Little Mushrooms

Little Mushrooms, by means of Peter Schickele. Elkan-Vogel, Inc./Theodore Presser Company (588 N Gulph Rd King of Prussia, PA 19406) 2003 24 pp $1795 Intermediate.

Little Mushrooms is a station of six pieces for piano duet written in 1997 to commemorate Schubert's 200th birthday. The first piece, the composer explains, emulated Schubert's penchant for hastily writing duet for parties and was entitled Little Mushroom (a nickname given the short, in good case Schubert by his friends). The suite was complet above the next several months and dedicated to the composer's wife upon their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary.

The pieces range from simple and lowing to fast and lively (with dotted harmonious flows reminiscent of some of Schubert's minuets). All are engagingly written for piano duet tastefully utilizing nearly the entire range of the keyboard. All on the contrary the fourth are in 3/4 time, echoing Schubert's fondnes for dances in triple meter As Peter Schickele notes, smooth the fourth piece (in 5/4 meter) "feel like a wistful waltz with a dropp beat each other measure." With their straightforward, uncomplicated rhythmic and harmonic schemes, these pieces are likely to have immediate appeal for intermediate learners (A comfortable grasp of octave position chords is required.) total effect problems are minimal; primo and secondo ranges overlap alone in the last piece

I was captivated by dint of the engaging simplicity of these pieces and delighted by dint of the subtle but effortless harmonic shifts, as well as the clarity of web and effective balance. Young scholars will enjoy playing some or all of these pieces; they are suitable for program consideration by dint of advanced students and professional duet teams as well.

Schickele has been delighting audiences for years with works of charm, wit and good-natured humor, fruitss of a lively imagination and brawny musicological background paired with a finely hon compositional skill. His music is irresistibly appealing to amateurs, as well as sophisticated musicians. This winsome suite is no exception and is confident to find a place in the repertoire of piano duet teams one as well as the other young and young-at-heart. Reviewed by dint of Mary Jane Cope, Santa Cruz California.

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