top of page
Search
    • Jun 3, 2019
    • 3 min read

Newsletter May 2019 / part 2

Around the Globe Piano Music Festival 2019 presents

Contemporary Piano Composers and Their Works: Early Piano Levels


Marcel Zidani www.marcelzidani.com

Marcel Zidani is a pianist and composer from UK. In June 2017 Marcel won 2nd prize in the European Piano Teachers Composer Competition for his composition for piano – ‘The Clock’ and in 2015 the famous pianist Leslie Howard nominated Marcel’s composition ‘Butterflies’ for the British Composer Awards, describing the music from his Life Cycle CD as, ‘an excellent piece, beautifully written for the piano’. Marcels music is played quite frequently heard on radio stations including BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester, Radio Bristol, Somerset, Wiltshire and more. He has performed extensively at music festivals throughout the UK, as well as giving concerts locally and in the Midlands. In May 2018 Marcel performed and recorded his compositions live at Hay Festival in conjunction with BBC Hereford and Worcester. Presenting the show Andrew Marston said ‘Outstanding, complex and beautiful – simply put, the most incredible piano player I’ve ever seen’.

Marcel is the author of ‘Hey Presto’ a unique and fully comprehensive, piano method for older beginners and adults, that focuses on the use of the sustain pedal to achieve a rewarding sound straight away. You can listen to Marcel’s recordings, read reviews and view performances on his website and on YouTube. All educational material is also available on Marcel’s website above.

Hey Presto! Piano Method for Beginners aged 11 upwards and Adults


Hey Presto

The beauty of the music speaks for itself and is hugely appealing for children and adults. This Method is perfect for those aged 11 upwards and adult beginners. Hey Presto! is unique in that it teaches the use of pedal from the very first lesson which helps to create an exquisite and engaging sound with immediate effect… Gradually pedal markings are introduced as the harmony and notation becomes more complex. The book also contains pieces that are written to be played without pedal and an emphasis on legato playing throughout.

All the pieces in the book are original compositions composed by Marcel, you will find there are many different styles of music covered including Classical, Easy Listening, Folk Music, Jazz, Improvisation and Popular. Marcel created this book to appeal to those who like the sound of beautiful music and with the aim of inspiring and motivating, particularly teenagers, to enjoy their practice. The book is complete with piano pedagogy for complete musical and technical development including legato technique, wrist and hand flexibility, injury prevention, sustain pedal and much more.

This book is the only beginner book you will need, there is no book 2! You will really be set you up for a lifetime of enjoyment at the piano, as this book comes complete with YouTube and audio support. Beginner to near grade 2 level method book. You can buy Hey Presto! on the website below and on Amazon: https://www.marcelzidani.com/hey-presto-piano-method https://www.amazon.co.uk/Presto-Adult-Method-Beginners Upwards/dp/B06XPLP14G/

——————————————————————————————————————————————————


Nailia Galiamova

Nailia Galiamova is a composer, lecturer and teacher living in Lithuania. Nailia graduated from the Moscow State P. Tchaikovsky Conservatory in 1984 with highest honours. She studied composition with Albert Leman, who was also the teacher of Sofia Gubaidulina. In 1987 Mrs. Galiamova moved to Lithuania, where she now actively collaborates with both soloists and orchestras. Her works or arrangements have been performed by the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, and the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra amongst others. She also teaches composition, arrangement, polyphony, and music analysis at the National Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis School of Arts in Vilnius. Her past students include renowned Lithuanian composers Gediminas Gelgotas, Justė Janulytė, Albertas Navickas, Titas Petrikis, and Rūta Vitkauskaitė. Mrs Galiamova has written several large-scale instrumental compositions; recently however she has concentrated on creating piano music for children. Her usual practice is to choose traditional genres, moderate stylistics (displaying features of neo-classicism and minimalism) and tonal harmonic language.

The Little Polyphonic Book

A cycle of pieces for solo piano ‘The Little Polyphonic Book’ was written in 2003 as a helpful supplement for lessons in polyphony, but with the help of the project ‘Children’s Pieces by Lithuanian Composers’ it was immediately included into the piano education program. In 2015 it was published by the Lithuanian Music Information Centre.

The cycle consists of 6 pieces: Snowflakes Beyond the Window and in the Eyes of Toma the Teddy Bear / imitation Your Turn to Catch / canon Two Quarrelling Cyborgs/ two-part fughetta Three Japanese Dolls Greeting/ the black-key three-part fughetta How the Honey Cakes Disappear/ basso ostinato, Lullaby/ ostinato

The program of the cycle depicts a typical day in a child’s life. This helps pupils easily understand common polyphonic techniques, forms, genres, and terminology disguised as familiar images, emotions, and games. Each piece has an additional subtitle which discloses the polyphonic method. As well as the purely pianistic tasks the cycle helps students to learn polyphonic texture and to develop the ability to hear in the language full of dissonance and previously unknown musical modes, the 12-tone row. This also helps to improve coordination and imagination. In 2018 the cycle was selected as one of the recommended works of the festival ‘Music of the Century’ and thus was discovered by piano teachers and young pianists beyond Lithuania such as the piano festival held in Costa Rica.

Comments

bottom of page