Concert Review: St Matthew Passion (March 2024)
David Barton Music
by David Barton
2w ago
Birmingham Bach Choir are an amateur choir with professional standards, and tonight’s concert in Lichfield Cathedral was no exception. Bach’s setting of the Passion according to St Matthew was delivered with a sincerity and confidence befitting of any professional ensemble. The whole delivery was well-paced with slick transitions between movements. The chorus sections were delivered with almost faultless German pronunciation, and an exemplary attention to detail. The choir achieved huge variety, from the quietest pianissimo, to a passionately dramatic fortissimo. The choir were accompanied by ..read more
Visit website
Review: Lang Lang Music Theory, Levels 1 and 2
David Barton Music
by David Barton
3w ago
These two new volumes from Faber Music, Lang Lang Music Theory, have been written to accompany The Lang Lang Piano Method. I confess, I’ve not seen this, but I note that these two books, Levels 1 and 2, can be used outside of the method books. World-renowned pianist, Lang Lang, aims, through these books, to ‘inspire today’s kids’ with his passion for music. The progressive series provides an ‘imaginative way’ to learn music theory. The books seek to cover the ‘fundamentals’ through a series of practice exercises. Level 1 covers: Notes on the keyboard Crotchets, minims, semibreves and their e ..read more
Visit website
Review: The Joy of Graded Piano, Grades 1-5
David Barton Music
by David Barton
3w ago
If you’ve had any experience of learning, playing or teaching the piano, you can’t failed to have missed the extensive series of books, ‘The Joy of…’. Some 50 volumes have appeared since 1955, and this brand new set of five books, The Joy of Graded Piano, edited by Andrew Eales, brings the series right up to date. Andrew writes: ‘This new series of graded piano anthologies builds on that remarkable legacy with care, drawing together new titles to reflect developments in piano education and musical preferences that have occurred within the intervening decades.’ Andrew Eales, 2024 I ..read more
Visit website
Review: Naoko Ikeda, The Graded Collection
David Barton Music
by David Barton
2M ago
Teachers, and occasionally students, can sometimes be a little cautious when it comes to collections of music by only one composer. We think of anthologies and compilations containing works by a wide selection of composers as far more versatile, better value, and more appealing to students and parents. I can understand and empathise this view (although it doesn’t seem to be a problem with Bach, Beethoven, Mozart etc.), but just occasionally, a one-composer collection comes along which still ticks all the boxes. We’ve seen this recently with Graded Gillock, and also with Angeline Bell’s three v ..read more
Visit website
The Art of Piano Education Awards
David Barton Music
by David Barton
2M ago
As some of you may have already seen on social media, Elena Cobb, founder of the EVC Music and the Star Prize Festival at the Royal Albert Hall, has announced the launch of the Art of Piano Education Awards, #PianoEdAwards. The first event will take place on 17 June 2024 at the Royal Albert Hall, the Elgar Room, during the Star Prize Festival. Andrew Eales, currently a publishing consultant for the EVC and a respected expert in piano resources, has accepted the President of the Awards role. I am thrilled to have accepted the opportunity to be part of a panel of experts, alongside Andrew, Sall ..read more
Visit website
Review: My Garden Notebook (Angeline Bell)
David Barton Music
by David Barton
2M ago
Sometimes a book drops into my review pile, and I wonder how on earth I’m going to write a whole page about it, not because it’s so bad, but because it’s so good. Angeline Bell’s latest volume of piano music published by Editions Musica Ferrum, My Garden Notebook, is just such a book. It comes hot on the heels of her previous two books, My Lyrical Notebook and My Quirky Notebook, both of which have received enthusiastic reviews previously on my website. Rightly so, we are primarily interested in the music contained in these books, but I want to highlight once again the beautiful artwork produ ..read more
Visit website
Review: Piano Postcards (Nancy Litten)
David Barton Music
by David Barton
3M ago
Nancy Litten’s Piano Postcards, subtitled ’12 Recital Piano Works Inspired by Travel’, is an imaginative collection of diverse pieces reflecting the diversity of the people and places around the world in which we live. Nancy has drawn on her many years’ experience as an international examiner for ABRSM, and the pieces here clearly evoke memories of some of the places she’s been and people she’s met. The pieces are described as a ‘colourful collection’, and in some ways, this is a perfect description. Piano Postcards, published by EVC Music, contains 12 pieces, particularly aimed at students p ..read more
Visit website
Review: The Piano Player, Christmas Time
David Barton Music
by David Barton
3M ago
If you’ve read some of my previous reviews of books in The Piano Player series (Wintertide and British Classics), you’ll know that I like the covers almost more than the music inside, and this latest edition, Christmas Time, is no exception. With so much piano music for Christmas out there, and indeed, as I’ve written before, I have a whole shelf of it, what does this book offer that others don’t? The first thing to reiterate, once again, is that these books are beautifully designed, featuring the artwork of Edward Bawden. In that sense, each one makes a lovely gift item or present, but also ..read more
Visit website
Be a Voice of Hope: Celebrating David’s 40th Birthday
David Barton Music
by David Barton
4M ago
I’d been thinking for a long time about how to mark my 40th Birthday (5.12.23), and I’m delighted to share with you on this page about a musical and charity project which does just that. Read on… One thing which has remained unchanged throughout history, is our unwavering appreciation for the miracle of life. As I reach the age of 40, I look back on the past four decades not only with that same appreciation, but with a huge dose of gratitude. I thought for a long time about what I might do to mark this milestone. I could never claim to be a party animal, but after what feels like 40 miraculous ..read more
Visit website
Review: Piano Grades are Go! Initial to Grade 3 (Victoria Proudler)
David Barton Music
by David Barton
6M ago
Over the years, we’ve tended, as teachers, to pigeonhole books into certain categories. There are books of pieces (the ‘repertoire’), books of exercises (studies or etudes), and tutor books (which combine all these). There is some strength in this approach, but it doesn’t necessarily support the holistic approach many of us now seek to use. Piano Grades are Go! is currently published by EVC Music in two volumes covering Initial to Grade 1, and Grade 2 to Grade 3. They contain ‘characterful solos at the standards of the major exam boards…with an emphasis on the performance directions and musica ..read more
Visit website

Follow David Barton Music on FeedSpot

Continue with Google
Continue with Apple
OR