Post your recent music/piano investment-purchases

[49410enrique]

I hope this post will serve as a helpful (and fun) resource for us and anyone in the future that visits it.  

I'd like for us to start posting info and where possible photos of what we buy to enhance our piano and music lives.

did you just buy a great edition of a score you hope to study? how about new piano bench seat cushion? perhaps an entry fee for a competition or local masterclass? season tickets to recital and/or orchestra concert series? a dvd? really anything  you invest in if you can post it, where you got it and thoughts on it, etc. I think it  can help others become aware of resources they didn't know about that they might want or find helpful too. also with such diverse needs and interests i think it'd be neat to see what we're all getting.

i've made a few in the past couple months so i'll post below soon.

[49410enrique]

this is one of my music book imports from japan, it was hard to find even over there, my source usually has everything and anything in stock and he had to special order this, so between contacting him in japan, inquiry about availability, special ordering, re packaging and shipping back to me in the states this was about a 3 week process to get this book but it was toally worth it, i paid about 54 US dollars after it was all said and done (these yamaha music media japan scores are pricey to begin with and with the international shipping i think is till got a good deal).

i also got the recordings by lisa/riza nakazono for reference, this is by far one of my favorite and most prized acquisitions right now , i'm int he process of creating  digital archive of it in case the unthinkable were to happen since i don't think i could easily replace the score if something occured.

cd image

score


the volume contains many of Disney's most famous themes arranged/fused with different chopin works including polonaises, waltzes, mazurkas, and nocturnes.  many passages are straight out of the chopin scores and the disney thematic sections are written in a similar style, grade wise i would place this at the early advanced and on (even if technically some are 'late intermediate' due to the musicality needed to achieve the right chopin-esque effect it bumps them up a bit).

there are not too many examples out there right now, this is just one of the selections, it's the theme from beauty and the beast set to the chopin op 28 no 15 the 'raindrop prelude' i don't think it is the most effective fussion of the book but at least its a demo of something it contains.

[49410enrique]

got this on a whim when i came across an amazing deal on amazon, 3.99 usd no tax and free shipping at the time for the complete set, good quality score, the binding is not cheap (i.e. sewn/individual bundles glued so it won't break and you dont' get a bunch of lose leaf sheets falling out like those krappy white kalmus scores).

[49410enrique]

some books refuse to hold/lay flat no matter how much you try to 'break them in' it just takes a bit of time for it to eventually stay put. this neat little do-dad holds the book open to keep it from shutting on you. the drawback is that it isn't good for long passage performance between pages if you have more than two since you must remove it to turn the page but as apractice aid it has been quite handy. paid about 2.99 usd, cheap but good it's madeout of metal not plastic.

[49410enrique]

this is a great little 'portable' mechanical metronome, i have a large seiko pendulum one for home use and have read/heard nothing but great things about the quality of the wittner units, these will last decades with good care.  not really a purchase since i just got this as a gift but it counts i suppose

[49410enrique]

another cool import i brought in with the disney album, this one is hard to come by as well but can still be found (i think my edition is out of print but the new one is out and has all the songs plus one i do not have), this is a studio ghibli set of tunes set  to some more chopin works some are extremely difficult since the etudes make their way into this work so you have the normal challenges of the the chopin op 10 work for example plus bringing out the melody and character of the hisaishi work. again these are a bit rare so there aren't exactly a lot of  yt vids yet so this only example i found is again not favorite of the set but at least it's a decent reference.
i've read through this one and it's not too bad, i'm attaching the etude-ish one mp3 link im workinng on right now (i don't have it listed inmy repertoire since it won't fit and i right now only consider it part of my technical study/practice and warm up i won't move it to reptertoire solo status until after i get a performance or two of my current works out and have this one memorized enough to have lessons on it)

score images




my nakzono recording of the book/set

[candlelightpiano]

Someone told me about this edition for Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu in C# minor Op 66. It's edited by Maurice Hinson and includes Chopin's original manuscript as well as the Fontana edition.

The Foreword includes the context in which the FI was composed, notes about the Fontana edition, and notes from Hinson about performing his piece and practice techniques. I plan to write more about this book and Hinson's notes in my blog soon.

The main differences between Chopin's original ms and the Fontana version is in bars 13 - 24. In the Fontana version, you have the thumbs accented for bars 13 - 16, then the 5th finger accented for the off beats from bars 17 - 24. The original has no accents but the first note of each 16th note group is held as a quarter note. There are other differences as well.

Since Arthur Rubenstein was mentioned as the Chopinist in this book, I found his YouTube performance of this piece, which was of the original version.

In Hinson's opinion, this piece is usually played too fast, as an exercise in velocity rather than as the poetic expression of two contrasted moods - that of the Allegro Agitato and a broadly lyrical middle section.

This edition may be purchased here:

https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/Fantaisie-Impromptu/3533418

[49410enrique]

awesome! that's the same edition i used  when i studied the piece, i agree it's a great score to work off of and makes a really good student resource.

[thalbergmad]

I bought this from a 2nd hand music book dealer. I think it is a bit of a plinker, but I can never resist a concerto.

Also bought a concerto by Roger Sessions, but I plan to use it as a target to test out my longbow

Thal

[candlelightpiano]

awesome! that's the same edition i used  when i studied the piece, i agree it's a great score to work off of and makes a really good student resource.

I wonder why everyone uses the Fontana edition rather than the original? Rubenstein played the original and it sounded so good! You'd think the public would have more respect for the original work? I can't understand it.

[49410enrique]

i just got together with my japanese friend who brought these over personally with from japan when she went home recently since buying in japan and saving on int'l shipping essentially saves me more than 50% over my normal import means.  really great music in both scores:

pretty good size book, difficulty on this is considerably easier than the other 'piano collections' volumes since this is more soundtrack than pc so i'd say anyone from a solid late intermediate and on should be able to hadle about 75% of the book (the other 25 is dodgy or could probably be navigated with some very carefuly practice and perhaps lessons guidance).

this one i've had my eye on for over a year since i already own the first book this book ii, is incredibly difficult in almost every piece, this ranges from a solid 8-10+ on a 1-10 difficulty scale but i believe there isn't a single work in the set that isn't a jewel, it is a long long long term project for me to play through the entire volumes (i and ii), it'll take years but i'm committed.






this will be the first piece is the book i begin to work on late spring  or early summer

can be purchased here (this is my normal store in japan i use):
https://animeartbookonline.com/kingdom-hearts-field-and-battle-piano-sheet-music-book-playstation-2.html

[49410enrique]

picked up a few more scores i'm pretty excited about.

some lovely music by karl jenkins, although the mass is for piano and chorus/voice, the piano writing is quite lovely, inexpensive, about 10 usd


i'd been wanting this edition for quite sometime as my current inventions and sinfonias is a pretty junky vintage copy.  this is leather bound and has some good editing, it's not henle but i bought it 'used' so really nice on the cheap for both collections in a single leather bound volume. i paid 25 usd, if you shop around you don't have to pay the big 50 dollar msrp
published by alfred (masterworks)

[thalbergmad]

Austrian semi plinker purchased for CPS archives.

Thal

[slane]

A lottery ticket ... so I can buy a grand piano and extend the house to fit it in.

[49410enrique]

stopped by my favorite used bookstore (they have  a huge vintage/new old stock scores section), found a couple little gems, summer is when i learn concerto's if i will be working on one at all, though plans pointed to the gershwin rhapsody transcription for solo these two little pieces make me want to consider them as alternates

1. Francaix concertino for piano and orchestra (i have a vintage schott edition printed in the UK, new old stock)
it's a most interesting little work and super charming, four movements, plays like a classical concerto but with some modern sounds

2. grieg piano concerto solo version with orchestra cues

[thalbergmad]

Latest purchase for me L box.

Thal

[49410enrique]

finally came in, a set of these protectors, they're oversized specifically to fit things like henles and weiners but i use them for just about anything in my bag. pretty cheap usually less than 4 dollars each, cheaper to by multiple vs single due to getting ripped of on shipping, i can't find any shops that actually stock these locally

[drkilroy]

Also this:



Best regards, Dr

[candlelightpiano]

My new baby .....Yamaha GB1K

[49410enrique]

My new baby .....Yamaha GB1K

holy katz! that's a sweet ass piano! congrats you must be so happy and ready to 'break it in'  excited about the many recordings you'll post with it. i'm sure you can get some great advice from some of the guys on getting some good microphones to really caputre that pretty sound you'll be putting out!

[candlelightpiano]

Thanks, Enrique!!!      Yeah, I'm pretty excited about it!  Microphone? It's already TOO loud!  I'm practicing Liszt's Consolation No 3 and I have to go ppp and it's so hard to do!  I need a mute, not a mic!      You're too funny!  I must learn to play better piano now! 

[ajspiano]

Thanks, Enrique!!!      Yeah, I'm pretty excited about it!  Microphone? It's already TOO loud!

I think you'll find enrique meant to record the sound not amplify it - That aside, piano looks beautiful choo, i'm very jealous.

[candlelightpiano]

Oh, I see!  You deserve it more than I do!  And YOU know it!!      Now I have to look for a good piano teacher. I really need one.

[ajspiano]

You deserve it more than I do!  And YOU know it!!

not at all - I've played plenty of beautiful pianos in my short life anyway, i dont "need" my own grand.

..It'll be a while before I get one - need a house first, I can only fit an upright where I am now.

[candlelightpiano]

YES!!!!  A house!!  That, you will need. You don't need a grand but you certainly deserve to have one. You have magical fingers. Every time I watch you play, I'm envious!  I need a bigger house for my piano.  She needs to have a room of her own. Someday ....

[49410enrique]

so it's all pre ordered the cd album of the recorded solos by pianist Hiroyuki Nakayama.  the CD is out but i'm having my guy in japan hold it till the solo book comes in (releases next week) so he can ship them both to me at once (a little cheaper that way, international shipping...good grief...).

I hope to work up a few of these over the summer for a Fall performance to celebrate the 25th anniverssary too.

Piano Opera Final Fantasy I/II/III

album



recordings

[williampiano]

I just ordered Toccata by Antonio Tauriello off of Burt's Music in Print.
It should be here in a few days 

[49410enrique]

purchased an mp3 from Rhapsody of Piazolla's "Adios Nonino" Tango Rhapsody for piano and accordion so I can have an idea of how to interpret the piano solo transcription (I had the score for a while already) as I consider what 'big difficult' work I will take on during the summer (this is when I begin new large scale concert solos/concertos/difficult projects etc so I can have it learned for lessons in the Fall term).

[49410enrique]

took few months to find (personally just wanted it ) but finally got a recording for a end of semester assignemnt for my piano lesson
single track purchase from rhapsody of the Moszkowski Beethoven piano concerto no 5 2nd movement fragment solo. i have just over 3 weeks to learn this so this recording definatley helped me speed things along in terms of getting an aural sense of the piece vs the piano plus orchestra version.

[pytheamateur]

Wow, thanks Enrique for the Japanese piano collections!  I've always been a big fan of advanced piano arrangements.

I'm on my way to ordering the Disney and Gibli arrangements from the Japanese Amazon site.

Here's a link I have just found to more samples of the Gibli tunes in Chopin arrangements.

https://7music.livejournal.com/46962.html

[49410enrique]

Wow, thanks Enrique for the Japanese piano collections!  I've always been a big fan of advanced piano arrangements.

I'm on my way to ordering the Disney and Gibli arrangements from the Japanese Amazon site.

Here's a link I have just found to more samples of the Gibli tunes in Chopin arrangements.

https://7music.livejournal.com/46962.html

you're super welcome!  

i was a bit taken back by how difficult some of the ghibli and disney works are, they either directly quote some difficult sections of Chopin pieces note for
note or they emmulate/copy the style so well that original material can be just as difficult as the Chopin pieces (the etude based and nocturne style ones are buggers to learn!). they are incredibly beautiful in spots. i can give you access to my mediafire acount if you want the audio recordings that go along with the ghibli and disney pieces. send me a pm if you're interest. and let me know which ones you try out, i'm doing one from each then will take a short break after i perform them in Mya from to focus on assigned repertoire but hope to pick em up again for new ones in the fall.

also if you want to get a quote and possibly it might be easier, email/use the contact us link on animeartbookonline.com i use them for all my Japanese imports and they were the ones that got me my ghibli and disney albums

[roseamelia]

Soo wish I had some of those pieces but right now still looking for jazz music.

[thalbergmad]

A Rare out of print score kindly donated to the CPS.

Thal

[thalbergmad]

French semi plinker purchased for CPS Archives.

Thal

[austinarg]

Just bought my tickets for Arcadi Volodos at Teatro Colón, September 4th!  

[49410enrique]

so excited, just pre-ordered the piano score album! i have to hurry up and finish several of my side projects before this arrives from japan in june.

[austinarg]

so excited, just pre-ordered the piano score album! i have to hurry up and finish several of my side projects before this arrives from japan in june.

Where do you get those books? I'm interested 

[49410enrique]

Where do you get those books? I'm interested  

hmm depends on which titles in particular you mean by 'those books' , what i mean is the newest released that are coming out this year are part of the 25th anniverssary collection of the works and so far I have only seen Japanese retailers being able to get their hands on them.  the other final fantasy universe books (i.e. those in the piano collections and such) can be  found via the same retailers but also in the US i really like squaresound.com they are very great with service/turn around, they package them well and their prices are inline with that they should be for the import after profits, exchange rates, etc are factored. i still go with my main source in japan almost all of the time though out of loyalty and stuff.

these in particular might eventaully be had on squaresound but i do not know for sure or how long it will take them to get them..

if i can reccommend my main source for all things japan (not just piano music but great for CD, other media, etc.) it would be Tetsuya Yoshioka the owner of Akihabara Outlet Books, Japan (Adomidori Co., LTD), amazing shop up in Gunma Japan. They have been incredible in helping me find all sorts of things that can be hard to get even over there! Their site is quite nice and easy enough to navigate , i.e in english.

also for anything not listed, a pre order (like i did for this), or other special stuff you can email them directly. Their english is quite good and if you can provide an image for reference or a web link it helps them even more. They usually email me back the same or the next business day with inquiries , and when they get the item, they take a picture and email that to me and also let me knwo when it exports on their end witha  timeline of when to expect it on mine.

the main advantage i have found to using them is how easy it has been to get invoiced from them via paypal (which is very secure especially with dealing with e transactions and international markets). he quotes in US dollars so he takes care of the conversion, and  they have a flat rate shipping policy which is very nice.
https://animeartbookonline.com/

edit. i noticed you're in argentina, they have a big currency calculator on the website you can tell it how to display prices, if you're still unsure you can email them.

[sueyin]

I just bought a book I'm excited about.  Here is the link to it and where I bought it:

https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/Ludovico-Einaudi-Islands-Essential-Einaudi/19724582


Here's a video to show how one of the pieces (Le Onde) sound like:

If this post is okay, let me know.  I'm not sure if this is only for classical.  I'll post other non-classical then. 

[49410enrique]

If this post is okay, let me know.  I'm not sure if this is only for classical.  I'll post other non-classical then. 

nah anything goes...

[sueyin]

Do you know where I can get advanced Japanese piano arrangements of songs like Love is a Many Splendored Thing?  A few years ago, one of my friends showed me a book that she had photocopied and it had loads of really beautiful arrangements for that song, Lara's theme, etc.  I remember the writing in the book was japanese.  I've seen some Richard Clayderman collections with those songs but they're just not as good as the one my friend had.  Just wondering if you know of any Japanese advanced piano arrangements for those songs?

[49410enrique]

Do you know where I can get advanced Japanese piano arrangements of songs like Love is a Many Splendored Thing?  A few years ago, one of my friends showed me a book that she had photocopied and it had loads of really beautiful arrangements for that song, Lara's theme, etc.  I remember the writing in the book was japanese.  I've seen some Richard Clayderman collections with those songs but they're just not as good as the one my friend had.  Just wondering if you know of any Japanese advanced piano arrangements for those songs?

hmm i can kick over some rocks and see if anything turns up. it'll be a bit tough since despite my love for all things japan, i can't read it worth a flip. alas dr google translator is my friend...


in other news i am excited and very afraid of my new main fall repertoire piece, not official until my teacher gives final ok but she trusts my judgement and humors me. besides i wouldnt' do myself any favors if i didn't push myself techincially and musically.

so even though i have posted the entire PDF here before and i have print outs i used to preview (i always buy my scores if they're available when i will study them), i will be working an excerpt/scene from
the Sergei Taneyev transcriptioon (he captured and preserved the orchestration to an unreal level of accuracy for many years this is what ballet companies used to rehearse since a full orchestra for practice wasn't always practical, thus the real challenge is maintining all these 'different instruments' when the music gets going. so excited, i want to put this on stage early december or so)


considering you get the entire ballet all 171 pages...it's a bargain put out by dover in recent reprint from the original editions. i paid about 15 and change (USD) on amazon.

the pletnev is more famous and certainly  more 'flashy' or 'showy' for the concert stage but there is a beauty to the original lines i absolutely love. also we get so much more great stuff not seen in the more common 'nutcracker suite' also by tchaikovsky.

picked up a blu ray on pre order (i won't get till it releases late may) of




Tchaikovsky:
 

The Nutcracker, Op. 71

Live Recording from The Amsterdam Music Theatre, 2011
 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Anna Tsygankova (Clara Staalboom), Matthew Golding (Prince), James Stout (Nutcracker) & Alexander Zhembrovskyy (Mouse King)

Dutch National Ballet & Holland Symfonia, Ermanno Florio


to follow along w my score later and to watch entirely around christmas time (it'll be neat to see a 'new version' of this).

[werq34ac]

Recently, I bought IMSLP's sheet music app for iPad/iPhone.

WASTE OF MONEY! It's a 2 dollar PDF reader, which safari already has. The app requires internet to use anyway (although you can download music to read offline). It would be better if they had a better page turning mechanism (like where you use a sideways motion to turn pages rather than having to scroll down like a pdf).

Anyway, don't buy it. Just download directly from the website.




An a totally unrelated to piano topic, Another app totally not worth the money, infinity blade. It should be worth a dollar. Don't get me wrong, it's a great game, great idea, and really fun. It's just that there's another app exactly like it you can get for free called Blood and Glory. There's no storyline, and you don't have as many weapons, but you still level up and you can still buy equipment. Otherwise the gameplay is the exact same with slightly inferior graphics.

[revanyoda777]

purchased an mp3 from Rhapsody of Piazolla's "Adios Nonino" Tango Rhapsody for piano and accordion so I can have an idea of how to interpret the piano solo transcription (I had the score for a while already) as I consider what 'big difficult' work I will take on during the summer (this is when I begin new large scale concert solos/concertos/difficult projects etc so I can have it learned for lessons in the Fall term).

I love Astor Piazolla's music! If you have heard the music in the Ghibli films composed by Joe Hisaishi it has a similar sound to it. he takes numerous cues and inspiration from Piazolla. Glad someone else on here appreciates his work

[unholeee]

I bought a 2nd hand keyboard for $20 to practice at work from a very reputable person (cough).I assume it was his sons. The keys are also labelled A to K then scratched out and labelled A to H.

And AMEB 7th grade leisure book, just for arthur steadman greensleves arrangement. But lotus land seems quite nice (and quite impossible at this stage)

[sueyin]

I've wanted to play this piece for a while and just got it:

https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/River-Flows-in-You/19746335

Thank you, 49410Enrique, for looking out for my book!  And what is the 49410?  Your zip code?

[49410enrique]

i finally got my special order and payment confirmation done. i was afraid this wouldn't release since i bought the CD enthusiastically and waited and waited and waited for KMP to put the scores on paper! (odd i fully expected yamaha to handle this but KMP is abit less expensive so no complaints!). also it has been quickly selling out on the main big sites selling this stuff (i again went through my folks at animeartbookonline.com , they ALWAYS come through for me)

Nier Gestalt & Replicant Piano Collections (2012)
piano score


omg i'm so freakin excited about it it cant's ship from japan fast enough!
i know, it's a little 'derivative' of chopin and rachmaninoff but this is a re-arrangement of a re-arragnement, they just wanted to have fun with the main pieces for this 2nd release (the first release is all but impossible to find! and super expensive onthe used market... )

examples

[zezhyrule]

Oh man, I need that Nier PC book. Like, right now   If only importing piano collection books wasn't so expensive  

Edit: Ah, I found it for $36 on PlayAsia... Hmm...

I still plan on getting the Piano Opera IV/V/VI book, not to mention the first one with music from I/II/III... I can just see all my money burning away  

[zezhyrule]

Just purchased that Nier piano collections book!  Should be here in the next week~

I love the music from that game. I've actually owned the game for a while now, but I never got around to starting it D:

Ashes of Dreams is so awesome and jazzy as can be heard from the video above. As for which one I'm going to start learning... I'm trying to decide between that one and Hills of Radiant Winds. Both so amazing 

Listening on, Shadowlord is great too. And so is Grandma, the one you embedded up there. This soundtrack is so much better than FFXIII's pc imo D:

[49410enrique]

Just purchased that Nier piano collections book!  Should be here in the next week~

I love the music from that game. I've actually owned the game for a while now, but I never got around to starting it D:

Ashes of Dreams is so awesome and jazzy as can be heard from the video above. As for which one I'm going to start learning... I'm trying to decide between that one and Hills of Radiant Winds. Both so amazing 

Listening on, Shadowlord is great too. And so is Grandma, the one you embedded up there. This soundtrack is so much better than FFXIII's pc imo D:

it is indeed a splendid collections. as usual, some are certainly more effective than others, but overall it is a nice variety. i concur that the jazzy ashes pieces is nice!

i am a bit torn between this  one and grandma myself, i will eventually hit them all but deciding which to start with with so many projects going is diffiuclt. still i like the energy of this piece.

&feature=plcp


in other news, visited my favorite used scores store got some neat ones amongst them a new old stock paderweski chopin nocturnes score.

a new dover collections of various debusssy etudes (mainly bought it for the etudes but it has some wonderful pieces as an over all mix, it was nice to get both etudes books and extra in one nice score).

my grainger paraphrease (schott edition) of the tchaikovsky flower waltz (my big difficult concert piece for the rest of the year) also just came in.