Helen Marlais
Pianist, Pedagogue, Pedagogical author.
The natural musicality present in this collection demands the same kind of careful attention that we expect from the standard canon of repertoire. These teaching pieces follow in the modern tradition of pedagogical works by Bartók, Kabalevsky, and others; they are written to challenge a student’s mind, fingers, imagination, and soul.
In Musical Treasures, Volume 1, students will find numerous character piano works that will broaden their musical understanding and imagination. These inventive and fun-to-play pieces will bring them closer to the intricate world of sound. This collection explores various aspects of piano playing, including different articulations (State Fair), syncopated rhythms (Dance of the Coconuts), legato...
Musical Treasures, Volume 2 is an original collection of contemporary compositions by Andrey Komanetsky that provides a wide variety of interesting pieces for the intermediate level student. The pieces are composed using a broad palette of sounds, articulations, and other compositional techniques for students to gain experience in the contemporary medium. TABLE OF CONTENTS: Simple...
Outside the Box is a unique collection containing ten pieces that experiment with contemporary compositional techniques, altering such elements as melody, harmony, and form to create a completely new sound. Students will learn interesting ways to create new sounds and have fun playing music that is definitely “Outside the Box!” TABLE OF CONTENTS: Pandiatonicism –...
The Phantasie Variations, Op. 12 were commissioned by Phyllis Alpert Lehrer for her Merkin Hall Debut Concert near Lincoln Center in 1980. The piece uses two 12-tone rows, opening with the first row in retrograde, as if regressing back into a subconscious dream state. The rows go through many transformations stylistically in a variety of...
Flip through the pages of Ninov’s Piano Album and they will introduce you to a gallery of musical pictures. You will “see” the sparrow leaping among the branches; you will “feel” the melancholy of autumn with its golden leaves falling; and you will “hear” the mischievous gossip spreading around the neighborhood. Ninov has always been...
This engaging and accessible contemporary sonata has a broad emotional range and is full of intensity. Each of its four movements makes a strong statement with relatively few notes. “I have used the 12-tone language in my own unique way.” – Rahbee. The fourth movement, “Toccata,” is often performed as a solo; the arm clusters...
Rahbee’s Piano Sonata No. 2 is an appealing piece in the contemporary genre. Its wide-ranging expressive array is filled with fervor. The sonata’s untraditional tonalities allow the advanced student to experience a broader sense of musical expression. The first movement is rhapsodic in nature, the second is a playful scherzando, the third is warm and...
Premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2004, this adventurous one-movement work provides a variety of contrasting experiences for both the performer and their audience. Subtitled “Odyssey,” this piece presents a full range of moods and emotions that will challenge and inspire any pianist.
“Extremely positive in nature” has been said to describe the character of Piano Sonata No. 4 Op. 128.. The energy of this four-movement sonata is derived from its maestoso first movement – ?executed with feelings of happiness-and proceeded by its molto energico e presto second movement – ?performed with joy and excitement. The third movement,...
