Submitted by Mary Tickner
Sometime ago, I wrote about some books that I believed were valuable resources to any musician. In a “fit” of trying to organize my own library, I realized that I had acquired a tremendous number of professional magazines ranging from “specialist’ types such as “Clavier Companion”(an amalgam of two previous magazines) to a collection of magazines that were more generalist but also required membership in an organization such as “The American Music Teacher ” (MTNA) and the house organ for the CMTA. However, I also found some magazines that I could not discard because of the information and the unique material found in them.
Some of you may already be acquainted with the UK publication “The Pianist”. It is a fantastic value for $17.00 since it not only includes really excellent articles by wellknown pedagogues and performers but also includes anywhere from 35 to 45 pages of music with several “master class” articles that aid in the learning of the pieces plus a CD containing all the repertoire in that volume. Volume 62 also includes a very special section called “Essential Guide to Playing the Piano” that discusses many useful subjects for both teacher and student.
The 2nd magazine “Listen” is published in the US and is heavily supported by the recording and publishing industries, but this does not detract from the quality of the publication. The magazine has 4 divisions with each one covering diverse subjects ranging from an article on the Canadian Brass, the new Montreal Concert Hall and a discussion on the “Meditation” from the opera “Thais”. Unlike “The Pianist”, “Listen” is a “generalist” and has some particularly insightful reviews of recordings. Even the ads are very attractive and invite your attention.
Both are available at any news-book store such as Chapters, and as I said before, inexpensive but excellent reading and help – nothing better than that!