Collection of Famous Piano Pieces from the 20th Century B655

Author: (German) Topel
Publisher:
Publish 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) collects works from the late Romantic period to the mid-20th century, a period of diverse and exciting styles. This anthology, arranged chronologically (the works in this collection are ordered by the composers' birth dates), provides major works by renowned composers in easy to medium difficulty, aiming to give readers an impression of some important styles in this volatile period of music history. We had already seen 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 their compositions can highlight the stylistic diversity of musical creation during this period. In addition to the essential works of this period, readers can also discover interesting or enjoyable pieces for themselves. These shorter works add much-needed diversity to piano teaching. The editor has not imposed any subjective elements on the scores, and the few fingerings provided are merely suggestions to assist performance. The current collection is a supplement to Michael Topel's Romantic Piano Works (BA6538). Like the previous piano works, this collection places special emphasis on geographical diversity in the selection of works. Together, these two collections of piano works show the diversity of piano composition from the early Romantic period to the mid-20th century. The two collections of Sonatinas (BA6545 and BA6549) edited by Claus Walter for Barenreiter pave the way for playing sonatas and larger-scale works, while this 20th Century Piano Masterpieces can serve as an excellent guide.