20th Century Piano Masterpieces: The Riding Bear Edition

Author: (German) Michael Topel
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2004-08-01
Features: Generally, music from the 19th century is referred to as Romantic music. In the late 19th century, the development of various musical forms pointed toward the comprehensive term we are familiar with today—"contemporary music." The Barenreiter's Collection of Piano Works (works from the early 20th century) gathers compositions from the late Romantic period to the mid-20th century, a period of diverse and exciting styles. This anthology presents works by renowned composers in a chronological order (arranged by the composers' birth dates) and offers pieces of easy to medium difficulty, aiming to give readers an impression of some important styles during this volatile period in music history. We can already see signs of the alienation of Romantic piano tones in the late works of Franz Liszt, while Claude Debussy rediscovered the importance of piano tone color variation. However, almost simultaneously, other works were created with little innovation in the use of musical material, such as the works of Jean Sibelius. Comparing the dates of composition can highlight the stylistic diversity of musical creation during this period. In addition to the essential works of this era, readers can also discover interesting or enjoyable pieces for themselves. These shorter works add much-needed variety to piano teaching. The editor has not imposed any subjective opinions on the scores, and the few fingerings provided are merely suggestions to assist performers. The current collection serves as a supplement to Michael Topel's Collection of Romantic Piano Works (BA6538). Like the previous piano works, this book places special emphasis on geographical diversity in the selection of works. Together, these two collections of piano works present the diversity of piano composition from the early Romantic period to the mid-20th century. The two collections of Sonatinas compiled by Klaus Walter for Barenreiter (BA6545 and BA6549) pave the way for playing sonatas and larger-scale works, while this 20th Century Piano Masterpieces can serve as an excellent guide.