When I was fifteen or so, I was taking piano lessons from Mr. Stevesand, and he sold me a book of piano solos published by Carl Fischer, Inc. It was chock full of pieces at varying levels of difficulty, and we spent three years working through it. I loved that book.
I still love it. I love it so much I have kept it with me all these years, dragging it around in moving boxes and letting it sit in storage all those years when we didn't have a piano. The cover is gone, the glue in the binding has disintegrated, and the pages are crinkling like it's old or something. The other day Daughter No. 2 said, "Well, it is at least thirty years old, you know." "Shut up!" I said back. "It is not." She's right, though. My old Carl Fischer, Inc. solo book, what's left of it, is more than thirty years old, and it's time to replace it, although I will never dispose of it. I can't find the same edition, but I can find the individual sheet music, so I have been ordering them here and there. First, here is the old book:
Now, here are some of the newer individual pieces I have been collecting.
In honor of my growing collection of playable piano solos, the ones that aren't beyond my ability, here is the adagio from Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven. This thing puts me in a trance.
I still love it. I love it so much I have kept it with me all these years, dragging it around in moving boxes and letting it sit in storage all those years when we didn't have a piano. The cover is gone, the glue in the binding has disintegrated, and the pages are crinkling like it's old or something. The other day Daughter No. 2 said, "Well, it is at least thirty years old, you know." "Shut up!" I said back. "It is not." She's right, though. My old Carl Fischer, Inc. solo book, what's left of it, is more than thirty years old, and it's time to replace it, although I will never dispose of it. I can't find the same edition, but I can find the individual sheet music, so I have been ordering them here and there. First, here is the old book:
Now, here are some of the newer individual pieces I have been collecting.
In honor of my growing collection of playable piano solos, the ones that aren't beyond my ability, here is the adagio from Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven. This thing puts me in a trance.
Comments
Thank you for this. It's a longtime favourite and now I have a copy played by my favourite pianist (well you might have to slug it out with Murray Perahia for that but he's a wuss … I'm sure you'd flatten him).
Hey! With your publishing contacts I'm sure you could find a bookbinder to collect your old pieces into a lovely binding. Or perhaps your daughter might want to do that for you to make up for reminding you of passing time. Hee hee.
When I'm over here at your place, England and Ohio flash at one another.
Cool!
Great to be back.
(I'll put a contract out on Murray, if you'd like...)