Pianophilia

Albert ROUSSEL

Suite op. 14

alfor fingered

Alfred, the ROUSSEL suite is the only piece of piano music of his that I know of--and it is a rather thorny piece--so your helpful fingering provides welcome relief to my trembling digits.

fleubis wrote:Alfred, the ROUSSEL suite is the only piece of piano music of his that I know of--and it is a rather thorny piece--so your helpful fingering provides welcome relief to my trembling digits.

Thank you for feedback, dear fleubis!

P.S. The correct order of the Roussel (aka Russell; Rüssel; Rassel) Suite is:

I. Prélude
II. Bourrée
III. Sicilienne
IV. Ronde

i.e. the two middle pieces have to be reversed.

Re. ROUSSEL SUITE op. 14:

Page 23, bar 11, last note, l. h.:
should be „a natural“ („f sharp“ being most probably an engraving error).

Last page, bar 9, r.h.: you may add the fingering 1-3
for the two double stops „d sharp“ - „a natural“.

If anybody would have played the piece he would have detected that I mistakenly wrote „d flat“ instead of „d sharp“, (Corrected, see quotation above).

looking for any leads on whereabouts of a score for one of the late concert pianist and composer Michel Block. His little suite is easy to find (and quite lovely as i acquired it last year-in print and available from Alfred, am working on it currently w hopes to record some hires videos it) but his 'encore'
Ma plus belle histoire d'amour, Barbara, is a mystery. Alfred publishing handled the suite but cannot find any hits for cute littel doodad. Anyone know if published, who has it, who to inquire about it, etc.?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0ocijUBY10
1937-2003

Artist Biography by Linda Seida
Even if he had tried to plan one himself, pianist Michel Block couldn't have given his career a better or more dramatic start than the one he received in 1960. As an entrant in that year's Frederic Chopin International Competition, he failed to capture the top prize. What he did capture, however, was the attention and allegiance of one of the jurors, Artur Rubinstein. The acclaimed Polish-American pianist created the Rubinstein Prize then and there for Block, a dramatic gesture that said plainly and loudly that he believed Block should have been the winner.

Block went on to win the Leventritt Award in 1962. He has performed with a number of top orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. His recordings have been released by ProPiano, Pathé Marconi, EMI, and Deutsche Grammophon. He has recorded music by Albéniz, Rachmaninov, Schumann, Chopin, Granados, and Scriabin.

The pianist was born in Belgium and moved to Mexico with his family. He took up the piano during his years in Mexico and studied at the Juilliard School in New York. Block spent 20 years as an instructor at Indiana University, beginning in 1978. His public performances have become rare events.

Nice transcription. It may well be unpublished--here's a link to the Wikipedia bio page for the composer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_(singer%29

There might be info on Block's version in the liner notes for this CD.

http://www.propiano.com/cds-224514.html

Here's a piano/vocal version of the song. (NMS)

Jim Faston wrote:Nice transcription. It may well be unpublished--here's a link to the Wikipedia bio page for the composer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_(singer%29

There might be info on Block's version in the liner notes for this CD.

http://www.propiano.com/cds-224514.html

Here's a piano/vocal version of the song. (NMS)

Barbara_Ma plus belle histoire d'amour.pdf

many thanks Jim. Will keep researching it, and we appreciate the source material score, that's cool.

Block was an uncommon talent. I absolutely adore his recording of the Scriabin 2nd sonata. just about knocked me off my feet when i first heard it, i thought it was that good.

Some readers may find this somewhat interesting; my co-editor in publishing a new edition of Widor's Complete Works for Piano, Harold Fabrikant, has written a 67-page book analysing the works in great detail. Copies can be purchased here - http://www.lulu.com/shop/harold-fabrika ... 48555.html *Disclosure: I have published this work on Harold's behalf and I do receive a small cut of the proceeds. Those interested in the actual scores can visit http://www.crescendomusicpubs.com.au/ I'm aiming to have a five-volume spiral-bound set of the complete works available for purchase by the end of 2016.

Best wishes,
Daniel

dmitterdorfer wrote:Some readers may find this somewhat interesting; my co-editor in publishing a new edition of Widor's Complete Works for Piano, Harold Fabrikant, has written a 67-page book analysing the works in great detail. Copies can be purchased here - http://www.lulu.com/shop/harold-fabrika ... 48555.html *Disclosure: I have published this work on Harold's behalf and I do receive a small cut of the proceeds. Those interested in the actual scores can visit http://www.crescendomusicpubs.com.au/ I'm aiming to have a five-volume spiral-bound set of the complete works available for purchase by the end of 2016.

Best wishes,
Daniel

I've always wondered about the quality of Widor's piano works, not having played any of them myself, so I'm pleased to hear of this. It's important to remember that the great French organists/organist-composers were 'composers' in the full sense of the word. Many of their non-organ works are slowly being discovered or rediscovered and this is heartening.
Someone informed me some years ago that Dr Fabrikant had recorded all of Widor's piano works - is this true?
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