Difficulty of S. Barber piano music?
jerry and judy
(Michael Vlahovic) wrote:
>Does anybody know the difficulty of these songs?
>
>Nocturne
>Souvenirs (S. Barber)
>Excursions
>SONATA FOR PIANO (Barber)
>Ballade (Parker C)
>(Taken from _Complete Piano Music Of Samuel Barber_ by Schirmer. Is
>that all he wrote for piano?)
>
>I would like to play some Barber, but I don't know how difficult his
>piano songs are. I just finished Mozart's Piano Sonata in F major, k.
>332. Right now I am working on a Beethoven sonata (I don't remember
>which one), Bartok's Roumanian Folk Dances and I am starting to work
>on Bach's two part inventions.
>
>Any advice would be great.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Michael
Interlude No.1 (Adagio for Jeanne) 6:40 is included on the John Browning
Complete Solo Piano Music of Barber Music Masters 01612-67122-2 recorded
in 1993(?)
Also included are
Nocturne Op33 4:35
Excursions Op20 4 movements 3:13, 4:28, 3:27, 2:31
Sonata Op26 4 movements 7:20, 2:15, 6:25, 5:09
Ballade Op46 7:37
Souvenirs is a four-hand piece, as I recall (not included).
If you get the CD, I think you'll realize immediately that they're all
more difficult (to appreciate and perform) than the Mozart, Bach and
Beethoven.
More difficult than the Bartok Sonata, work on it first, it's not too bad.
(grin)
Jerry
Amateur pianist
Part time piano tuner
Retired meteorologist
evan johnson
jerry and judy <jerb...@zianet.com> wrote:
:In article <35ba73df...@news.pacbell.net>, mvl...@hotmail.com
:(Michael Vlahovic) wrote:
:
:>Does anybody know the difficulty of these songs?
i hate to be snobbish, but there's no voice involved...
:If you get the CD, I think you'll realize immediately that they're all
:more difficult (to appreciate and perform) than the Mozart, Bach and
:Beethoven.
appreciate, I don't know - it's beautiful, accessible music. but difficult
to perform is kind of an understatement. I recently performed the piano
sonata, and the last movement fugue is perhaps the single most difficult
bit of music to bring off correctly I have ever come across in all of my
eighteen years.
evan
ten...@davis.com
judy) wrote:
>In article <35ba73df...@news.pacbell.net>, mvl...@hotmail.com
>(Michael Vlahovic) wrote:
>
>>Does anybody know the difficulty of these songs?
>>
>>Nocturne
>>Souvenirs (S. Barber)
>>Excursions
>>SONATA FOR PIANO (Barber)
>>Ballade (Parker C)
>
These are called piano pieces, not songs---songs have lyrics! The
Sonata is notoriously difficult.
John
jerry and judy
johnson) wrote:
>In article <jerbidoc-270...@lc353.zianet.com>,
>jerry and judy <jerb...@zianet.com> wrote:
>:In article <35ba73df...@news.pacbell.net>, mvl...@hotmail.com
>:(Michael Vlahovic) wrote:
>:
>:>Does anybody know the difficulty of these songs?
>
>i hate to be snobbish, but there's no voice involved...
>
>:If you get the CD, I think you'll realize immediately that they're all
>:more difficult (to appreciate and perform) than the Mozart, Bach and
>:Beethoven.
>
>appreciate, I don't know - it's beautiful, accessible music. but difficult
>to perform is kind of an understatement. I recently performed the piano
>sonata, and the last movement fugue is perhaps the single most difficult
>bit of music to bring off correctly I have ever come across in all of my
>eighteen years.
>
>evan
If you were really 'snobbish', you would know that 'song' in the French
and other closely related tongues is an appropriate label. Do you know
what 'sonata' means? sound piece? Don't assume that people who speak more
than one language are less aware about anything other than the 'historical
ignorances' of English (which as an English speaker, you above all, should
be keenly aware of!!).
Jerry
Ralph Hartsock
> (Michael Vlahovic) wrote:
>Does anybody know the difficulty of these songs?
>Souvenirs (S. Barber)
>Excursions
>SONATA FOR PIANO (Barber)
>Ballade (Parker C)
>that all he wrote for piano?)
> >I would like to play some Barber, but I don't know how difficult his
> >piano songs are. I just finished Mozart's Piano Sonata in F major, k.
> >332. Right now I am working on a Beethoven sonata (I don't remember
> >which one), Bartok's Roumanian Folk Dances and I am starting to work
> >on Bach's two part inventions.
> >
> >Any advice would be great.
According to:
AUTHOR Hinson, Maurice.
TITLE Guide to the pianist's repertoire / Maurice Hinson.
EDITION 2nd, rev. and enl. ed.
IMPRINT Bloomington : Indiana University Press, c1987.
DESCRIPT xxxiii, 856 p. ; 25 cm.
Hinson also has brief descriptions.
Excursions (moderately difficult)
Sonata (Difficult)
Souvenirs (difficult)
Nocturne (Moderately difficult)
Ballade (Moderately difficult)
You might also look in:
AUTHOR Hennessee, Don A.
TITLE Samuel Barber : a bio-bibliography / Don A. Hennessee.
IMPRINT Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1985.
DESCRIPT xii, 404 p. ; 25 cm.
==========================================
Ralph Hartsock
University of North Texas Music Library
rhar...@library.unt.edu
http://www.library.unt.edu/info/willis/music/default.asp
alexm...@gmail.com
Excursions are really nice, you should try. About the sonata, I have played a lot of difficult pieces but no one compares to it, too difficult. Really, you have to invest a lot of hours just for learning it, the first movement is really complex and the fugue even more. I spent more time studying it than what I spent studying Chopin 12 etudes op 10.I suggest prokofiev 3rd sonata, nice too and more accessible.
Have an excellent day.