The Composer's Landscape

Derived from a popular series of lecture-recitals presented by Carol Montparker over the past several years EThe Composer's LandscapeE features eight insightful essays on the piano repertoire. Each chapter focuses on a single composer: Bach Mozart Beethoven Schubert Schumann Brahms Chopin and Mendelssohn. Montparker uses landscape as a metaphor for the score whether it be a well-tended garden of Mozart or the thorny thickets on a Schumann page: the topographical peaks and valleys the circuitous melodic lines the thoroughfares where all the voices convene and so on. The discussions include thoughtful suggestions for navigating these landscapes which differ so greatly from one composer to the next taking note of the essential technical and interpretive elements as well as the challenges for the explorer pianist. ?As an actively performing pianist lecturer teacher music journalist and author of six other books on music Montparker has the experience and understanding to guide readers through these issues while elucidating the finer points. Woven into her text are excerpts from her interviews with world-renowned pianists from Alfred Brendel to Andr (c) Watts conducted during her many years as senior editor of EClavierE magazine. The book also includes images from original autograph manuscripts and a CD of Montparker performing selections by composers featured in the book.