About the Book
Menahem Pressler is a world-renowned piano soloist, master class teacher, and member of the acclaimed Beaux Arts Trio. In this companion to his first book, Menahem Pressler: Artistry in Piano Teaching, Pressler's former student William Brown brings together Pressler's teachings on an additional 37 piano masterworks by Johann Sebastian Bach, Samuel Barber, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Frédéric Chopin, Claude Debussy, George Frideric Handel, Franz Joseph Haydn, Franz Liszt, Felix Mendelssohn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sergei Prokofiev, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Maurice Ravel, Franz Schubert, and Robert Schumann. With over 200 musical examples and measure-by-measure lessons on masterpieces of the piano repertoire as well as instructions on phrasing, fingering, imagery, dynamic contrasts, pianistic touches, articulation, and practice drills, pianists of all levels will benefit from Pressler's expertise.
Table of Contents:
A Few Words Before
Acknowledgements
A Brief Biography
Master Classes and Lessons
Interlude I. Master Classes
1. Johann Sebastian Bach
Partita No. 6 in E Minor, BWV 830
2. Samuel Barber
Sonata, Op. 26
Interlude II. Page Turners
3. Ludwig van Beethoven
Thirty-Two Variations in C Minor, WoO 80
Piano Sonata in A-flat Major, Op. 26
Piano Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 31, No. 3
Piano Sonata in C Major, Op. 53, Waldstein
Piano Sonata in A-flat Major, Op. 110
4. Johannes Brahms
Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 35, Bk. 1
Klavierstücke, Op. 76
Intermezzo in A Major, Op. 118, No. 2
Interlude III. Poor Pianos
5. Frédéric Chopin
Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante, Op. 22
Deux Nocturnes, Op. 27
Scherzo No. 3 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 39
Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 52
Berceuse, Op. 57
Barcarolle, Op. 60
Interlude IV. Hotel Stories
6. Claude Debussy
Reflets dans l'eau, from Images, Book 1
Poisson d'or, from Images, Book II
7. George Frideric Handel
Chaconne in G Major, HWV 442
Interlude V. Missed Concerts
8. Franz Joseph Haydn
Piano Sonata in E-flat Major, HOB. XVI:52, Mvt. 1
9. Franz Liszt
Grandes Études de Paganini, S. 141
Piano Sonata in B Minor, S. 178
Interlude VI. Funny Stories
10. Felix Mendelssohn
Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 14
11. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 281
Piano Concerto in C Minor, K. 491
Piano Sonata in D Major, K. 576
Interlude VII. Stories about Pianists
12. Serge Prokofiev
Piano Sonata No. 4 in C Minor, Op. 29
13. Sergei Rachmaninoff
Étude-Tableau in A Minor, Op. 39, No. 6
Interlude VIII. Honorary Citizenship in Magdeburg, Germany
14. Maurice Ravel
Sonatine
Miroirs
Interlude IX. Through Hell and Back
15. Franz Schubert
Sonata in A minor, D. 784, Op. 143
Sonata in A minor, D. 845, Op. 42
Impromptus, D. 899, Op. 90
Interlude X. A New Love
16. Robert Schumann
Piano Sonata No. 1 in F-sharp Minor, Op. 11, Grosse Sonate
Faschingschwank aus Wien, Op. 26
Appendix A. Menahem Pressler's Musical Ancestry
Appendix B. Tributes from Former Students and Other Musicians
Bibliography
Index of Compositions
Index of Names and Concepts
About the Author :
William Brown is Professor Emeritus of Music and Provost Emeritus at Southwest Baptist University. He earned two graduate performance degrees while studying with Menahem Pressler at Indiana University and is the author of Menahem Pressler: Artistry in Piano Teaching.
Review :
Pressler is insightful and amusing in equal doses, as lionised astutely by his former student, William Brown.
(International Piano) A recommended resource for every pianist's bookshelf, this volume serves as an instructional guide to studying standard piano repertoire with a little help from master piano pedagogue Menahem Pressler.
- Treshani Perera (Music References Service Quarterly)
