Fascinations

Fascinations is a volume of quirky juxtapositions and intriguing pieces of music. Lœillet is cheek-by-jowl with Liszt, Schumann with Scarlatti and Sjögren. There are some fine newly-written miniatures, but also some extraordinary pieces by well-known composers, such as Mozart’s bizarre Funeral march of Signor Maestro Contrapunto or the unsophisticated music-making faithfully represented in Gounod’s Bagpipers and Tchaikovsky’s The peasant plays the mouth-organ. Dance movements by Telemann, Schubert, Rameau, Jiŕovec and Zilcher all have something unexpected or piquant about them, although they are technically straightforward anda joy to play.For intermediate-level pianists.Piano Moods is an exciting new piano series from Boosey & Hawkes. Each volume is devoted to a particular mood. The pieces chosen draw on Boosey & Hawkes’ extensive collection of wonderful music as well as lesser-known gems from the past – some of them from surprising sources – and newly composed works.