Clavier Companion - January/February 2012 - 34

Like Villa-Lobos, Octavio Pinto (1890-1950) was a native of Brazil. His Tom Thumb’s March and Renato Bellini’s (1895-1957) Pinocchio are contained in the G. Schirmer collection 51 Pieces from the Modern Repertoire. The children’s story, The Adventures of Pinocchio, was written in 1883 by Carlo Collodi, the nom de plume of Carlo Lorenzi, a native of Florence, Italy. Bellini, an Italian composer noted mainly for his voice teaching, wrote the piece Pinocchio, with homage to Collodi. Marked vivace et spiritoso, it is in three-part form, with the first part (see Excerpt 9) containing forty-eight measures and a short, contrasting section of nine measures.
Excerpt 9: Bellini: Pinocchio, mm. 1-4.

Aaron Alon (b. 1981) wrote Fairy Tales in 2006 under commission from the Renée B. Fisher Competition for Young Pianists. Changing moods and tempos imply different “tales,” such as “Mysteriously” (see Excerpt 10) and “With wonder” (see Excerpt 11).
Excerpt 10: Alon: Fairy Tales, mm. 1-3.

Excerpt 11: Alon: Fairy Tales, mm. 7-8.

Douglas Moore (1893-1969) composed The Princess and the Pea, a late-elementary piece based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale. It bears the instruction “A Drowsy Waltz,” for the first section, and “Faster and Agitated,” when the story becomes more intense. This piece, along with Dmitri Shostakovich’s (1906-1976) A Sad Fairy Tale, is in the collection, Contemporary Piano Literature, Books 3-4, of the Frances Clark Library for Piano Students, published by Alfred.

Quoting from Alon’s performance notes: The music seeks to capture the mysterious magic of fairy tales without referencing any particular stories. The piece is essentially a rondo, whose refrain continually evolves throughout the piece, often borrowing material from the preceding episodes. The piece offers some contemporary challenges to talented young players, including tonal ambiguity, complex rhythms, shifting meters, use of the sostenuto pedal, and one instance (measure thirty-one) where the pianist may elect to play an optional three measures.4 Thus, in the twenty-first century, piano fairy tales continue to evoke an enchanted world: one of beautiful princesses, mischievous creatures, and remarkable animals. Through this music, we are able to relive the stories that have delighted children and adults for centuries. Ellen Schorsch has given many piano recitals as soloist and accompanist, with a specialty in lecture-recitals. Articles based on her programs, “Musical Lessons for Adults in Exciting Lecture-Recitals” and “Literary Inspirations” have appeared in Clavier. Ellen has also played piano and harpsichord with the Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra and maintains a private piano studio in Waynesboro, Virginia. She holds degrees in music and music education from Brooklyn College and Boston University, and a Master’s degree in piano performance from James Madison University. Her piano teachers have included Harvey Wedeen, Leon Tumarkin, Helen Ininger, and Marjorie Mitchell.
1

Bertensson, S. and Leyda, J. (1956). Sergei Rachmaninoff: A Lifetime in Music Bloomington, IN:Indiana University Press, p. 218. 2 Milne, H. (2001). Foreword to Nickolai Medtner: Complete Fairy Tales for Piano. New York: Dover Publications, Inc, p. vii. 3 Retrieved from http://www.musicacademyonline.com/composer/biographies.php?bid=136. 4 Alon, A. (2011). Retrieved from http://aaronalon.com/?page_id=83.

CLAVIER COMPANION

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

Clavier Companion - January/February 2012

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