4 great advanced piano solo collections (by living composers!)

Finding fantastic piano solo concert repertoire by living composers can be challenging. There is so much to choose from that sifting through a global sea of options becomes overwhelming, tempting us to go back to the tried-and-true pieces everyone plays. But playing it safe deprives us and our audiences of truly great music. Reaching beyond “museum music” (standard classical repertoire we all know and love) introduces listeners to living composers who are writing today’s gorgeous music, offering audiences the chance to be part of a living, breathing tradition.

With its focus on living composers, No Dead Guys’s mission is to introduce people to today’s music and the composers who write it. Through this blog I hope to help narrow the options a bit, introduce readers to new artists and music, and hopefully encourage pianists to include some of this vibrant music on their recital programs. My post, 5 Intermediate Piano Pieces for Adults (by living composers!) offered suggestions to adult learners. This post celebrates music for advanced pianists—whether professional or passionate amateur.

As a pianist who was raised on music anthologies, it’s perhaps not surprising that I’m fond of piano music collections. They invite delicious browsing and sight reading, and they offer options to suit a variety of tastes and moods. The collections I’ve featured in this post offer it all—from edgy modern to minimalist; from jazz to unabashedly romantic. They sit well in the hands, and play well to audiences. I share them with you, with enthusiasm.

Etudes: for solo piano

Composer: Scott Pender

About: This is a rare collection of concert pieces that appeals to trained musicians and the average audience member. I have learned, recorded, and performed all but one of the pieces in this set—and only skipped the last one because my hands are too small for it. Pender’s gift for melodic lines and funky rhythms makes them both sophisticated and audience friendly. Even my octogenarian “tune and a beat” father has fallen in love with “The Devil’s Escalator,” Pender’s homage to Ligeti. They remain a permanent part of my performance repertoire.

No Dead Guys interview: Oedipus the King: and interview with composer Scott Pender

To listen: YouTube

To purchase: Scott Pender

Four Places in Queensland

Composer: Erik Griswold

About: An aural tour of Queensland, Australia, Four Places in Queensland blends literal, tangible things such as “Rain” and “Spring” and “Bell Birds” with a palpable, intuitive love of the landscapes that inspired this music. Yet, as with other well-written pieces about place, this music transcends its settings and succeeds in tapping into things universal to all of us, regardless of our knowledge of our connection to Queensland.

No Dead Guys interview: Four Places in Queensland: an interview with composer and pianist Erik Griswold

To listen: YouTube Music, Pandora, Apple Music, Deezer

To purchase: Erik Griswold

Liaisons: Re-imagining Sondheim From the Piano

Composers: assorted

About: In the virtuosic tradition of Earl Wilde’s Gershwin arrangements, the piano compositions in the Liaisons collection feature Stephen Sondheim’s music, arranged by some of the world’s leading composers. A brainchild of concert pianist Anthony de Mare, this dazzling collection features styles as diverse as jazz, avant guard, and (at times) unabashedly romantic. Many are fiercely difficult, but absolutely worth the work.

To purchase: Hal Leonard

To listen: Spotify, YouTube Music, Pandora, Apple Music

No Dead Guys interview: Liaisons: an interview with pianist and arranger Anthony de Mare

Orchard: a collection of 50 short piano pieces

Composer: Tyler Kline

About: In Kline’s own words, “Orchard is a celebration of fruit. Each sketch draws on a specific fruit’s texture, flavor, scent, and/or shape to create a musical character study.” In the hands of a lesser composer, a themed collection like this could quickly become kitschy. These miniatures escape this fate through Kline’s enormous range of compositional styles and his exquisite ability to create complete sound worlds within one or two minute pieces. No two are alike, yet they work perfectly together. Perhaps part of this success comes from Kline’s desire to not have the music be perfect, saying, “I want my music - at times - to sound ‘messy’ to convey a sense of the natural world.”

No Dead Guys interview: Orchard: an interview with composer Tyler Kline

To listen: Spotify, Apple Music

To purchase: Tyler Kline

photo by Dayne Tompkins, courtesy of UpSplash