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!

Viva l’opera!

Pianist

Bel canto • French pianist Jean-Paul Gasparian talks to Erica Worth about his new album, A Night at the Opera, and explains why Liszt’s paraphrases after the great Italian arias are such significant works

On Reflection • With the release of a second album for Hyperion and a Carnegie Hall debut just around the corner, Mishka Rushdie Momen talks to Jessica Duchen about the music, the musicians and the experiences that have helped shape her career so far

CALCULATED RISKS FINDING THE SKILL AND THE CONFIDENCE TO PERFORM • Careful practice can eliminate many errors and inconsistencies that might surface in the heat of performance, says Mark Tanner

DIVIDE & CONQUER THE TRUTH ABOUT HANDS-SEPARATE PRACTICE • Rather than viewing hands-separate and hands-together practice as conflicting approaches, we should think of them as complementary tools, says Graham Fitch

GEORGES BIZET VENISE – ROMANCE SANS PAROLES • With its rocking barcarolle rhythm and melancholic melody, this song without words is mesmerising from the outset. Matthew Mills shows you how to create a tender dialogue between ‘voice’ and accompaniment

BELLINI ARR. SIGISMOND THALBERG CASTA DIVA • In his preface to this heavenly transcription, Thalberg asks the pianist to ‘knead’ the keyboard. Wise words, says Mark Viner, whose greatest piece of advice is to find an ‘elastic’ type of cantabile in your sound

THEODOR KIRCHNER NO 7 FROM 100 LITTLE STUDIES OP 71 • This sweet miniature may be Romantic in style, but keep a firm tempo when working on it, says Melanie Spanwick, in order to allow the rubato to blossom naturally in the final stages

Giacomo PUCCINI (1858-1924) • Musetta’s Waltz from La bohème (arrangement)

Melanie SPANSWICK • Majestic Minuet

Theodor KIRCHNER (1823-1903) • No 7 from 100 Little Studies Op 71

Marie JAËLL (1846-1925) • Après la valse, No 8 from Les Beaux Jours

Cécile CHAMINADE (1857-1944) • Novelette Op 126 No 8

Stephen HELLER (1813-1888) • Study in G minor Op 47 No 14

Franz LISZT (1811-1886) • Consolation No 1 S172

Gounod arr. Leopold GODOWSKY (1870-1938) • Avant de quitter ces lieux (Valetin’s aria)

Georges BIZET (1838-1875) • Venise – Romance sans paroles

George Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759) • Allegro from Suite No 2 in F HWV 427

Modest MUSSORGSKY (1839-1881) • Tuileries, No 3 from Pictures at an Exhibition

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) • Bagatelle Op 33 No 5

BELLINI arr. Sigismond THALBERG (1812-1871) • Casta diva Op 70 No 19

BIG PLANS FOR SMALL HANDS • Lucky Rachmaninov! He was blessed with long fingers and a wide hand span. But what about the rest of us? A keyboard with narrower keys could be the answer, says John Evans, who looks at the options

THE SOUND OF LIGHT THE PIANO THAT DREAMED OF SPEAKING • Italian pianist Antonino Lopes explores the synesthetic connection between music and lighting design in his upcoming concept show

A Piano at the Opera • With three fabulous opera-based scores in this...