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Gifts for...Pianists and piano-lovers
We've selected some perfect presents for the pianist, or piano lover, in your life. From the best books about the instrument, its history, and its performers to deluxe sheet music editions - plus a selection of outstanding recent piano recordings from artists including Mitsuko Uchida, Víkingur Ólafsson, Stephen Hough and Krystian Zimerman, there's plenty to choose from.
New Collections
Commanding both the "wit and character" and the "profundity lying beneath" (BBC Music Magazine), Mitsuko Uchida perfectly captures the enigmatic moods of the Diabelli Variations. The Times concurs, noting that she "audibly relishes the [...] endless juxtapositions of light and shade."
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Often seen as a mere "bridge" composer - between Baroque and Classical, between harpsichord and piano - CPE Bach's boundless originality is to be savoured for its own sake, not just what came after. Marc-André Hamelin leans into this sense of exploration; Fanfare hailed his approach on the modern piano as "stylish and exciting" but noted that it "does not lose the eclectic flavors that are native to the music."
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
BBC Music Magazine's observation that "[t]hroughout, the playing is thoughtful and full of poetry" could of course equally well be applied to any other Víkingur Ólafsson recording. From Afar stands out particularly for what The Guardian dubbed not just a "sonic novelty" but a "privilege" - the use of both a grand piano and an upright to offer two perspectives on the programme.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Focusing on the sometimes overlooked works of Szymanowski for solo piano, Zimerman's performance draws praise from The Guardian for "his command of virtuoso brilliance" as much as for "his control of the most subtle nuances of phrasing and pacing". Presto Music's James Longstaffe noted the contribution of the recording itself, observing that "excellent engineering allows all of Zimerman's qualities to come across beautifully."
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
A fruit of Leif Ove Andsnes's lockdown-enforced exploration of rare repertoire, this recording of Dvořák's evocative Poetic Tone Pictures places the cycle up where it belongs, every bit the equal of better-known pictorial works by Schumann, Grieg or Mussorgsky.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
There are few more appropriate venues for a Haydn-focused recital than the Schloss Esterházy. Fanfare sees Sokolov as drawing inspiration from his surroundings, though tempered with his own sense of musicality: "Sokolov’s manner in Haydn is pointed and detaché, which recalls a harpsichord, but his use of rubato is Romantic." Schubert's four Impromptus D935 complete the main body of the recital, followed by a bumper helping of scintillating encores.
Available Formats: 2 CDs + Blu-ray, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Paul Lewis's pianistic pedigree is second to none, making it in some ways difficult to say anything new about his incredible mastery of his instrument. Gramophone finds that he has "a great deal to say in these small works", while Presto Music's Katherine Cooper notes how Lewis's performance accentuates the "moments of startling modernity" and the close proximity to the early Debussy.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Another innovator pushing at the boundary between the commonly-defined musical "eras", Hélène de Montgeroult was instrumental in driving the development of the Romantic piano étude. Her music is decades ahead of its time ("her artistic compass firmly pointing forward", in The Guardian's delightfully quirky turn of phrase), with Presto Music's Katherine Cooper hearing "distinct foreshadowings of Schumann, Liszt and particularly mature Chopin".
Available Formats: SACD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Steven Osborne seems to have set out to dispel the popular myths about Debussy's music with this album, with "plenty of lively dances [...] to counter the cliché of the 'wispy' Debussy" (BBC Music Magazine). The Images oubliées from 1894 - the same year as Pelléas et Mélisande - "typify the refinement and subtlety of Osborne's touch" (The Sunday Times).
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
"Schubert for the salon rather than the concert hall", as BBC Music Magazine succinctly puts it, with the Classical elegance of the music brought out by Hough's "elegant restraint". The Sunday Times simply notes "what a joy it is to bask in Stephen Hough's musicianship", appreciating particularly the "carefree innocence" of the first movement of the A major sonata D664.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC, Hi-Res+ FLAC
Part of the Salzburg Festival's return to capacity after the tribulations of lockdowns and restrictions, Evgeny Kissin mixed together a whirling cocktail of Berg, Chopin, Gershwin and even Khrennikov (perhaps better known as a denouncer of peers such as Firsova and Gubaidulina than as a composer in his own right). Kissin's own growing reputation as a composer is also reflected, with his Dodecaphonic Tango among the encores.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC
New Piano Recordings
The Canadian prodigy's second recording of Bach's Goldbergs (shortly before his premature death) remains one of the most popular classical albums of all time. This anniversary re-release lifts the bonnet and digs deep into the "making of" story, comprising not just the recordings themselves and preserved alternate takes from the studio, but extensive documentation about the sessions and recording process.
Available Format: 11 CDs
Recording Mozart's piano sonatas on the composer's own 1782 fortepiano might be dismissed as a gimmick, were it not for the decades of scholarship that underpin Robert Levin's approach. "The crucial factor is the profound understanding, sophistication and sense of joy with which he delves into the personality of the composer, not just that of his piano" (BBC Music Magazine). The Sunday Times singles out not just Levin but the fortepiano itself for praise, commenting that "the instrument sings as if new, rather than more than 240 years old."
Available Formats: 7 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
A giant of the piano - and a long-serving giant at that - Vladimir Ashkenazy's piano discography is truly prodigious. Decca have now assembled his complete solo piano recordings into a single edition, representing his almost six decades on the label and immortalising his achievements over that time.
Available Format: 90 CDs
A legacy like few others - known predominantly as a performer of Beethoven but with an artistic vision extending to earlier repertoire such as Couperin and Rameau as well as arch-Romantic repertoire. Stereo Review observed in 1958 of his Schumann that "[w]hatever Kempff attempts, he accomplishes with a rare blend of virtuosity and scholarship, of brilliance and fastidiousness." A little more recently, in 2014, Gramophone heard in his Papillons "just the right degree of insouciance and a real twinkle in the eye."
Available Format: 13 CDs
The Arts Desk's reflection on a Wigmore Hall performance encapsulates Leonskaja's musicianship: "A kaleidoscopic Mozart with a lifetime's wisdom and experience behind it". BBC Music Magazine praised her balance on "the tightrope between prettiness and excessive emphases" and eagerly begged for her to give the same treatment to the Haydn and Beethoven sonatas.
Available Formats: 6 CDs, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Three Centuries of Female Composers
Nicolas Horvath, Alexander Kostritsa, Sara Aimee Smiseth, Alexandra Oehler, Giorgio Koukl, Tanya Ekanayaka, Ishimoto Hiroko
As increasing attention continues to be paid to underrepresented parts of the classical world, this compilation of works by women composers is timely and necessary. Montgeroult occupies pride of place, as does her rough contemporary Anne Louise Brillon de Jouy; the formidable virtuosity of Teresa Carreño sits alongside works from Vítězslava Kaprálová, who died aged just 25; and contemporary composer Tanya Ekanayaka brings the collection up to the present day.
Available Format: 10 CDs
New Books about the Piano, Pianists and Performing
This award-winning book charts the development of the piano from the late eighteenth century to the present day, taking the reader on a journey through 100 pieces featuring solo works, chamber music, concertos, and jazz. Susan Tomes includes composers such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Gershwin, and Glass. Looking at this history from a modern performer's perspective, she acknowledges neglected women composers and players including Fanny Mendelssohn, Maria Szymanowska, Clara Schumann, and Amy Beach.
Also available as a hardback edition.
Available Format: Book
Reading Franz Liszt: Revealing the Poetry behind the Piano Music
Paul Roberts; Rowman & Littlefield; Hardback
This book recasts Franz Liszt as a composer of poetic feeling rather than just a purveyor of technical brilliance, through a vivid exploration of his most beloved pieces and the literature that inspired them, from Petrarch's love poetry to the sensibilities of Byron, Senancour, Goethe, and others. It shows how Liszt created a new concept of musical expression in his piano works, comparable to the emotional and dramatic power of the opera and novel.
Available Format: Book
Beethoven's French Piano: A Tale of Ambition and Frustration
Tom Beghin; University of Chicago Press; Hardback
For Beethoven's French Piano, author Tom Beghin worked with a team of historians and musicians to commission the making of an accurate replica of the Erard piano. As both a scholar and a recording artist, Beghin is uniquely positioned to guide us through this key period of Beethoven's work. Whether buried in archives, investigating the output of the French pianists who so fascinated Beethoven, or seated at the keyboard of his Erard, Beghin thinks and feels his way into the mind of the composer, bringing startling new insights into some of the best-known piano compositions of all time.
Available Format: Book
Piano Sheet Music - Recent Publications and Collections
The Faber Music Ballads Piano Anthology is a timeless collection of some of the greatest rock, pop and soul ballads ever written. Beautifully presented in progressive order, and specially arranged for intermediate piano solo, it features music from David Bowie, Adele, Kate Bush, Elton John, Ed Sheeran, Seal, Coldplay and many, many more.
Browse more Faber Piano Anthologies.
Available Format: Sheet Music
In this new collection from Breitkopf & Härtel, Ethel Smyth's complete piano works are arranged in order of progressive difficulty, shedding light on an often-overlooked part of Smyth's oeuvre.
Available Format: Sheet Music
This three-volume series of piano music by women composers is a progressive compendium of educational literature with repertoire spanning from the 17th century to the present day. For each piece, the editor has written short instructions with rehearsal tips as well as biographical notes on the composers. The collection covers all levels of difficulty from easy (volume 1) to medium (volume 2) to difficult (volume 3).
Volumes two and three also available.
Available Format: Sheet Music
Chris O'Reilly - Chief Executive
