Music for Younger Pianists
Sahan Arzruni, piano
Introducing the young soul to music is a matter of no small consequence. It requires a delicate balance between art－the product of grown-up experience－and artlessness, the province of childhood. When a composer of note addresses his music to a young audience, he is often reflecting on his own childhood: revisiting a child's state of mind, recapturing it, and transmitting it through his adult artistic sensibility. Alternatively, the composer may portray some artifact of childhood－a toy, for example－with the kind of self-conscious simplicity that appeals to a child's natural naiveté. A third possibility is to compose pieces that the young can actually perform.
Brevity is the key to all three objectives. For despite a child's natural attraction to music and his potential technical ability, his attention span is limited. It is not always easy for a composer to reduce the scope of his compositions in this way. One might say that it is the mark of a truly great composer to be able to distill his music for the nourishment of young souls without sacrificing his own artistic personality. This recording features music by composers who have indeed struck that "delicate balance."
The works featured on this recording are rarely if ever performed in concert. Taken individually, they are short compositions, technically accessible to gifted budding pianists. Most notable composers have written in this genre. Because such compositions are short and deceptively simple, professionals deem them "unsuitable" for concert performance and do not program them.
I have chosen to circumvent the problem by performing these miniatures as sets with an overarching design, in the manner of the poetic cycles of the Romantic masters. In this way, the whole can become greater than its parts, as it were, resulting in a program that is pianistically challenging, perhaps even intellectually stimulating－but most important of all, musically satisfying. — Sahan Arzruni
Childhood Memories
| WAV | $9.99 | |
| CD | $15.99 |
Track Listing
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Children's Carnival: Promenade
Amy (H. H. A.) Beach
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Children's Carnival: Columbine
Amy (H. H. A.) Beach
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Children's Carnival: Pantalon
Amy (H. H. A.) Beach
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Children's Carnival: Pierrot and Pierrette
Amy (H. H. A.) Beach
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Children's Carnival: Secrets
Amy (H. H. A.) Beach
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Childrens Carnival: Harlequin
Amy (H. H. A.) Beach
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Sketches in Color: Purple
Robert Starer
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Sketches in Color: Shades of Blue
Robert Starer
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Sketches in Color: Black and White
Robert Starer
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Sketches in Color: Bright Orange
Robert Starer
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Sketches in Color: Grey
Robert Starer
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Sketches in Color: Pink
Robert Starer
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Sketches in Color: Crimson
Robert Starer
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Sketches in Color: Maroon
Robert Starer
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Sketches in Color: Aluminum
Robert Starer
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Sketches in Color: Silver and Gold
Robert Starer
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Sketches in Color: Khaki
Robert Starer
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Sketches in Color: Pepper and Salt
Robert Starer
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Sketches in Color: Aquamarine
Robert Starer
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Sketches in Color: Chrome Yellow
Robert Starer
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A Quiet Afternoon: A Quiet Afternoon
Ned Rorem
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A Quiet Afternoon: A New Game
Ned Rorem
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A Quiet Afternoon: The Little Boy Lost
Ned Rorem
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A Quiet Afternoon: The Little Boy Found
Ned Rorem
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A Quiet Afternoon: Lonsesome Waltz
Ned Rorem
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A Quiet Afternoon: The Tiny Tin Dancers
Ned Rorem
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A Quiet Afternoon: Near The Strange Garden
Ned Rorem
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A Quiet Afternoon: A Trick
Ned Rorem
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A Quiet Afternoon: Evening Rainbow
Ned Rorem
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Three Toccatinas: I.
Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee
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Three Toccatinas: II
Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee
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Three Toccatinas: III
Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee
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Lyric Piece
Ben Weber
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Subway in The Sunshine and Other Memories: Bird-Cage
William Mayer
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Subway in The Sunshine and Other Memories: Feeding Pigeons
William Mayer
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Subway in The Sunshine and Other Memories: Rude Bird
William Mayer
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Subway in The Sunshine and Other Memories: The Stream that Knew Sadness
William Mayer
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Subway in The Sunshine and Other Memories: Subway in The Sunshine
William Mayer
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Altered Steps to Altered States: Hesitating Seconds
Miriam Gideon
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Altered Steps to Altered States: Sliding Thirds
Miriam Gideon
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Altered Steps to Altered States: Insistent Fourths
Miriam Gideon
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Altered Steps to Altered States: Stretching Fifths
Miriam Gideon
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Altered Steps to Altered States: Everything at Sixes and at Sevens
Miriam Gideon
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Altered Steps to Altered States: Wounded Octaves
Miriam Gideon
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Modal Suite: I.
George Perle
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Modal Suite: II
George Perle
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Modal Suite: III
George Perle
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Little Suite for Piano: I. Pastorale
Lou Harrison
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Little Suite for Piano: II. Quadrille
Lou Harrison
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Little Suite for Piano: III. Chorale
Lou Harrison
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Soundshots: The Swing
Louise Talma
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Soundshots: The Pony Express
Louise Talma
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Soundshots: Duck Duet
Louise Talma
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Soundshots: The Bird Says Bob White
Louise Talma
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Soundshots: Quiet Time
Louise Talma
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Soundshots: Follow The Leader
Louise Talma
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Soundshots: Skipping
Louise Talma
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Soundshots: The Robin
Louise Talma
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Soundshots: Black and White
Louise Talma
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Soundshots: Circles
Louise Talma
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Soundshots: Two by Two They Came
Louise Talma
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Soundshots: Run, Rabbit, Run!
Louise Talma
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Soundshots: Strolling
Louise Talma
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Soundshots: Pitter-Patter, Pitter-Patter
Louise Talma
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Soundshots: A Heavy Load
Louise Talma
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Soundshots: Whirling Pin Wheels
Louise Talma
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Soundshots: Jumping High
Louise Talma
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Soundshots: End of Day
Louise Talma
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Soundshots: The Clocks
Louise Talma
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Soundshots: Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep
Louise Talma
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Little Piece
Roger Sessions
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Waltz for Brenda
Roger Sessions
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Scherzino
Roger Sessions
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March
Roger Sessions
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