Pianist

For the passionate players, or early beginners, Pianist magazine will teach you the art of piano playing through professional advice, sheet music and lessons for all levels. Your piano playing journey starts here with the magazine that doubles as an entertaining read and the ultimate interactive piano teacher. Read, learn and play the piano with Pianist magazine every issue. Improve your piano playing and perfect your tone with 40 pages of specially selected sheet music. Whether it’s reading fascinating industry articles or putting your fingers to work with beautiful sheet music, you’ll be playing like an expert in no time with a digital subscription to Pianist magazine!

Playing by numbers

Pianist

Your chance to HAVE YOUR SAY • EMAIL: editor@pianistmagazine.com WRITE TO: The Editor, Pianist, Warners Group Publications, The Maltings, West St, Bourne, PE10 9PH. Letters may be edited.

Sharing the passion • The popularity of the piano lessons on Pianist’s own YouTube channel is proof that there’s nothing like learning from the best: here, superstar Lang Lang shares his musical insights in a masterclass for students at London’s Royal College of Music. Owen Mortimer reports

Beatrice Rana UNWAVERING COMMITMENT • The dedicated Italian pianist talks to Jessica Duchen about her latest monumental recording venture, revelations during lockdown and one very unique thumb

REASONS TO BE VOCAL SING WHILE YOU PLAY • The benefits of being able to sing along to the piano music we are learning are greater than we imagine, says Mark Tanner: we just need to master how to keep quiet while we play

PLAYING WITH FLEXIBILITY THE EBB AND FLOW OF RUBATO • As dedicated musicians we are often expected to know how, when and where to use rubato: Composers give us all the clues, though, says Graham Fitch

THE SCORES • Pianist 136 • Read the lessons • Play the scores

COLERIDGE-TAYLOR ANDANTE FROM ‘THREE-FOURS’ VALSE SUITE OP 71 • Subtle chord voicing is a prerequisite in this sumptuous piece penned by a British composer who died way before his time – and remember to find moments to breathe, too, advises Samantha Ege

SCHUMANN ARR. LISZT WIDMUNG (DEDICATION) S566 • Liszt has taken a sublime, tender and simple song by Schumann and transformed it into a virtuosic masterpiece, says concert pianist Lucy Parham

LATOUR FIRST MOVEMENT FROM SONATINA NO 1 IN C MAJOR • Brilliant fingerwork combined with a subtly-shaped melody will ensure a winning musical performance of this spirited Classical movement, says Melanie Spanswick

Félix LE COUPPEY (1811-1887) • No 17 from ABC du piano

Melanie SPANSWICK • Mountain Stream

Théodore LATOUR (1766-1837) • First movement from Sonatina No 1 in C

António FRAGOSO (1897-1918) • Aria

Samuil MAYKAPAR (1867-1938) • Elegy Op 33 No 22

Edvard GRIEG (1843-1907) • Waltz, Lyric Piece Op 38 No 7

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) • Bagatelle WoO 56

Sergei LYAPUNOV (1859-1924) • Ramage des enfants Op 59 No 6

Sergei BORTKIEWICZ (1877-1952) • Consolation Op 17 No 2

Samuel COLERIDGE-TAYLOR (1875-1912) • Andante from ‘Three-Fours’ Valse Suite Op 71

Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828) • Moment musical No 6 D780

Luiz LEVY (1861-1935) • Valsa lenta Op 32 No 4

Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1856) arr. Franz LISZT (1811-1886) • Widmung (Dedication) S566

PIANO TEACHER HELP DESK A Multi-Sensory Piano Party • Kathryn Page explains how the feel of a velvet scarf and the smell of a candle can do wonders for your students’ playing

WHAT IS DIFFICULTY? • Giving a piece of music a certain grade is a tortuous task, says Matthew Mills, who explains the complexities of what makes for a difficult (or...