Late Intermediate

Mirrors. Mary Watkins.

Anonymous — Sat, 16 Mar 2024 02:59:58 +0000

Mirrors. Mary Watkins. Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/15/2024 - 20:59

Nicholas Brewer

Mirrors, by Mary D. Watkins, is a dreamlike and meditative piece for solo piano. The left hand plays a repeated triplet eighth note figure for the entire piece, endlessly cascading like gentle waves upon a shore. The right hand plays a peaceful and elongated melody which, like the left hand, rises and falls, but more gently and over longer periods of time. The four-bar melody is quite simple, changing little throughout the first third of the piece.

This piece is made up of three sections, the first of which builds upon this initial four-bar melody. The harmony and melody carefully shift lower and lower, until in measure 27 when we return to the initial harmony, with a melody soaring higher than before. Then we cycle through the same series of harmonic shifts until measure 54, when chopin-esque flourishes are added to the melody and we enter the second section of this piece. Watkins indicates at the beginning of the piece to take time when playing these flourishes to avoid rhythmic rigidity. One should avoid making too much of these gestures, dramatically-speaking. This section ends with a chord held on a fermata and a break before playing again.

The third section, beginning in measure 70, is very similar to the opening material, but now the melody is in two voices, which remains largely consistent until the end. In measure 88 we finally reach rhythmic closure in the right hand, allowing the left hand to climb up the keyboard to the upper registers. The right and left hand join in the triplet rhythm which has persisted for the entire piece and make their way into the distance.

There are a few musical considerations to keep in mind when learning this piece. Because of the repetitive nature of both the left and right hand, subtle dynamic shaping is necessary to retain interest. One may consider emphasizing the melody slightly more on the first or second phrase of every eight-measure sentence, in addition to creating a gentle dynamic arch within each phrase. One should also experiment with color, this is a great piece to experiment with using different key attacks, as well as the una corda pedal.

Overall, this piece should maintain its placidity, never becoming too excited.

Some guidance from Mary Watkins, through Professor Gregory Walker at CU Denver: the piece should remain dreamlike for a majority of the time, while the third section, following the fermata in measure 69, can act as a sort of moment of awakening before falling back gently to sleep. The final chord should not be too placed, but instead evoke a sense of the music continuing on forever.

Practice Strategies:

Practice the melody slowly, with the left hand, and with very strict rhythm before working on freeing up the right hand
Practice the melody at a faster tempo, perhaps while blocking the left hand as chords, in order to get a sense for the longer phrases
Map out the structure of the phrases, in order to further plan the long-term arc of the piece
Experiment with ½ and ¼ damper pedal changes between measures of the same harmony, to further create a sense of an uninterrupted dream

Mary D. Watkins (b. 1939), a Denver native, has composed instrumental music for individual performers, theatrical productions, films, and symphony orchestras. The music has been performed by the Berkeley Symphony Chamber Orchestra, Richmond (VA), Chamber Orchestra, Rohnert Park Symphony, Palo Alto Philharmonic, The Women’s Philharmonic Orchestra, Camellia Symphony Orchestra, Plymouth Symphony, and The New Black Music Repertory Ensemble of Chicago, among others. For more information on her works, visit her website.

Sources

Mirrors, by Mary Watkins. Performed by Nicholas Brewer.

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Wanchai Road, by Philippa Schuyler

Anonymous — Mon, 08 May 2023 17:45:45 +0000

Wanchai Road, by Philippa Schuyler Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 05/08/2023 - 11:45

Sharon Hui

Schuyler’s “Wanchai Road” is mysterious, spontaneous, and chaotic, reflecting the actual Wanchai Road in Hong Kong. It is reminiscent of beeping cars and tramways with a relentlessly consistent left hand rhythm, while the right hand has a syncopated, meandering melody. Although texturally thin, Wanchai Road requires dexterity and technical proficiency. The Allegretto marking increases the difficulty of the repeated notes, successive octaves, and sudden dynamic changes. She begins with “delicate nuance and shadings…”, with abrupt character shifts marked by “brutal, violent” and “strong, determined”. The opening theme returns, now marked “dark, lurking”, tapering off towards the end.

“Wanchai Road” is a late-intermediate piece, with many technical and musical challenges condensed in one minute. Potential issues include tension from the successive octaves and repeated notes, with little opportunities for rubato. Some practice strategies include:

Leading with the thumb for successive octaves.
Feeling the tempo “in one” instead of two to encourage a sense of line. This will also help avoid becoming technically stuck in the keys.
Slow, metronome practice for a strong sense of pulse and understanding of the syncopation.

From the age of four years old, Philippa Schuyler spent her youth competing and touring both nationally and internationally as a pianist. In her personal life, Schuyler’s parents believed that intermarriage produced superior offspring, with their own mixed African American and white heritage contributing to Schuyler’s talents as a pianist. In addition to her internal turmoil over her family, Schuyler also faced racism and discrimination. At age 30, she began exclusively performing outside of the US, and also simultaneously began a journalism career. Over the next few years, she wrote articles and musical compositions based on her travels. At age 35, she unfortunately died on a volunteer mission to rescue orphans from a war zone.

Sources:

Photo: Philippa Schuyler. Wikimedia Commons.
Powell, Meili. “Philippa Schuyler (1931-1967)”, 20 May 2021.
“Philippa Schuyler Biography, Songs, & Albums.” AllMusic.

Wanchai Road, by Philippa Schuyler. Performed by Sharon Hui.

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T'Chaka: African Suite, by Montague Ring

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 18:31:38 +0000

T'Chaka: African Suite, by Montague Ring Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 01/23/2023 - 11:31

David Reid

The T’Chaka Suite is a set of three dances published in 1927, named after the Zulu king Shaka, who ruled parts of modern-day South Africa from 1816-1828. All three dances contain a strong rhythmic drive and use of open fifths under melodic ideas. The second movement, Monarah, is a gentle Moderato with an active left hand and undulating melody later expanded into a duet. It is mid-to-late intermediate in difficulty; the student must take care to practice the jumps and several positions of the left hand. The thematic and harmonic ideas are straightforward but used to great effect.

British composer Amanda Ira Aldridge (1866-1956) composed piano music under the pseudonym Montague Ring, and she came from a remarkable artistic family who broke racial barriers in the arts. Her father, Ira Aldridge, was a notorious Shakesperian actor and the only African-American actor honored at the Shakespeare Memorial Theater, and her sister Luranah sang to great acclaim throughout Europe as one of the first black opera singers. Amanda Aldridge worked as a concert singer, accompanist, and voice teacher after studying at the Royal College of Music in London, and her notable students include Paul Robeson and Marian Anderson. After her singing career was cut short by laryngitis, she turned to composing songs and piano music for middle-class families. The Walker-Hill collection contains several dozen of these works, which were widely published in the early 20th century but now are difficult to find and access.

Sources

Amanda Aldrige (Wikipedia)
Photo from a Boulanger Initiative tweet

Performed by David Reid.

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“Song Without Words (Pleading)”, by Florence Price

Anonymous — Tue, 24 May 2022 14:31:22 +0000

“Song Without Words (Pleading)”, by Florence Price Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 05/24/2022 - 08:31

Sharon Hui

“Song Without Words (Pleading)”, by Florence Price, is the sixth in a set of “Seven Miniatures” for piano.

Reminiscent of Mendelssohn’s own "Songs without Words," this piece opens with a few measures of solo introduction, setting the stage for the “singer” - a lovely, cantabile melody. As the “A” section progresses, virtuosic demands increase along with greater keyboard and dynamic ranges. There are double notes, full chords, and octaves amidst quite a bit of counterpoint. Voice layering is another challenge. The voices weave together, progressing from one main melody, to a question-and-answer dialogue, and then another in the middle register. With often three or more voices at the same time, the thick textures must be carefully balanced to maintain clarity or allow space for inner voices. Additionally, this piece is an opportunity for students to develop a natural sense of flexibility. Price has specific musical markings; the frequent changes in tempo may be confusing at first, but are key guidelines in determining how, when, and where to place rubato and timing. The overall complexity is tempered with a slower tempo, making it easier to approach for pianists at the late intermediate level.

The intensity of section A slowly fades, followed by a short, melancholic section. A glimpse of the more desperate side to pleading, section B is in the relative key, further contrasting section A with a thin texture and subdued dynamics. Section A returns with one final climax before peacefully dying away.

Florence Beatrice Price (1887-1953) is perhaps the best known African American female composer in the US. She was active in the Chicago area, and was the first African-American woman to have a composition played by a major orchestra. For a full biography and information about her works, visit the Florence Price website.

Sources

Song without Words, by Florence Price. Performed by Sharon Hui.

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Wild Flowers, by Ida M. Larkins.

Anonymous — Tue, 10 May 2022 19:37:20 +0000

Wild Flowers, by Ida M. Larkins. Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 05/10/2022 - 13:37

Lizzie French

“Wild Flowers” is a late intermediate piano piece by composer Ida M. Larkins, and was first published in 1905 by the Pioneer Music Publishing Company in Chicago. It is a waltz with quite a bit of repeated material throughout, written in the typical style of parlor sheet music. The melody introduced on the first page is developed throughout the piece with changes in registration and ornamentation, as well as changing dynamics, making it musically engaging even while the basic figures repeat. The character markings written throughout the piece can help students connect to the changing moods of the music. This could be a great piece for working on phrase shaping and larger leaps in the left hand. It also contains several passages with larger chords and octaves in both hands, so this piece would work best for a student who could reach octaves and would be able to play them without introducing too much tension.

Ida M. Larkins (fl. 1905) was a Black American composer of solo piano music and vaudeville songs at the turn of the twentieth century. She collaborated with her husband John Larkins to write popular songs for vaudeville teams including Bert Williams and George Walker.

Sources:

Helen Walker-Hill. Music by Black Women Composers at the American Music Research Center.
Ida M. Larkins. Expanding the Music Theory Canon.

Wild Flowers, by Ida M. Larkins. Performed by Lizzie French.

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Little Melody in E-flat, from Seven Miniatures, by Florence Price

Anonymous — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 17:46:10 +0000

Little Melody in E-flat, from Seven Miniatures, by Florence Price Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 04/21/2022 - 11:46

Pearl Enssle

"Little Melody in E-flat major" is the fifth of the Seven Miniatures. These Miniatures comprise seven standalone pieces, published in An Album of Piano Pieces and Second Album of Piano Pieces, each of which revealing different facets of Price’s creative personality. "Little Melody," written in a Romantic and tonal style, often sounds like a boat floating on the water; it has moments of moving forward – the first few bars – and moments of pushing back, like in measures 18 – 22. The opening theme can be heard until the mood changes in measure 18 into a quiet, singing section before returning to the first melody in measure 26.

The most challenging aspects of this melody are the dynamic changes on the first page and interchanging voices in the right and left hand that can be voiced over the inner melodies. The layers of this melody can also pose a challenge, as there are often more than one layer in each hand. Because of Price’s expressiveness in this piece, there are many opportunities to work on subtle timing, flexibility, and rubato, as well as pedaling. This is a lovely piece, and a great introduction to Price’s piano works.

Sources

Melody in E-flat Major, by Florence Price. Performed by Pearl Enssle.

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"Blaize," from Piano Potpourri, by Zenobia Powell Perry

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 01:51:55 +0000

"Blaize," from Piano Potpourri, by Zenobia Powell Perry Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/10/2020 - 18:51

Boheng Wang

Blaize is a short, two-minute piece written by Zenobia Powell Perry in 1985. A rhythmic and muscular piece, it sounds very chromatic, and almost never lands on a cadence until the very last measure. It is built mostly on parallel triads in the right hand. There are some interesting transpositions from measure to measure to increase the momentum. Perry is very clear about the tempo (quarter note = 112) and articulation (non legato). It begins with chords in both hands in mezzo-forte. It challenges pianists to phrase the line while playing non legato and play evenly in tempo while alternating chords in left and right hands. The piece should be played with a lot of energy. There are not a lot of dynamic changes throughout the piece until the big crescendo at the very end, but there are some surprising sforzato.

Zenobia Powell Perry (1908-2004) was an African American composer, professor and civil rights activist. She taught in some historically black colleges and universities. Her musical style is described as “music with clear, classic melodies.” She studied piano and violin in her childhood. Her most powerful musical experience was hearing Hazel Harrison (African-American pianist) in a concert.

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"Prankster" by Mable Bailey

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 01:19:03 +0000

"Prankster" by Mable Bailey Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/10/2020 - 18:19

Fuweiyu Li

"Prankster" by Mable Bailey is a short and lively atonal composition. Its duration is around one minute and forty-five seconds. The title of the composition describes its characters very well; it is odd, eccentric, and "naughty" like a prankster. The composition follows no conventional harmonic progression; it relies on the quality and effects of dissonances such as tritones, 2nds, 7ths, and various diminished intervals that make up the majority of the composition. The use of staccatos and accents also intensifies the sharp, tricky feeling of the composition.

The composition is approximately at the late intermediate level and it has very detailed articulation and dynamic specifications. There are plenty of accidentals throughout the piece. The rhythm is pretty straightfoward despite the fast tempo. The composition also follows several patterns, both rhythmically and melodically, which make the composition easier to learn.

By studying "Prankster", a student could realize that beauty exists not only in the "traditional" harmony but also in dissonances. Studying "Prankster" also will improve the student's ability to shape and articulate since the composer gives very detailed instructions on how the performer should execute the performance.

��Ĺ��ý the Composer: "Mable Bailey was born in Canton, Mississippi, and moved to Oakland, California, with her family as a child. She graduated from San Francisco State University in 1963 with a double major in education and music. She began to compose while she was a graduate student at the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque, and studied composition at the College of Holy Names in Oakland, Metropolitan State College of Denver, and the University of Denver. She has taught in the Denver Public Schools since 1976, and composes choral, vocal, and instrumental music." (Hildegrad Publishing Company)

Sources:

Hildegard Publishing Company. Music by Women Composers.
Photo shared by the composer

Prankster, by Mable Bailey. Performed by Indigo Farmer.

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"Azuretta" by Regina Harris Baiocchi

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 00:57:34 +0000

"Azuretta" by Regina Harris Baiocchi Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/10/2020 - 17:57

Fuweiyu Li

"Azuretta" by Regina Baiocchi is a rather sentimental and romantic piece in its outer sections, with a contrasting, harsh and dissonant middle section. The composition is notated "rubato" and "dolce". It's tempo is quarter note = 60 in 3/4 meter. "Azuretta" is both "bluesy" and "jazzy"; though the composition is in F major, the numerous accidentals and extensions greatly weaken the tonal feeling; these two factors make the piece relatively dissonant, especially in the middle section.

Accoding to pianist Samantha Ege, the composer described the piece as a "musical reaction to a debilitating stroke Dr. Hale Smith suffered in 2000. It was unbearable to witness my mentor, friend and master composer rendered mute and paralyzed. Hale was such a vibrant man who loved to talk, hold court; and he had the goods to do so. Unfortunately, Hale subsisted in a mute, paralyzed state until he passed 24 November 2009. Fortunately, Hale’s incredible legacy speaks for him and itself.” This may explain the nostalgic character of the outer sections, and the anguished dissonances in the middle.

"Azuretta" is a late intermediate composition in terms of difficulty. There is no fast or technical demanding passage in the composition, but performers have to deal with the accidentals, syncopations and dissonant or complex harmonies. The performers also have to learn to execute the composition in the exact way the composer intended to. The composer's website includes a sample of the first two pages of the composition.

��Ĺ��ý the Composer:

Regina Harris Ba is a poet, author, and composer whose music has been performed by Detroit and Chicago Symphony orchestras, US Army Band, and internationally-acclaimed artists. Performances include concerts in Paris, Rome, and Bari, Italy, as part of Festival Incontri Musicali di Musica Sacra, and in Turkey and Unna, Germany at the Women Composers’ Library. Regina has written music for symphony orchestra; a libretto and one-act opera; hand drum concerto; marimba concerto; ballet; chamber music; liturgical and secular music; and vocal and instrumental, including for pipe organ." (3arts.org)

Sources:

Biography: Regina Harris Baiocchi
Image source: Regina Harris Baiocchi
Samantha Ege's video: Azuretta Regina Harris Baiocchi performed by Samantha Ege

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“Flight,” from Piano Potpourri, by Zenobia Powell Perry

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Apr 2020 14:58:16 +0000

“Flight,” from Piano Potpourri, by Zenobia Powell Perry Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 04/26/2020 - 08:58

Boheng Wang

“Flight” was written by Perry in the 70s. This is a 4 page late intermediate piece that should be played in a fast tempo (presto). It explores the range of the piano from E1 to F#7. It involves lots of chromatic pitches and dissonant harmonies. The piece also has a very wide dynamic range, which makes it very exciting to play. Throughout the piece, only forte and fortissimo are marked at the beginning and the end of the score, but it allows the pianists to be creative in the middle part with dynamics. Pedal could be used in some sections with arpeggiated chord accompaniment and big chords at the end to make the sound smoother and fuller.

The tempo and the chromaticism give this piece an intense feeling. Even though the accompaniment in the left hand is steady, it sounds like there is tension in the music, and the music is waiting to “go crazy.” It ends with several big chords with E in the root; it sounds like an ending of a concerto.

Piano Potpourri is a set of piano pieces composed between 1960 and 1990. There are 15 pieces in the set. The levels of the pieces vary from elementary to late advanced. The set has a thick structure and deep emotion overall.

Sources:

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Late Intermediate

Mirrors. Mary Watkins.

Sources

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Wanchai Road, by Philippa Schuyler

Sources:

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T'Chaka: African Suite, by Montague Ring

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“Song Without Words (Pleading)”, by Florence Price

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Wild Flowers, by Ida M. Larkins.

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Little Melody in E-flat, from Seven Miniatures, by Florence Price

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"Blaize," from Piano Potpourri, by Zenobia Powell Perry

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“Flight,” from Piano Potpourri, by Zenobia Powell Perry

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