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Brahms - Intermezzo in B-Flat Minor (Op. 117 No. 2)

Brahms’s Intermezzo in B-flat Minor, Op. 117 No. 2, is a deeply expressive late work that combines lyrical intensity with subtle harmonic shifts. This From the Ground Up edition highlights the piece’s essential structure through clear reductions and offers focused practice strategies to support confident, musical performance.... Read >>

Claude Debussy - Feux d'artifice, No. 12 from Preludes, Book 2

Feux d’artifice (Fireworks) is the final piece of Debussy’s second book of Préludes, and the most overtly flashy. Paul Roberts asserts that “virtuoso music should sound and look daring,” and that Feux d’artifice “is audacious in every sense, musically, technically, and theatrically.” Indeed, the music seems to not only depict actual fireworks but also embodies the notion of pianistic fireworks. In this video lesson, Fred Karpoff demonstrates how to clear the many hurdles of Feux d’artifice with ease, ranging from imaginative retaking of notes to facilitate jumps, arpeggios, and glissandi to producing sparkling sound, clarity, and daring sonic and pedalling... Read >>

JS Bach - Prelude & Fugue in C Minor (Book 2)

BWV871

Difficulty Prelude: 3 Fugue: 4 This video preview features a performance of the work, please log-in or subscribe to see full teaching video for this work. Resources & links Click here for open domain editions for this work. Click here to download difficulty chart for all 48 preludes & fugues. ... Read >>

Schumann - *** (No. 30 from Album for the Young, Op. 68)

The 30th piece in Schumann’s Album for the Young is one of the composer’s most intimate and tender short pieces, full of harmonic and contrapuntal refinement. Although it is technically accessible to intermediate pianists, it is musically rewarding for more advanced players as well. This From the Ground Up edition... Read >>

Burgmüller - 16. Douce Plainte (Tender Appeal) in G Minor (from 25 Easy and Progressive Etudes, Op. 100)

Douce plainte (Gentle Complaint) is a study in expressive playing, requiring very careful listening indeed. In the key of G minor, and marked dolente (sadly), we find expression not only in the melodic line that passes from one hand to the other, but also in the rises and falls in the accompaniment figuration (we respond by adding our own gentle hairpins, with no accent on the final quaver of the slurred groups). Playing a melodic line in legato cantabile style involves not merely projecting it over the accompaniment, but also paying attention to how one note relates to the next... Read >>

Beethoven - Bagatelle in D Major (Op. 33 No. 6)

Resources & links Click here to view open domain editions for this work. ... Read >>

WA Mozart - Sonata in G, K283 (1st mvt)

The opening movement of Mozart’s lyrical and playful Sonata in G has long been a favourite of both students and professional pianists. Its relatively modest technical demands make it attractive to amateur pianists, yet its musical subtlety requires careful listening and focused practice. This From the Ground Up edition offers... Read >>

Claude Debussy - La puerta del vino, No. 3 from Preludes, Book 2

La Puerta del Vino (The Gate of Wine) refers to the traditional meeting place of the Romani people of Granada - one of the entrances to the Alhambra Palace. The composer had received a postcard of the famous gate, supposedly from Manuel de Falla, and told Alfred Cortot, “I will do something with that.” Debussy responded with a colourful work overflowing with Spanish sentiment, including an incessant habañera rhythm and flamenco-like melodies, “with sudden contrasts of extreme violence and passionate tenderness.” Performance Video lesson ... Read >>

Grieg - Arietta (from Lyric Pieces, Op. 12 No. 1)

Lyric Pieces, Op. 12, No. 1

Edvard Grieg’s Arietta, the first of his many Lyric Pieces, is a miniature gem of great refinement and poetry. This video walkthrough and From the Ground Up edition will help intermediate to advanced students to understand and communicate its expression, while learning some practice methods that can be applied to... Read >>