Preparation and Presentation Context: pieces that are helpful to have experienced or played before approaching this one Béla Bartók: Mikrokosmos No. 131: FourthsSergei Prokofiev: March, Op. 65, No. 10 Get Ready: creative activities to explore before the first encounter with the score, to prepare a student for deeper engagement and more immediate su...

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GABRIEL FAURÉ: LES 13 BARCAROLLESNamji Kim, PianoCentaur CRC 3820[Total Time: 53:49]centaurrecords.com Gabriel Fauré's thirteen Barcarolles were composed between 1882 and 1921, and they present an overview of the evolution of his style. The language of the early Barcarolles conforms to nineteenth-century harmonic practice, albeit with a modal ...

E PLURIBUS UNUMLiza Stepanova, PianoNavona NV6300[Total Time: 55:23]navonarecords.comE Pluribus Unum is an extraordinary compendium of works by nine American composers with immigrant backgrounds, including five women. Perhaps the most direct representation of immigrants' journeys is provided by Venezuelan-American composer Reina...

Review by Vanessa Cornett When I first held these books in my hands and leafed through their cheerful pages, the same thoughts kept running through my mind. This is how we rock the boat. It's time. Are we ready? I sincerely believe the answer is yes.  Music study can instill a lifelong appreciation of music and the arts, an...

Weave: The Social Fabric Project is an Aspen Institute initiative that seeks to celebrate people who work to heal divisions in our society. David Brooks, the director of Weave, describes the movement:  "Weavers are repairing our country's social fabric, which is badly frayed by distrust, division and exclusion. People are quietly wor...

Piano Sonata in E Minor by Florence Price  Performance Videos

First steps into Ragtime If you're looking for a lively early-intermediate piece in ragtime style, you can find it in the music of Florence B. Price, one of America's preeminent African American composers. Ticklin' Toes checks all of the ragtime boxes, yet in a way that is accessible for students who are not advanced enough to tackle the music...

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The process of redesigning the Piano Magazine gave us, as an organization, the occasion to reflect and innovate. During that process, it emerged that it would be valuable to consider issues and provocative questions of our time that impact our professional and personal lives as musicians. This column is intended to pro...

As a performing musician, I am always looking for ways to expand my concert repertoire, not only to promote diversity in music programming but also to spark interest in both students and audiences by introducing fresh voices into traditional classical repertoire. In my search for solo piano works, I came across three Asian female composers who have...

Francisca (Chiquinha) Gonzaga is one of the most important Brazilian composers from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Born in 1847 in Rio de Janeiro, her personal life was considered scandalous for her time. Her father never forgave her for leaving her husband, and she was disowned by her family. She was the first professional woman composer ...

Every piece students play creates an opportunity to make an emotional impression on themselves and others. Experiencing a variety of well-chosen literature helps students to further their studies more artistically and joyfully. Teachers often wisely select literature based on students' technical and musical needs. By also considering a possible per...

Clara Josephine Wieck was born two hundred years ago on September 13, 1819, in the German city of Leipzig. Her father Friedrich chose the name Clara, which meant bright, shining, or famous, and from her birth was determined to turn her into a piano virtuoso. By age eleven, she was touring Europe as a concert pianist, often playing her own compositi...

In her book Hidden Figures (the basis for the 2016 movie of the same name), Margot Lee Shetterly observed, "The electrified fence of segregation and the centuries of shocks it delivered so effectively circumscribed the lives of American blacks that even after the current was turned off, the idea of climbing the fence inspir...

Editor's note: This is a companion piece to the January/February 2018 article, "Women of exceptional accomplishment: Eight women composers" by Teresa Rupp, found here. Anyone who thinks there is a lack of piano music by women composers from previous centuries hasn't looked too hard. Take the music of these eight composers as a great example. M...

Editor's note: Nicholas Phillips wrote a companion piece recommending intermediate repertoire from these eight composers. You can find it here. Recently I participated in a concert featuring works by women composers at the community college where I study piano. I am an amateur pianist but a historian by profession, and I was curious about the backg...

Many years ago, while reading an issue of the old music magazine, The Etude, I found an article written by Mrs. H. H. A. Beach: "Ten Commandments for Composers." I had no idea who this mystery composer was, so I began my research to find information about her life and music. During my travels, I stopped at antique stores looking for editions of her...