Pianophilia

Leea25 wrote:As someone who does a lot of arranging of other peoples music, I think I can help here. To my knowledge, the law regarding arrangements, across Europe and America (and probably many other places), is that if a piece is still in copyright, you may not make an arrangement without permission from the copyright holder (normally the publisher, but sometimes the composer still). I have had experience of publishers being delighted at the idea of an arrangement and allowing me to complete and perform it for no fee, right to the opposite end, where I have had flat refusals without even wanting to hear my idea... and everything in between!

In this case, it seems that although someone could have peformed the orchestral original, perhaps, by filling in the form so all the appropriate fees would be taken care of, you did not have permission to make a piano arrangement, so the video was banned. In the UK, that piano arrangement would technically be considered illegal, though nobody is likely to take you to court for it, just ask you not to perform it again. I think the same would be true in Italy.

I hope that helps. Basically, if you want to arrange something, ask. If a piano version doesn't exist, then you can't just make one.

Lee

Thanks Lee for your reply. I'm not into copyright's laws, but my publisher told me that here in Italy the only illegal thing you can do is to sell sheet music of copyrighted stuff.
On the internet there are millions of piano covers of songs, sountracks etc. (some with sheet music, some without) and if they are still playing that means that publishers are earning money from the live streaming of those videos. Every video that has a publicity spot is monetizing, and part (or all) of the monetization goes to the publishers. This means millions of dollars that are gained by publishers. Otherwise they would have already removed those videos and close those channels. This is not difficult to understand: the more a composer is performed (in the halls, on radio/television or on the internet) the more rights he gets (I'm a composer too and I'm not at all upset when my compositions are played in public or on the internet, also without permission). I arranged some classic pieces (and soundtracks) that were not available (even for purchasing) and some were performed in public concerts and are still playing on Youtube. All the rights of those performances goes to the composers and the publishers....and my publisher told me that, currently, the live streaming incomes are much more than the concert ones. The question is: why the copyright's owners publish only arrangements for beginners or intermediate (that a concert pianist will never buy) and not also advanced scores that can be performed in concert halls? Having the full score available it is not that long and difficult to make a professional piano piece. Sorry for my bad english.

Mercuzio

One of my more obscure Russian composer postings - the beautiful Ballade by Spasokukotsky.

Lev Aleksandrovich Spasokukotsky. Born 1912, Yaroslavi Province: died 1960, Kyiv. Graduated from the Kyiv Conservatoire in 1945, after studies in composition with Lyatoshynsky. He then taught at the conservatoire until his relatively early death. Awarded Candidate of the Arts in 1957. Piano works include:

Four Preludes (1932)
Ten Variations (1939)
Four Pieces (1941)
Ballade (1944)
Three Pieces (Muzford 1959) 1. Prelude 2. Kazka 3. Humoresque

Unfortunately had to scan in grayscale as score pages were very yellowed (not sure if Jim could easily convert to a clean b/w copy) ?

Malcolm

... conversion done ...

Regards

Paul

Paul wrote:... conversion done ...

Regards

Paul

Spasokukotsky Ballade.pdf

Many thanks Paul....much easier to read. Very grateful to you.

Malcolm

To Frank H., with my very best wishes!

Four Piano Pieces by Belarusian Composer
Sergei S. AKSAKOV (1891-1968)

Although totally outmoded (apart from one or the other chord, the music could
as well have been composed by Tchaikovsky some 70 years earlier!), it is nevertheless
fun to play these well composed romantic pieces.

I'll give it a try. Thank you Alfor.

We are supremely fortunate this week for the scores posted by Malcolm and Alfor! Both works are remarkable examples of how long the torch of late Romanticism was carried into the piano literature in Russia. It is all the more amazing when one considers the tremendous push towards modernism and even atonality at the late dates of these pieces (1944 and 1959!) Certainly there were other luminaries who refused to let such purely beautiful piano writing be a thing of the past. Gliere and Alexandrov immediately come to mind, but there are so many others. I have never heard of either Spasokukotsky or Aksakov, and am amazed by these lush and wonderfully pianistic scores. One can only wonder at how many other gems like these are yet to be uncovered. It is seemingly without end, and what a wonderful thing that is to know.

Thank you both for these unimaginably rare pieces, which would otherwise never have found audience beyond their country of origin!

All Best,

Frank

Here's my cleaned B&W version of Malcolm's scan of the Spasokukotsky Ballade. I retained the color cover.

Here's one of the hitherto unavailable sonatas from this composer's significant piano oeuvre, which includes a total of twelve sonatas, two ballades, a concerto, and many other pieces. Thanks to isokani for the excellent record of his father's music! Maybe somebody can tackle Oleg's piano works someday...

Stay tuned...other pieces to follow...

Oleg Konstantinovich EIGES
Piano Sonata no. 2 (1931)

...and another set of variations. We've previously seen a set of 24 preludes by this composer, as well as some string quartet pieces. Pianist Phillip Sear posted a performance of one of his preludes on Youtube last year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO8nfmhunj0

note: another set of variations from the same Soviet volume (by Latvian composer Janis Ivanovs) is now posted at viewtopic.php?f=11&t=164&p=31641#p31641

Boris Andreyevich SOSNOVTSEV
Variations, for piano (1965)