Six Canons, Op.

142, for Piano by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco

Review by: Blanche Winogron
Notes, Second Series, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jun., 1954), p. 447
Published by: Music Library Association
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and facility beyond the needs of the de-
scriptive pieces and dance forms typical
of the literature for the earlier grades.
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Six Can-
ons, Op. 142, for piano. New York:
Leeds Music Corp., 1953. [24 p.; $1.50]
The composer has always been very
much at home with old forms both in
music and poetry. The Canons, Op. 142,
should prove interesting for the advanced
student well acquainted with counter-
point and with various phrasing tech-
niques. Although the pieces are grateful
for the instrument and effective, they still
sound somehow "contrived." The Bur-
lesca and Alla Marcia Funebre are, I
believe, the best works in the set.
Marion Bauer: Summertime Suite (8
pieces for students), for piano. New
York: Leeds Music Corp., 1953. [20 p.;
$1.25]
Here is a charming little set of pieces
for youingsters in the early grades. Not
too easy, they are graphic, varied in
mood, in pianistic and musical styles,
and in the problems they present. Most
of the basic techniques are covered,
including good chord passages, both
quick and slow, staccato and legato. A
piece like the Waterwheel moves over
the whole keyboard; the Whippet Race is
good for mastering simultaneous use of
different phrasings in both hands; Fire-
flies for clean, quick little fingers. These
are obviously the work of one who knows
intimately and enjoys working out with
imagination a variety of teaching prob-
lems. Mothers, teachers, and children
will appreciate the widely-spaced staves
and large notes.
Alfred Mirovitch, compiler: A Music
Box of 22 Student Pieces in Early Grades
for Piano. New York: Leeds Music
Corp., 1953. [33 p.; $1.25]
Although a very few of the pieces are
rather ordinary, this is a nice collection
of material mostly of the Russian school
from the late nineteenth century to the
present day. The best ones in the
volume are those of Tchaikovsky, Gret-
chaninoff-the familiar ones from their
children's albums-and Maykapar, Gnes-
sina, and
Miaskovsky. Those of the latter
composer are lovely fragments.
The student should not only be de-
lighted with the enjoyable Little Etude
of Goedicke, Tchaikovsky's Sweet Dreams
-that perfect study for cantabile with
double touch-Maykapar's Polka and the
Gnessina March-a stunning little work
and a good addition to the recital reper-
toire-but, in working them out, he
should go far in developing a com-
mand of the keyboard.
One criticism of Mr. Mirovitch's excel-
lent job of selection and editing: some
of the pedal markings are unnecessary,
some questionable, others impossible.
Any child with good enough co-ordina-
tion to do these pieces can change the
pedal cleanly and with taste as often
as is necessary, and can learn to phrase
gracefully with the foot as well as the
hand.
Dmitri Shostakovich: Dances of the
Dolls, seven pieces for piano. New York:
Leeds Music Corp., 1953. [20 p.; $1.25]
These dances were taken from ballet
suites written as recently as 1949-50 and,
although in certain respects somewhat
reminiscent of the ballet music of Offen-
bach, Delibes, and Tchaikovsky, they
must be delightful in their orchestral
setting. The miniatures are character-
istic of the composer's style, harmony,
rhythm, and humor. The Dance, Polka,
Hurdy-Gurdy, and the Petite Ballerina
have charm and should be fun for the
student learning to explore and to play
with the keyboard.
W. A. Mozart:
Kammerkonzert, K. V.
449, fuir Klavier und Streichorchester
(zwei Oboen und zwei Horner ad
libitum), hrsg. von Bruno Hinze-Rein-
hold. Ausgabe fur zwei Klaviere. New
York: C. F. Peters, 1953. [2-piano score,
38 p.; $2.00]
This concerto was the first composition
Mozart listed in his little notebook of
completed works in 1784, when he began
the small catalogue he kept up until his
death. It stands alone, between the
pieces in this form written in his early
youth and the last group of great con-
certos for the piano and orchestra.
Mozart himself says, "It is one of a
quite peculiar kind, composed rather for
a small orchestra than a large one" . . .
447
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