Franz Liszt. 200-Year Anniversary

Virtuoso to the core, Franz Liszt is highly respected and prolific composer and pianist, known both for his works and performances. His contemporaries were always highly impressed by Liszt’s phenomenal skill, precision and expressivity. Face of composer always reflected feeling of pieces he was playing; Liszt was always passionate towards his music even though he travelled – and giving concerts, consequently – a lot.

Liszt was also a piano accompanist and teacher. No less than forty people were fortunate enough to become his students. Liszt helped them to reveal their own creativity, not having an intention of making them sound like him. Even though it is already something you can’t help but appreciate, there is more to come: Liszt never charged for his lessons! He was altruistic type of person and had good sense of humor.

The greatest pianist of the 19th century and creator of new genres, such as symphonic poem and rhapsody, Liszt proposed to fuse music with architecture, painting and literature. Talking about literature, it wasn’t alien to him: he wrote a book about Chopin and had numerous publications; living up to the hilt, he participated in whatever seemed interesting to him.

In 2011 we celebrate Liszt’s jubilee – he was born 200 years ago. Sadly there were no camcorders in the 19th century – otherwise we could’ve seen how brilliant his concerts were. Being a pianist myself, I want to wish you to see Liszt performing live at least at your dream – on waking up your spirits will be raised and you will have inspiration for years to come. To have a higher chance for this to happen make sure you play Liszt's compositions quite often. Franz Liszt sheet music will help you with this – use smart filter to choose instrumentation, genre, or key or just browse more than 1000 scores of an epoch-making composer!..

Lascia Ch'io Pianga sheet music in high quality

George Frideric Handel was born in 1685 – the same year as Scarlatti. But not only this fact makes them related – they both could be lawyers: Handel thought about it himself and in Scarlatti’s case it was his father’s idea. I have no clue if Handel and Scarlatti have neighbouring immobility at Mercury, but two craters of the planet are named after them.

What else can be said of Handel? Well, he began composing in the age of 9 and taught himself to play organ. Originally German, he lived in London a bigger part of his life. Handel tried to make opera more dramatic and created the new type of oratorio – musically democratic and monumental.

Lascia ch'io pianga is his touching soprano aria, present at many modern films and deservedly popular among artists. Its sheet music is available here: Lascia Ch'io Pianga from Opera Rinaldo in high quality.

Il dolce suono sheet music in high quality

Gaetano Donizetti was one of leading composers of bel canto opera. He was born in 1797 in Italy. Despite his parents weren’t musicians, he quickly became professional composer. After signing a contract with a theatre manager who was impressed by his opera, Donizetti moved to Naples.

Donizetti composed mainly operas, but symphonies, oratorios, sonatas and cantatas weren’t alien to him as well as string quartets and duets. The world of classical music wouldn’t be that rich as it is nowadays if he would become an architect or lawyer as he intended in his youth. Donizetti was quick at composing but it didn’t affect neither his chamber pieces nor songs – they sound majestic and dramatic.

It's hard to forget the concert in The Fifth Element : the aria that Diva Plavalaguna is performing in Besson's film is written by Donizetti. Enjoy this fine music score: Scena and Aria Il dolce suono from Lucia di Lammermoor sheet music.

Chopin-Czerny. Polonaise Brillante Op.3

Composer since the age of seven, Chopin needs no introduction. A genius pianist, he forcedly lived in Paris for most of his life, but his compositions always have indelible Polish feel, influenced by folk motifs of his Motherland.

Chopin’s masterful piano miniatures are dramatically romantic, sincere and spiritual. Never before him was music that expressive. If it wasn’t for Chopin, polonaise and mazurka wouldn’t sound that poetic, there would be no such genre as a piano ballad and one of the craters on Mercury would stay nameless.

Introduction and Polonaise Brillante in C major, Op.3 is initially a composition for cello and piano. Luminously arranged by Carl Czerny for piano, it is available here:

Introduction and Polonaise Brillante in C major (Piano Arrangement), Op.3

Alkan Piano Sheet Music

Charles-Valentine Alkan is a French virtuoso pianist. Besides composing, he taught Chopin’s students after death of a Polish composer and translated Bible (as a whole!) to French. Unluckily, his translation didn’t live till our days. And what’s even sadder, several of his works were lost, too. First composition of Alkan dates 1828 and most of them are written for solo piano.

Friends of Alkan thought of him as of lively, warm and humorous person. Even the title of his "Funeral march on the death of a parrot" warrants his ironic nature, noticeable in his works, musically-challenging yet written by a deeply sensitive and open man.

During the 20th century, music of Alkan wasn’t frequently heard in the concert halls, but now more and more pianists turn to his worthy and innovative works.

Alkan piano sheet music is available here.

Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky

Pictures at an Exhibition is one of the most deservedly staged and re-arranged suites of Mussorgsky. Subheading of this work (A Remembrance of Victor Hartmann) is self-explanatory – it is dedicated to a composer’s close friend, an architect and painter, who died early from an aneurism. Mussorgsky himself outlived Hartmann by three years, dying in the age of 42, but his contribution is huge: Pictures at an Exhibition was re-arranged even for such instruments as glockenspiel, xylophone and marimba. There were so many of those who want to adapt suite for themselves that we can easily find two bands starting from “Tangerine” among them – Tangerine Dream and Tangerine Trees, respectively.

In 1991-1992 Arkadi Troitsky transcripted Mussorgsky's suite for a string orchestra. Troitsky is a composer, arranger, and conductor with a great experience. Download the high quality sheet music here: Pictures at an Exhibition, arranged by Arkadi Troitsky – who knows, maybe it will inspire you to play its parts on sitar or theremin!..

Video of another version of arrangement, by Ravel, is below:

Music Self-Publishing

World never stops moving. Neither the world of music does. The pace of its changes and development doesn’t cease to surprise contemporary composers. To be successful in this highly competitive environment they need to adjust, to learn and to develop themselves.

Every way to composer’s success begins with such basic steps as, first of all, motivation and, second of all, getting music scores PUBLISHED so that they were acknowledged by the public. Unlike the first task, the second one may require some comprehensive informational research before a composer finally chooses the way to follow.

That is exactly the purpose of the article “Music Self-Publishing” – to provide a talented but probably overlooked composer with all the data regarding the options he’s got. All-mighty publishers or means of self-publication – that is the question. The overview, comparative analysis and the choice of solution – all inside. Have a look Music Self-Publishing