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!

Message from the editor

Viva Rachmaninov!

Your chance to HAVE YOUR SAY

NEW ON THE SCEN

TRANSCENDENTAL JOURNEY

PREPARING FOR A PERFORMANCE • A well-structured practice plan and realistic choice of repertoire will contribute to success – but remember to let the dust settle before you give it your all, says

TRICKS OF THE THUMB • While it would be folly to use the thumb on black keys in examination scales, we should not be scared to experiment with this idea in real music, says Graham Fitch

THE SCORES

MOZ ART ALLEGRO IN F K15a • For this Classical charmer of a piece, Melanie Spanswick encourages you to work hard on perfecting all the different articulations, ornaments and all

FARRENC MÉLODIE IN A FLAT • ‘... a subtle aroma of romanticism...’ is how Robert Schumann described one of Louise Farrenc’s pieces. Nils Franke certainly relishes the love-duet voicing within this attractive work

RACHMANINOV PRELUDE IN G OP 32 NO 5 • For concert pianist Lucy Parham, this serene work from Rachmaninov’s turbulent second set of preludes is a magnificent ray of sunshine. Here she explains how to create magic

BEGINNERS KEYBOARD CLASS • On these pages, Pianist covers the most basic stages of learning through a series of lessons by Hans-Günter Heumann. This two-page simple piece allows the fingers to work their way through all intervals within an octave.

Daniel Gottlob TÜRK (1750-1813) Arioso in F

August Eberhard MÜLLER (1767-1817) Andante in A minor

Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)

Melanie SPANSWICK Puppets Parade

Henri BERTINI (1798-1876) Etude Op 29 No 11

Samuil MAYKAPAR (1867-1938) • Troubled moment Op 28 No 6

Alfredo CASELLA (1883-1947)

Amy BEACH (1867-1944)

Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750)

Scott JOPLIN (1868-1917) Pleasant Moments

Louise FARRENC (1804-1875) Mélodie in A flat

Richard STRAUSS (1864-1949)

Clara SCHUMANN (1819-1896)

Johann Nepomuk HUMMEL (1778-1837)

Sergei RACHMANINOV (1873-1943)

BAROQUE

Does Size Matter? • Plenty of world class pianists have small hands – but it is our duty to make our own young students aware of their physical limitations, thus directing them towards the right reper toire, says Kathryn Page

The late bloomer • Learning the piano from a very early age doesn’t have to be the only successful route to take, says Carlos Gardels, who looks at the stories of some eminent late starters as inspiration for the late bloomers among us

Straight to the heart • Brilliant, inscrutable, depressive, reviled, adored, crippled with self-doubt… Rachmaninov was a man full of contradictions. As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of his birth, Warwick Thompson takes a fresh look at the last of the great composer-pianists

IN THE ZONE • For pianists Ethan Loch and Rachel Starritt – both blind from birth – music defines their lives, 24/7. With additional input from teachers and experts, John Evans discovers how we can all benefit from listening as intently as they do

ALBUM...