Newsletter August 2020

Aug 15, 20203 min read

We want to announce that AGMA will be organising AROUND THE GLOBE 2020 – ONLINE PIANO COMPETITION as a part of the piano music festival in November/December this year.

The competition will consist of two rounds which will include applicant’s pre-recorded performance open to Junior and Adult pianists of all levels, as before. More information including guidance, dates and how to apply, will be published in our next September Newsletter 2020. Please note that the syllabus’ programme for 2020 will stay unchanged from the previous year, including contemporary classical and jazz style pieces. For more info on the syllabus’ programme visit: http://agpianomusicfestival.co.uk/newsletter/agpmf_syllabus.php

In today’s publication, we are presenting extracts from the articles about famous Chinese pianist-composer Chu Wang-Hua including the introduction to his great piano music via YouTube links. In addition, we hope you will enjoy the melodious, beautiful harmonies of a new piano work The Little Prince composed by Vladimir and Svetlana Titov.

Extract from ‘An Introduction to Chu Wang-Hua’ by Marina Petrov

Not so long ago, I was introduced to the piano music of Chinese composer Chu Wang-Hua by one of my Chinese piano students. As I was raised in the western music culture, I wasn’t exposed to Chinese classical contemporary music at my music colleges and conservatoires, especially the work of pianist-composers. My student Yi has been learning to play Hua’s piano virtuoso piece Merry-Go-Round, which I found fascinating! This piece sounds like a fusion of Chinese and Western pianistic musical styles; it is unlike no other, unique and very exciting to hear!

Chu Wang-Hua’s opus includes symphonies, string quartets, piano concertos and numerous piano works. His Piano Sonatina was a prize winner at the 21st Century Chinese Children’s Piano Compositions Competition in 2000 and his compositions have been performed and recorded both nationally and globally.

I hope you will enjoy exploring his solo piano works, which are widely available to listen to on YouTube and other online platforms, and viewing many of his free music scores.

Love Song Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y141vYQ0yVM Score: http://www.qupu123.com/qiyue/gangqin/p254917.html

Days of Emancipation Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hwo5xKElcTg Score: https://wap.hqgq.com/pu/show/56998

The Jasmine Flowers Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK_1jWzbiwg Score: http://pu.zhency.net/gqp/17725.html

Extract from ‘The Little Prince Piano Suite’ by Vladimir Titov and Svetlana Titov

The four-part piano suite The Little Prince, was inspired by the world-famous novella by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Initially written as a children’s book its strong philosophical and moral content has been appreciated and enjoyed by everyone. The story tells of a young prince who visits various planets in space, including Earth, and addresses themes of loneliness, friendship, love and loss.

The first part of the suite is called The Little Prince – an exploration of the character of the prince who is described by de Saint-Exupery as follows – ‘The proof that the little prince existed is he was charming, that he laughed and was looking for a sheep. If anybody wants a sheep, that is a proof that he exists’ . . .

The second part is Journeys, the story of the Princes flight to distant planets, where he meets an array of unusual residents. The author wrote ‘As I understand it, he decided to wander with migratory birds’.

Somewhere There Lives My Flower… is the name of the third piece, in which the image of a rose, evocatively described by the author as – ‘ If someone loves a flower, of which just one single blossom grows in all the millions and millions of stars, it is enough to make him happy to look just at the stars. He can say to himself, ‘Somewhere, my flower is there…’ The piano suite concludes with a fourth part titled Homecoming of The Little Prince an exploration of the following passages – ‘I’m going back home today, too. It’s much further. It’s much more difficult’ . . .; ‘And at night you will look up at the stars. Where I live, everything is so small that I cannot show you where my star is to be found…’