The Piano in Spain, by Ana Benavides

Print Edition, 147 pages, paperback, $24.99

Written by internationally accclaimed pianist and Steinway Artist Ana Benavides, this book covers the history of the piano in Spain, from its introduction to the time of Joaquín Turina. The edition is carefully researched and beautifully formatted, and contains numerous music examples and color images. Scholars, professional pianists, amateur musicians, and lovers of the piano generally will find this book indispensible for understanding the piano in Spain during the 19th century. Here is a list of the topics covered:
1. Introduction of the Piano into Spain
2. The First Spanish Piano Builders
3. Music Conservatories and other Musical Spaces
4. Editorial Activity and the Musical Press
5. On the Way to Nationalism
6. Spain and Europe
7. Repertoire
8. Maestros and Predecessors
9. Isaac Albéniz
10. Enrique Granados
11. Manuel de Falla
12. Joaquín Turina

A review by Jonathan Santa Maria Bouquet of The Piano in Spain by Ana Benavides appeared in the Newsletter of The American Musical Instrument Society, Volume 44, No. 1, Spring 2015, p22.  The review has been republished on the NSM website with permission from AMIS.

The Piano in Spain was published by Bassus Ediciones and is distributed in the USA by Noteworthy Sheet Music. We sell the book in paperback print edition only, not as a PDF, and only for shipment to addresses within the USA.

To order, please use the Contact Us form to tell us which of NSM's print edition publications you would like to purchase, and include your email and USPS mailing addresses in the message. We will then send you a PayPal invoice for your purchase, which will include a $5.95 shipping and handling fee. Once we receive notice from PayPal that you have paid for the publication(s), we will ship your item(s) to the address you provided for delivery in 7-10 business days.

For sales of the book in Europe, please visit www.anabenavides.com.

Sonata, Op.120 No.2, by Johannes Brahms

Transcribed for Alto Flute by J.W.Pratt

Alto Flute Part, PDF $8.99

This is the second of Brahms' two clarinet sonatas, transcribed for alto flute by John Pratt.  Although written originally for clarinet, Brahms himself created two more versions of his Op.120 sonatas, for violin and viola. Mr. Pratt, who transcribed these works for alto flute so expertly, writes in his foreword: "If Brahms was happy with versions for clarinet, viola, and violin, surely he would have welcomed arrangements for alto flute, especially since it is the mellow rather than the clarion aspect of the clarinet that he called on. In making our arrangements for alto flute, the violin versions have been particularly helpful, since the violin has the same lower range as the alto flute, but they required modification for several reasons. One, of course, is that the alto flute cannot play as loudly at the bottom of its range as the violin can. Another is that Brahms gave the violin double stops even though the clarinet is limited to a single voice." Our editions of the two Op.120 sonatas include only the alto flute parts, as Brahms' piano scores are freely available in the public domain. Here is a link to the listing of Op.120 No.2 on IMSLP.org, where the clarinet, viola, and violin versions with piano scores may be found. Our alto flute arrangements are based on the usual piano parts that accompany the clarinet as the solo instrument.

Alto Flute part, 8 pages; Total, 12 pages.

Eduardo Ocón y Rivas—Obra completa para piano

Compiled and Edited by Ana Benavides

Solo Piano, Print Edition, 61 pages, paperback, $21.99

Eduardo Ocón was one of Spain's most notable musical personages of the 19th century—an organist and composer, as well as the founder and director of the Malaga Conservatory. This book, Eduardo Ocón y Rivas—Obra completa para piano (copyright © 2007), is a compilation of the complete piano works of Eduardo Ocón, edited, renotated, and with an introduction by Ana Benavides. The works are rare masterpieces of Spanish piano music that have been rediscovered and reprinted in an edition formatted to facilitate reading by professionals and aficionados at any level. Here is a list of the works included in this anthology:
- Rapsodia Andaluza, Op.9
- Recuerdos de Andalucía, Bolero de Concierto, Op.8
- Rheinfahrt. Estudio Fantástico
- Gran Vals Brillante
- Meditación
- Estudio-Capricho para la mano izquierda, Op.10
- Amor inmortal
- En la playa. Barcarola

Ana Benavides is an internationally acclaimed pianist and Steinway Artist who has performed recitals in Europe, Australia, South America, and North America. A regular visitor to international festivals both as soloist and chamber musician, she has maintained a keen interest in rare Spanish piano music of the 19th century. Visit www.anabenavides.com to learn more about the artist and her work.

Eduardo Ocón y Rivas—Obra completa para piano was published by Bassus Ediciones Musicales and is distributed in the USA by Noteworthy Sheet Music. We sell the book in paperback print edition only, not as a PDF, and only for shipment to addresses within the USA.

To order, please use the Contact Us form to tell us which of NSM's print edition publications you would like to purchase, and include your email and USPS mailing addresses in the message. We will then send you a PayPal invoice for your purchase, which will include a $5.95 shipping and handling fee. Once we receive notice from PayPal that you have paid for the publication(s), we will ship your item(s) to the address you provided for delivery in 7-10 business days.

For sales of the book in Europe, please visit the Bassus Ediciones Musicales website.

Fünf Stücke im Volkston, Op.102, by Robert Schumann

Transcribed for Alto Flute (and Piano) by John W. Pratt

Alto Flute Part, PDF $6.99

We provide our transcribed alto flute part only; the piano score is in the public domain and available without charge from imslp.org.

Alto Flute part, 6 pages; Total, 10 pages.

Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, Op.129, by F. Schubert 

Voice Part Transcribed for Alto Flute in G by Carol A. Vater

Alto Flute Part, PDF $5.99

NSM published Peter H. Bloom's alto flute transcription of the clarinet obbligato from Schubert's Shepherd on the Rock in 2012. Please find information about that publication in our article for that edition. Later we realized that the voice part, which I (cav) have performed on flute in a flute/clarinet/piano group, would work much better when played on alto flute. So we created a transcription of the vocal part for alto flute. This alto flute transcription is to be played in an entirely instrumental version of Der Hirt auf dem Felsen for alto flute, clarinet (or alto flute), and piano, which as noted by Mr. Bloom, is "an ideal didactical vehicle for coaching the developing flutist in the art of rhetorical performance as well as a splendid concert/recital piece." Our alto flute transcription of the voice part is a simple transposition requiring no octave changes; the part falls naturally and beautifully within the alto flute range. The clarinet part and piano score are freely available at IMSLP.org.

Alto Flute part (in lieu of voice), 5 pages of music; Total, 10 pages.

Elegy, Op.44, by Alexander Glazunov

Transcribed for Bb Clarinet (and Piano) by John W. Pratt

Clarinet Part — PDF $3.99

Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov (b. St. Petersburg, 1865; d. Paris, 1936) was a major composer in the late Russian romantic tradition. His Elegy, Op.44, was written for viola and piano in 1893, and has been transcribed by John W. Pratt for Bb clarinet. The piece is about 6 minutes long, elegiac but not lugubrious. It consists of a lovely melody in 9/8 enhanced by a simple but warm piano accompaniment. The viola melody is readily transcribed for other instruments, since it is without double stops. The piano part is freely available at IMSLP.org.

Clarinet part, 2 pages; Total, 6 pages.

Sonatina, Op.100, by Antonín Dvořák

Transcribed for Clarinet in A (and Piano) by J.W.Pratt and C.A.Vater

A-Clarinet Part, PDF $11.99

From 1892 to 1895, Czech composer Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) was in the United States, serving as the director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City. He wrote his Sonatina in G major (Opus 100, B. 183) for violin and piano in 1893, and in some ways it reminds us of his triumphant Symphony No. 9, "From the New World", which was composed the same year. The Sonatina was written for and dedicated to Dvořák's own children. It has an average duration of 20 minutes and consists of four movements: I. Allegro risoluto; II. Larghetto (Indian Lament); III. Scherzo. Molto vivace; and IV. Finale. Allegro.

In transcribing this popular work for clarinet, we have incorporated several changes in the part to account for sonic differences between the clarinet and the violin. In so doing, every effort has been made to maintain the spirit and character of the original composition. In places the New World feel is even stronger with a wind instrument. We provide here our transcribed A-clarinet part only; Dvořák's original piano part works well with the new clarinet part, and the score for violin and piano is readily available in the public domain as a free pdf download from imslp.org.

A-Clarinet Part, 11 pages; Total, 14 pages.

Fog, by Li Qi

Contemporary Composition for Solo Flute, PDF $5.99

Fog was written in 2012 by the up-and-coming young composer Li Qi.  In addition to receiving other projects and awards, Li Qi was selected by the Wellesley Chamber Music Workshop to compose the program's commissioned piece for 2016, An Autumn Dusk in the Mountains for flute1, flute2/alto flute, cello, and piano.

Short, interesting, and challenging, Fog will appeal to advanced flutists and their audiences. Inspired by the poem "Stray Birds" by Rabindranath Tagore, the piece strives to capture in a musical way the recurring interplay between fog and sunlight, as a representation of the circle of life with all its sorrow, joy, and continuously-unfolding beauty.  A recording of a 2012 performance of Fog by Heath White at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University, has been posted on YouTube; please click the link to listen.

Our front cover image is from Wikimedia Commons: "The Mount Emei" by pookieevans (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Flute part, 3 pages; Total, 7 pages.

From the Drawer, for Voice and Saxophones, by Peter H. Bloom

Contemporary Composition for Tenor or Soprano, with Saxophone Quartet

Score and Parts, PDF $13.99

Boston-based flutist Peter H. Bloom created two versions of his composition From the Drawer, the edition listed here for Tenor or Soprano with Saxophone Quartet (soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, and baritone saxophone) and a second edition for Tenor or Soprano with Flute (doubling Piccolo), Clarinet, Bassoon, and Horn; both editions have been published by Noteworthy Sheet Music. The score provides a musical setting for the intensely emotional poem by Constantine Cavafy. The composer suggests that the vocalist (depending on his or her performance style/background/aesthetic judgment) should free to employ amplification at his/her discretion. 

Here are Mr. Bloom's comments about From the Drawer, taken from his preface (Copyright © 2015) to the edition:

"Constantine Cavafy’s 1923 poem, From the Drawer, captures the acerbic condition of longing, the impossibly private nature of affection, and the occultation of time. Its poignancy is universal; transcending gender, age, era, place, and even translation. Rather than rely on one particular translation of Cavafy’s text, I’ve drawn on a number of versions to arrive at a paraphrase that both informs and is shaped by the musical score.

The musical setting is a sonic image of the intensely emotional response to a flood of memory that informs the poet’s narrative: now pensive, now anxious, now wistful, now joyous, now fraught, now resigned, and ever mercurial."  P. H. Bloom, September 19, 2015

Score, 14 pages; Tenor or Soprano part, 2 pages; Soprano Saxophone part, 4 pages; Alto Saxophone part, 3 pages; Tenor Saxophone part, 3 pages; Baritone Saxophone part, 3 pages; Total, 29 pages.

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We also offer a professionally-printed hard copy edition of From the Drawer for $23.78 plus a $5.95 shipping and handling fee. Due to prohibitively high international shipping rates, we ship print editions only to addresses in the USA. Please use the Contact Us form to let us know which hard copy publication(s) you would like to purchase, along with your email contact information and USPS mailing address. We will then send you a PayPal invoice for the sale and, once we receive notice from PayPal that you have paid for the item(s), we will ship your music to the address provided.

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Sonata in E minor, K.304, by W. A. Mozart

Transcribed for Clarinet (and Piano) by John W. Pratt

Clarinet in A Part, PDF $5.99

Mozart's second group of violin sonatas, the seven "Mannheim" sonatas of 1778, were begun in Mannheim where the composer also worked on a flute commission. The violin parts rarely make significant use of double stops and are in general well suited to a wind instrument. Mozart's works in minor keys are rare and special: consider the G-minor quintet and Symphony No. 40. The K.304 sonata is his only work in E minor and it is mysteriously compelling in its simplicity. Mr. Pratt has created an excellent transcription of the Sonata in E minor, K.304 for A-clarinet. K.304 was written the same summer that Mozart's mother died, an association often pointed to and the inspiration for our cover image selection.

Note that Mr. Pratt's transcription offers the advantage of being in the original key, and that we provide the A-clarinet part only.  The clarinet part works perfectly with the piano part in Mozart's score for piano and violin, which is in the public domain and readily available on imslp.org, free of charge. 

For additional information about the seven Mozart Mannheim sonatas and Mr. Pratt's previous transcriptions of them for alto flute, please read his article Mozart's Mannheim Sonatas, which was originally published by Flute Focus and subsequently republished by NSM on our Resources – Reviews and Articles page.

Clarinet part, 5 pages; Total, 8 pages.