplied track, then with the track.

Some ideas to get you started:

1. Create your own right-hand melody (or melodies) above the left hand pattern

2. “Answer” an “A” idea with a “B” idea

3. Try various structures: AB, ABA, AABA, AABCAA….

4. Try playing very freely!

5. Go beyond the scale pitch-wise.

Connections 4 is available from 80dayspublishing.com (debrawanless.com in Canada)

Enjoy Christopher Norton’s performance of Deep in Thought by clicking on the link below:

 

Christopher Norton


My publications:

For much more information about how to practice piano repertoire, take a look at my piano course, Play it again: PIANO (published by Schott Music). Covering a huge array of styles and genres, the course features a large collection of progressive, graded piano repertoire from approximately Grade 1 to advanced diploma level, with copious practice tips for every piece. A convenient and beneficial course for students of any age, with or without a teacher, and it can also be used alongside piano examination syllabuses too.

You can find out more about my other piano publications and compositions here.



from Melanie Spanswick https://melaniespanswick.com/2022/04/24/chord-playing-and-improvising-christopher-norton/