Hamilton C. Macdougall

Born: ? 

Macdougall was doctor of music, Brown University, associate at Royal College of Organists, London and Professor Emeritus of Music at Wellesley College.

Graded Material for the Left hand (Grades II - IV) 1907 (Ditson)
This is a collection of studies with a number of pieces for two hands but dealing with special problems for the left hand - but it also contains pieces for the left hand alone - either original or in arrangement.

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Alexander MacFadyaen   American composer

Milwaukee, 1879 - Milwaukee, 1936

Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms (transcription)  1929 (Badger)

Oh - du mein holder Abendstern - arranged from Wagner's opera Tannhäuser)  (Church)

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Kalischt, Bohemia, 07.06.1860 -  Vienna,18.05.1911

Adagietto; 3. movement from symphony nr. 5
See: Gryaznoff.

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Wilhelm Maler  German composer and teacher

Heidelberg, 21.06.1902 - Hamburg, 1976

Maler's education was influenced by three great teachers: Hermann Grabner in Heidelberg, Joseph Haas in Munich and Philipp Jarnach at Cologne. Through the first two he came in contact with Reger's music and through Jarnach with Busoni's which all proved formative on his own style.
After his education he succeeded Grabner in Heidelberg and in 1925 he was appointed teacher of composition and theory at the Rhenish High School for Music at Cologne and from 1935 he held a similar post at the University in Bonn. After the war he showed his ability as a leader when he was appointed director of the North-West German Music Academy at Detmold. In a short time he was able to attract some of the finest German musicians as teachers thereby making the Academy one of Germany's finest institutions.
At first he was a follower of Hindemith with works showing the same neo-baroque style - one of his first works even being a harpsichord concerto (1927) but later he turned to the classical forms with a simplification of the harmonic structure and displaying a delicate and beautiful sound. 

Präludium und Fuge
Written for the pianist Lothar Quast

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Paris, 21.04.1853 - Cormeilles, Eure, 05.10.1911

At first Malherbe studied literature and law before turning entirely to music as a pupil of Danhauser, André Wormser and Jules Massenet.
From about 1889 to his death he published numerous books and articles about Donizetti, Wagner, Auber, Tchaikovsky and others and together with Saint-Saëns he edited the collected edition of Rameau's works. In 1898 he became archivist to the National Opera of Paris -  and during his years he had assembled a collection of musical autographs which was one of the richest in the world after those of the libraries in  Berlin, Vienna,  London and Paris - and which he bequeathed to the Library of the Paris Conservatoire.
Among his own compositions are several opéras-comiques (f.ex. L'Ordonance), incidental music, chamber works and many transcriptions.

Petite Etude 

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Born: Ashikawa Hokkaido, Japan 1929

Mr. Mamiya  studied composition from 1948 to 1952 with Professor Tomojiro Ikenouchi at what is now known as the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. He became interested in the music of his homeland shortly after graduating from the Tokyo Academy and since that time he has studied the traditional music of many Asian, African and Scandinavian countries. His interest in folk music is evident in the original style of his compositions. He has been the recipient of many prizes including the 3rd Prize-Sonata piece Mainichi Music Comp. Year: 1950, the Mainishi Music Prize for Composition for chorus No. 1 (1958), the Mainichi Art Prize for Violin Concerto No. 1 (1960), the Otaka Prizes twice for Deux Tableaux pour Orchestre ’65 (1965) and for Piano Concerto No. 2 (1970), the Fukuyama Prize Deuxieme Sonata Year: 1974 and the Grand Prix of the Salzburg TV Opera Prize for Narukami (1974). 
Mamiya’s works range from operas to choral, chamber and orchestral pieces. Some of his major works include the opera The Old Tale – Tarobei, The Slave Dealer, the theatrical piece, Dasuke no Kubi, Violin Concertos Nos. 1 &2, Piano Concertos Nos. 1-3 and String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2., 3 inventions for piano, 5 children's songs for chorus, 5 Finnish Folk Songs, Japanese Folk Song Collection, Concerto for Orchestra, Deux Tableaux for Orchestra, Hommage a Chestnut Hill, Sonata for violoncello solo, Sonata for violin solo, Sonata for violin, piano, percussion and double bass, String Quartet nr. 1 (1962), String Quartet nr. 2 (1980), String Quintet, String Quintet adapted for String Orchestra (1983) and Three Movements for Wind Quintet, Serenade for soprano, 2 violins, viola, cello and piano.

Wind Wrought. Offertorium for piano (left hand)  (Ongaku No Tomo Edition 2005)

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Jonathan (Edward) Mann  American, pianist, teacher, composer and organist

Born: Fort Wayne, Indiana, 21.11.1976 

Dr. Mann received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in piano performance under Dr. Karen Shaw from Indiana University, Bloomington, where he was associate instructor as well as faculty member of the Young Pianist's Program. He earned his Doctorate in piano performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. There he served as teaching assistant to Professor James Tocco (b. 1943) and was on the faculty of the College-Conservatory's Preparatory Department. 
Dr. Jonathan Mann enjoys a dynamic performing and teaching career that has taken him across the United States and Europe. He is currently Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Idaho's Lionel Hampton School of Music. 
Orchestral engagements include the Brevard Orchestra, Indiana University Symphony Orchestra, North Manchester Symphony, and Fort Wayne Philharmonic, where his performance of Liszt's Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major was hailed as dashing, elegant, and mercurial. 
Aside from extensive solo and chamber engagements, Dr. Mann is in high demand as a vocal collaborator. He has served on the faculty of the Brevard Music Center, coaching vocalists and performing scenes from such operas as Mozart's Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) and Puccini's La Bohème. 
Dr. Mann embraces a diverse repertoire, with a particular interest in the music of Frédéric Chopin, Leopold Godowsky (to whom he has dedicated a website) and Nikolai Kapustin, the subject of his doctoral dissertation. Dr. Mann's penetrating interpretations of romantic repertoire have received unanimous praise from critics. A highly sought-after clinician, Dr. Mann has given numerous lecture recitals and presentations on such subjects as the pedagogical works of Godowsky, the transcriptions of Franz Liszt, techniques for teaching class piano, and introducing jazz to classically trained musicians.
As a transcriber Jonathan Mann has accomplished the most extraordinary things like combining Chopin's three etudes opp 10 no 8, 10 no.1 and 25 no. 1 an even combining Rachmaninoff's second  movement from his second sonata and a theme from the third piano concerto with Arlen's  song, Over the Rainbow (from the musical The Wizard of Oz).

Morgen arranged for the left hand after Richard Strauss' song

My thanks to Dr. Mann for supplying portrait and biography

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Aldo Mantia  Italian pianist, composer and teacher

1903 - 1982

Mantia was a pupil of Vladimir de Pachmann in the 1920's

Profond Sommeil (transcription of Rossini's Pèches de ma Viellesse, vol. 7 nr. 7)

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Born: San Francisco, 19.01.1955

James Marchand began piano lessons at the age of seven. His principal teachers were Dr. S. Drummond Wolfe, Herbert Inskip, Dr. Frank Marks and Samuel Lipman. He has appeared in concert as a soloist, as a chamber musician, and as an instrumental and vocal accompanist.
Marchand has a special interest in Scriabin whose first four sonatas he has recorded as well as the two pieces op. 9, of which Professor James M. Baker of the Brown University and author of a book about Scriabin's music wrote: I was particularly moved by the lovely performance of the left-hand nocturne--the best rendition of this difficult work that I have ever heard.
Marchand currently lives in his native Novato, California, with his wife, Claire and is also author of  textbooks on piano playing and recently: Introduction to Piano Technique which was written with the intermediate piano student in mind. The book and the accompanying DVD explain and show fundamentals of piano technique and is written in a clear, concise language suitable for a piano student. Each chapter includes exercises which give the student practice in the skills covered by the chapter. This is also to a certain extent available on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/marchandmusic?feature=results_main .

	James Marchand playing  with his left hand alone

Marchand has shown a particular interest in piano music for the left hand alone, being - along with his wife and dedicatee, Claire of the Paganini-variations by Frédéric Meinders. To this author James Marchand has explained this his interest in left-hand music came from playing the Scriabin pieces op. 9. (These were composed when this composer injured his hand from over-exercise trying to beat his two  class-mates at the Moscau Conservatory Lhévinne and Rachmaninoff in playing Liszt's Don Juan Fantasy). But Marchand is a teacher with a profound knowledge the educational aspects of piano technique and therefore knows exactly how to practice - gaining maximum result without injuring his valuable equipment (his hands). His recordings of Mozart sonatas bear ample witness to that and he has never suffered any injury. In fact Marchand fall in the category which I have mentioned before, as a pianist who views left-hand playing as a most rewarding musical-intellectual exercise, trying to explore the magic of making one hand sound as two - just like Godowski, Meinders and many others.  Indeed many of Marchand's colleagues  emphasize his extraordinary ability and understanding for writing for the left hand alone. May the world bless us with more of his sort.

School for the Left Hand volume 1 (MS)
Normally I put works of educational nature under Original works but this particular œvre certainly deserves to be mentioned under its own headline.
In 1957 Paul Wittgenstein wrote his School for the Left Hand: three volumes with simple drills, small original pieces and finally Wittgenstein's own transcriptions. At the time was the first school of its kind but it was and still is not an ideal for educational purposes and there are many reasons for this. When it comes to technique and fingering the three volumes reflect Wittgenstein's own way of playing which often in fortissimo passages included two or more fingers on one key (Wittgenstein always harboured a fear of not being heard through the sound of the orchestra), several other methods which are alien to modern pianists - but most important of all: the educational methods in piano teaching have changed radically since 1957 leaving a gap for future left hand pianists.
This is now in the process of being remedied by James Marchand who has embarked upon the project of writing a New School for the Left Hand. This is intended to grow to three volumes too and to a certain degree takes Bartók's Microcosmos as a role model and also helps the pupils ears occasionally to by stretched using modal tunes.
Being a very experienced player of left hand piano music, a master transcriber and composer of left hand piano music and an indeed a very experienced piano teacher, James Marchand has all the tools and creative attitudes for this project, which I am proud to recommend as a fine musician, and inventive composer and transcriber and a great human being.
During my work on this site I have had the very rewarding experience to come in contact with many piano teacher who have now been approached by pupils who due to handicaps or accidents have now determined to learn to play the piano with their left hand alone or even trying to become pianist for which you can see there is an enormous repertoire. This would not have happened 30 years ago but has now given these children (and grown-ups) an opportunity to make music on the same level as their any other pianist and enrich their lives with music. So - due to composers and transcribers like Frédéric Meinders, James Marchand, John Amriding and many others these unfortunate can start or continue their lives of the wonderful world of music. Among the music on this site there are everything from the 1 grade and up to super pyrolytical stunts, which are reserved for a Marc-André Hamelin and Frédéric Meinders, but due to his vast experience with teaching at any level Marchand's contribution should be mentioned with gratitude and admiration.
Before embarking on this project James Marchand wrote a very instructive guide for future left hand players (and their teachers) and which can be downloaded free (PDF-file) from Marchand's homepage. 

Blues for Oscar  (MS) (Note under Hymn below) 
Composed November 14 2006 as a tribute to the great jazz pianist and composer Oscar Peterson.

Fantasy on My Favorite Things (from the musical Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers)  (MS)
Composed September 2006

Five Easy Pieces (1. Awakenings, 2. Postcard, 3. Homage, 4. Threnody and 5. Fanfare) (MS)
Composed September 2006. These pieces are meant for the early levels of pupils and perfect little gems. The themes depict the personalities of five of Marchand's pupils. Their names has on purpose been omitted, but according to Marchand's wife, Claire the resemblance is so precise that you wouldn't be in doubt as to who is who. 

Awakenings is recorded most beautifully by James Marchand on YouTube; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wnYQuaWdY0 together with "Grave" by Frédéric Meinders

For Bill  (MS)
Composed November 5 2006. Bill is the great jazz pianist Bill Evans (1929-1980) whom James Marchand first heard in 1970 and who has been his favorite among jazz pianists since. Apparently this is the first real jazz composition written for the left hand alone. See also under transcriptions by Frédéric Meinders.

	Bill Evans

Hymn  (MS)
Composed November 2006. This jazz composition forms together with Blues for Oscar and For Bill a set and (as mentioned above) is as far as this author has been able to establish probably the first jazz pieces for the left hand alone ever - although Carol Matz has also written in blues style. Note: The three jazz pieces (this one together with Blues for Oscar and For Bill above) are to be considered as a set called Three Jazz Musings.

Mouse Waltz  (MS)
This work began as an easy little piece written mostly for fun and was inspired by a toy mouse which had acquired a special role among the decorations of the Marchands' Halloween celebrations. But seeing the possibilities of the charming piece - but also the limitations for more advanced use James Marchand decided to rewrite the piece - keeping the basic theme but adding an introduction and elaborating the whole piece from a mere trifle of 84 bars to the Concert Version of 147 bars below:

Mouse Waltz (Concert version)  (MS) 
Composed October 2006

Homage to William Byrd  (MS)
This piece was written October 15 2006 and is four variations on an original theme in Byrd's style -  and it is dedicated to a Byrd of a different feather; Frédéric Meinders' parrot Paco.

	Frédéric Meinder's parrot Paco

Paganini Variations (9)  (MS)
These variations are dedicated to Frederic Meinders who earlier wrote a set of variations on that famous theme for Marchand

Two Mazurkas  (MS)
Composed May 2007

Romance  (MS)
(Slowly and with feeling) Composed 2007

Sonatine  (MS)
This composition was finished April 12 2007 and consists of three dance-movements: 1. Festive Dance (Allegro - in sonata-form), 2. Phrygian Dance (With a steady beat - an kind of a slow  funeral-dance), and 3. Whirling Dance (very fast, joyous and Toccata-like). 
In fact all the movements are written modally - that is in the ancient keys. 
A note of explanation: 
These ancient (Greek) keys or modes were used in all medieval music in the whole of Europe and differs much from to-day's major and minor keys. The best way to learn them is to play them on the piano and only on the white keys:

	Dorian	D - d
	Hypodorian	A - a	(= the dominant key to the Dorian - today's minor key
	Aeolian	A - a	(The same as the one before but not only as dominant)
	Phrygian	E -e
	Hypophrygian	B - b	(=  the dominant key to the Phrygian)
	Lydian	F - f
	Hypolydian	C - c	(= the dominant key to the Lydian - today's Major key
	Mixolydian	G - g
	Hypomixolydian	D - d	(actually the dominant key to the Mixolydian)

Today these ancient modes do not sound quite like they did in old Greece before the revolution of the well-tempered scale where the octave is divided in 12 equal steps - meaning that - according to the fact that in accordance to the Pythagorean purely mathematical principle most steps are a little out of tune - but the good part of it is that you can transpose at will and it will be just sound normally.
Of course you can transpose any of these modal keys at will as long as you observe that the half-tone steps are placed differently from one key to the other.
In James Marchand's Sonatine the composer wrote to this author: The first movement is in the Lydian-Mixolydian mode (F-f & G-g). It is in Sonata-Allegro form including a short development.  Imagine the opening scene of the ballet Petrouschka and you will have the idea.  The second theme should sound like an out-of-tune hand organ.
The second movement is in song (Aria) form = AABA. The A section is in the Phrygian mode (E-e) and the B section is in the Aeolian mode (A-a - which is the subdominant in Phrygian). The working title for the piece was "Passage."  By passage I mean the passage of the soul from the corporeal body to another place or life.  Hence, it is a type of funeral dance. The finale  is a Rondo in Mixolydian mode (G-g).  It's a toccata really.  It really rolls along at a dizzy speed. Plenty of finger work in this one.  The dancers whirl and spin in a drunken frenzy until they all collapse from exhaustion!

Six easy pieces on a theme by Türk

Daniel Gottlob Turk; ( August10 1750 – August 26 1813) a notable composer, organist, and music professor

	Daniel Gottlob Türk

Transcriptions

Albeniz: Malagueña  (MS)
Transcribed on February 5 2008. Marchand was giving some thoughts to the fear all great musicians go through at some time in their lives, whether his inspiration had faded - and then suddenly this piece came to mind and was transcribed in remarkable short time. That it was a Spanish piece was no surprise since James Marchand has a strong affinity towards Spanish music. 

Bartók: Three Songs for Children: My Little Graceful Girl - Allegro and Dance Song: Two Pigeons Sit on the Tower of Presov. (MS)
Transcribed August 26 - 27 2006 and should be played as a set.

Beethoven: Für Elise  (MS)
Transcribed October 29 2006

Buxtehude: Suite no. 12, E minor BUX 237 (MS)
As far as I can determine this suite is in fact the first complete major work by any composer in musical history to be transcribed for the left hand alone. James Marchand found a complete volume of Buxtehude's suites and was amazed at his style - similar - but different to Bach's or Handel's in originality of harmonies etc. 
The suite has the following movements: Allemande, Courante, Sarabande I, Sarabande II and Gigue. (And - yes - Buxtehude included rather unusually two Sarabandes whereas it was normally that Minuets or Gavottes came twice in suites). 
This beautiful work was begun on June 22 2007 and finished July 21 2007 and graciously dedicated to me by James Marchand - a great honor indeed, which is undeserved and above and beyond any kind of merit but received with great gratitude not only personally but also on a more national level - since it is the only the second Danish piece of music to be transcribed for the left hand alone - and by this master of the left hand literature, whose transcription of a Carl Nielsen song has made history. Buxtehude was a master on the harpsichord and the especially the organ and he became Johann Sebastian Bach's role model and should certainly be better known. Click on the Buxtehude link and read more about this extraordinary - and long neglected composer. Marchand's transcription is very typical of his way of working; keeping as close to the original and at the same time being able to see the possibilities for playing it with the left hand alone. A truly remarkable feat and admired by several other left-hand composers. Much of this genial transcription is that it is not that difficult to play and at the same it efficiency is obvious from the first bars.

Frédéric Chopin: Berceuse op. 57
Transcribed 2012 and dedicated to Sergio Barer. 

	Sergio Barer .

Frédéric Chopin: Fantasie Impromptu op.  (MS)
Transcribed: Fall 2012 and dedicated to Sabrina Hao.

	James Marchand and Sabrina Hao

Debussy: Clair de lune (from Suite bergamasque)  (MS)
Transcribed August 31 2006

Debussy: Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum  (MS)
Transcribed August 1 2008, ad to this author James Marchand wrote: this is the first piece from the set of pieces, Childrens' Corner, inspired by Debussy's daughter Chouchou. As English nurses were in the vogue at the time (even Chouchou had an English governess) the titles for the Childrens Corner are all in English.
In Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum Debussy is poking good-natured fun at the piano exercises for young pianists by Clementi's Gradus ad Parnassum. Ironically, I am turning the good Doctor back into a study with my left hand. You will find much in my arrangement that is beneficial for the left hand.

Bill Evans: Waltz for Debby  (MS)
Transcribed January 30 2008. This charming jazz waltz is dedicated to James Marchand's wife, Claire and in a mail to this author the composer has given the following story about the dedication: In the U.S. in some restaurants and hotels they have a jazz pianist or jazz guitarist that plays.  If you give them a tip they will play requests.  Whenever Claire and I go to such a place we always give the musician a tip and ask them to play Waltz for Debby. In any case, Waltz for Debby reminds me of the many happy times for Claire and me - hence, the dedication.
Bill Evans has through the years meant a lot to Marchand, which can also be seen in connection with his homage to Evans in the piece For Bill.

Alexander Brodszky: Be my love
Transcribed 2010

Granados: Rondalla Aragonesa (No. 6 from 12 Spanish Dances)  (MS)
Transcribed October 31 2008

	Enrique Granados  1867 – 1916

Granados: Valse poeticos no.3

Granados: Rondanella Aragonesa

Handel: The Harmonious Blacksmith  (MS)
Transcribed October 10 2007 and dedicated to pianist John Amriding. This brilliant transcriber wrote to me: I had a student playing the original piece, so I would sit next to her looking at the score. Then it suddenly dawned upon me that I could play it with my left hand alone. Indeed this was true - and that is how this transcription  was created. Which this author can assure you is really a really great left hand piece.

Scott Joplin: Elite Syncopations  (MS)
Transcribed October 27 2008

Leopold Mozart: Two minuets (from the Notebook for Wolfgang and from the Notebook for Nannerl)  (MS)
These two pieces were transcribed June 5. 2008, both very charming but at the same time very easy to play and excellent for beginners.

Mussorgsky/Rachmaninoff: Hopak (from the opera Sorochintsy Fair - arranged for piano (both hands) by Mussorgsky himself)  (MS)
Transcribed October 21 2008

Mussorgsky: Tear (Une Larme)  (MS)
Transcibed October 23 2008

Carl Nielsen: Sænk kun dit hoved du blomst (Bow down your Head now, Thou Flower from Strophic Songs op. 21)  (MS)
Transcribed September 4. 2006. In Ken Tindall's version printed by Edition Wilhelm Hansen, Copenhagen the title is translated into: Bow thy Corolla, thou Bloom. The one above is translated by my own (left) hand - of course not with Tindall's to mistake it for some Japanese car. But this is a tender and romantic song without any kind of sentimentality and far from Nielsen's Brahms-Beethoven-like force and potency in his symphonies, which led Sibelius to say to him: Carl, I do not reach you to your (sock) suspenders. So true - spoken by one great man to another. In Denmark we have a saying: Which are the three thinnest book in the world? Answer: German humor, and counterpoint in Sibelius' works. ; The recordings of Nielsen's symphonies and concertos by no less than Leonard Bernstein, Eugene Ormandy, Yehudi Menuhin and others bear witness to this formidably inspired and potent composer. But in this song he is simplicity itself (I did not say easy) and as Goethe said. In der Begrenzung zeigt sich (erst) der Merster  which on Google is transcribe: Les is more. I have never hear/read anything more stupid. The true meaning is: He who confines himself just to the essentials is greater than he who drowns his message in redundant embellishments - how hard can it be?. But James Marchand catches the true meaning and the mood of this pearl among Danish songs in a most congenial and charming way. The dedication to me is one of my greatest honors which I'll cherish for years to come.

Puccini: Un bel di (from the opera Madame Butterfly)  (MS)
Transcribed August 19 - 20 2006 and this was in fact James Marchand's first transcription for the left hand alone.   

Puccini: Nessum dorma (from the opera Turandot)  (MS)
Transcribed August 23 - 24 2006 

Puccini: O mio babbino caro (from the opera Gianni Schicchi)  (MS)
Transcribed August 1 2007 and dedicated to Arden Eliapoulos.

Rachmaninoff: Prelude op. 32 no: 10  (MS)
Transcribed 2012 and dedicated to Antonio Iturrioz.

	Antonio Itutrioz, who wrote to Marchand
	I am very touched that you have dedicated to me such a beautiful prelude which you arranged. I feel very honoured. When I finish what I am doing at the moment, I will most certainly not only learn the piece, but will also go Through your other works

Anton Rubinstein: Staccato Etude (Etude op.23 no. 2)  (MS)
Transcribed September 24 2006

Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata, G Major K. 259  (MS)
This sonata was transcribed April 29 2008 and inspired by a transcription for guitar used by Andrés Segovia

Stephen Sondheim: Losing My Mind  (MS)
Transcribed May 2007 and dedicated to Marc-André Hamelin

Johann Strauss (son): An der schönen blauen Donau (The Blue Danube)  (MS)
Transcribed June 10. 2008 - a very ambitious but expert transcription of this great piece, which I can certainly wholeheartedly recommend.

Richard Strauss: Die Nacht op. 10 no 3.  (MS)
Transcribed 2010

Mel Thorme & Robert Wells: The Christmas Song  (MS)
Transcribed December 2007

Richard Wagner: O du mein holder Abendstern (from Tannhäuser)
Wolframs song to the astronomical planet, the evening star Venus - or is it? Venus and the Venus Mount are two things and Wagner's meaning has been a matter of much discussion.

Three traditional Christmas songs (Angels We Have Heard on High, Sing We Now of Christmas and O Come, Little Christmas)  (MS)
Transcribed November 16. 2008

C. M. Marcks 

Born: ? 

Study op. 20  (Houghton)

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Eric Mareo  (originally: Eric Joachim Pechotsch) New Zealand pianist, conductor and composer

Sydney, 30.09.1891 - Auckland, New Zealand, ? 1960

Now - who said anything about musicology being boring? With Eric Mareo this is certainly not true - tragic as is may be. But here you are presented with a genuine who done it thing the story of which has become a best seller . 
Now already with his name the mystery starts. One can easily imagine that Eric Mareo was a better artist name than Eric Joachim Pechotsch but during his life time he used several professional pseudonyms and here is the entire list:  Eric Dolman, Edgar Martell, Guy Franklyn, Evan Marsden, Garry Foster, Leo Varney and, after his release from prison, Eric Curtis. This last is the name under which he is buried.
Mareo was at the time considered a rather flamboyant musician who brought both theater and symphonic music to New Zealand although New Zealand had three symphony orchestras at that time. But Mareo, who by some were considered something of a charlatan, built  a gap between high and comic opera which was not to everybody's taste.

When Mareo was convicted in 1936 of murdering his actress wife, Thelma, most New Zealanders believed that justice had been served. But a few were not so sure, including the trial judge and the Crown's overseas medical expert. Moreover, the Crown's star witness, the dancer, Freda Stark was anything but unbiased. She was not only star witness but a well known lesbian who was having a long term affair with the composer's wife. Those were different times - the evidence against Mareo were scientifically very weak and the Crown's case depended on a person whose interests in the matter would by today's standards have perhaps been investigated more thoroughly - or at least in a different way. 
Mareo was married twice. With his first wife he had two children who were more or les adult at the time of the tragic incident in 1935. He had only been married to Thelma Trott for 48 months and rumors had it that he had become more interested in his musical assistant Eleanor Brownlee.

	The first jury of the trials of Mareo in front of their hotel - with foreman W. K. Jerome second from the left in the first row. 12 angry men whose verdict  of guilty caused Mareo to be sentenced to be hanged. But this verdict  was questioned to such an extent that a second trial was scheduled.

	Freda (Beatrice) Stark (23.03.1910 - 19.03.1999)

Stark did not stay at the Mareos' the night of fatal weekend of April 12-15 1935 but she testified that she had been present when Mareo allegedly poisoned his wife. Mareo would hardly have had much sympathy for Stark who proved to be his wife's lesbian lover - and why would he poison the milk with the barbiturate, Veronal so openly that she could  testify to the fact so openly?. 
Freda Stark was famous in the 1930s for dancing stark naked - clad only in gold paint at the Civic Theatre, Auckland. She was an icon to the homosexual community and a familiar face around town and has since become the subject of both a play and a book. The question today is why did the vast majority of New Zealander's believe in Mareo's guilt when the scientific evidence was so weak and the Crown's case depended on a person who by the standards of the day would have been called a sexual pervert? 
After the verdict Mr. Justice Callan wrote confidentially to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, H. G. R. Mason that by the end of the trial he could not convince [himself] of Mareo's guilt. the result was a new trial and Mareo was not executed but sentenced  to 12 years of imprisonment, and the matter will probably never be solved.

	Freda Stark's design for Thelma's headstone

A most tragic affair which will never find its answer, But whoever and why - Mareo did have a thorough musical training and six pieces in three sets for the left hand has survived him.

Two Studies: Lament and Allegretto  1924 (Elkin & Co.)

Two Bagatelles (nr. 2 is in G major) 1926 (Stainer & Bell)

Two Diversions  1925 (Augener)

Bochnia, 05.02.1900 - Katowice, 17.05.1982

Markiewiczowna studied first in Krakow where her teachers were E. Eisenberg (piano) and Z. Jachimecki (composition). From 1922 to 1927 she carried on her studies in Berlin with B. Eisner (piano) and H. Leichtentritt (composition).
After giving concerts for some time in Germany and Poland she became teacher of piano at the Katowice Conservatory in 1929 and professor from 1945 to 1970 - counting among her students A. Jasinski and T. Zmudzinski. 
Among her compositions are chamber music for woodwind instruments, piano pieces, a Suite for two and Theme with variations, songs and incidental music. A special place is taken up by her works for children especially the piano school Do Re Mi Fa Sol and many pieces for piano and wind instruments.

Zniwiarze Etiuda Na Lewa Reke (Reaper's Etude for the Left Hand) in A major nr. 4 from the collection Coloured Pictures

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Bastia, Corsica, 25.02.1895 - Paris 15.07.1980

At first Martelli studied privately with Jules Moquet (harmony). Caussade (counterpoint) and Charles Marie Widor (composition). He then attended the Paris Conservatoire from 1913 to 1922. During WW II (1940-1944) he worked with the French Radio as head of the symphonic and chamber music department attaining in 1944 the Prix de Musique de Chambre of the Institute de France and becoming the secretary of the Société Nationale and the French section of the I.S.C.M..
Although his musical training had been rather conservative he moved fast toward a new and more complex idiom using atonality and applying strong and almost violent expression and a tendency to consider rhythm as an end in itself. Perhaps this was due to the fact that many of his works met with hostile attitudes in conservative France - whereas a number of his works were performed in the US by notable conductors like Koussevitzky many years before there French premieres. These traits combined with his contrapuntal methods merits more than with any one else the title of The French Hindemith.
Martelli was a very prolific composer and a noted virtuoso of form. His style was and taste was very uncommon to the French trends but blended with gaiety and joi-de-vivre and shows a very thorough craftsman deriving his rhythms from old forms like the jig, bourlée and courante in his faster movements and the sarabande and passacaglia in the slower - standing for gravity and meditation.
His music has been considered perfect in its somewhat limited domain: stylized without any loss of spontaneity; half puppet-show and half commedia dell'arte with a sense of dry Florentine charm mixed with a charming stiffness of masks.
Among his larger works are the opera Le Chanson de Roland and the symphonic poem Sur la Vie de Jeanne d'Arc, some choral works (Noël ancien and Chrestomathie - partly after Voltaire). His major orchestral works include: Mors et Juventa (1927), Bas-reliefs assyriens (1928), La bouteille de Panurge (after Rabelais - 1930), Concerto for orchestra (1931), Ouverture pour un conte de Boccace (1942), Divertimento for woodwind and brass (1945), Sinfonietta (1948), Suite no. 2 (1950) and at least three symphonies ( nr. 2 op. 89 and no. 3 op. 90).
For solo instrument and orchestra there are a Concertina for violin (1941), Suite Concertante for  flute, oboe, horn and bassoon(1948) a piano concerto (1948) and Rhapsody for cello and orchestra op. 101.
Of chamber music his major works are Deux mouvements pour octeur à vent (1941), two string quartets (1943 & 1944), the cantata Le temps (after Eugène Guillevic) for voice and eight instruments (1945), two trios: 1. for violin, cello and piano (1945), and 2. for oboe, clarinet and bassoon, and two quintets: 1. flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon (1948) and 2. for flute, harp, violin, viola and cello (1950) and a violin sonata op. 41.
For two instruments: a violin sonata (1936), Seven duos for violin and harp op. 66, (1938), Sonata for bassoon and piano (1941), Sonata for flute and piano (1942), Sonatine for cello and piano op. op. 51 (1942), Études-caprices for flute and piano (1944), Sonata for two pianos (1946) and Cinq Images op. 110, Sonatine for trumpet and piano (1948) and Thème et variations for bassoon and piano (1950).
Martelli's output for piano contains a Sonatina (1934), Suite (1939), Quinze études op. 81 and Cinque Danses (1941) and among his vocal works are Cinque Épigrammes de Clérmont Marot (1934).

Sonorités pour la main gauche op. 107

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Geneva, 15.09.1890 - Geneva, 21.11.1974

Martin studied in his home town Geneva under Joseph Lauber after which he went to live in Zürich, Rome and Paris from 1918 to 1926. Two years later he became teacher at the Institut Jacques- Dalcroze and teacher of chamber music at Technicum Moderne de Musique. From 1943 to 1946 he was President of the Schweizerischer Tonkünstlerverein (Swiss Association of composers) later becoming a honorary member. After the war Martin spent two years from 1946 in Amsterdam and in 1950 he was appointed professor of composition at the Conservatory of Cologne.
His début as a composer was already in 1911 at the Swiss Music Festival where his Trois poèmes payens were performed and since then he has produced works of all genres except opera and established himself as one of Switzerland's top three composers of the 20th century.

(Nr. 7 from 8 Préludes)
This is not a true left hand work but Martin must have played with the thought since this etude not only calls for 24 bar played with the left hand alone, but throughout the whole piece he wants the left hand to have a very strong focus.
The 8 Préludes were written for Martin's dear friend Dinu Lipatti in 1948 and presented to him in London, where Lipatti had gone to give his first recital at Wigmore Hall. Originally it was intended to be 12 pieces, but Martin changed his mind and wrote the following dedication on the manuscript:

To take your magic fingers for a walk I would have needed twelve magic gardens Now there are but eight, and poor pieces for a fairy. For the Muse punished me in my slow search of sounds Too oft with contempt for my syntheses

Due to Lipatti professional conscience he told Martin that he would play them in public when he had wholly assimilated the pieces - in two years. But - alas - two years later Lipatti died. Why Martin wrote this almost-left-hand-work is not clear, but a good guess would be that he wrote it as a homage to Lipatti's wonderful left-hand technique - and Lipatti himself did compose a sonatine for the left hand alone.

Born: ? 

Ecole de la main gauche moyenne force op. 89 & 92 (16 pieces)  1920 (Leduc)

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Born: Presov, Slovakia,19.06.1936

Martincek began his professional musical training at the Conservatory in Bratislava as  a piano pupil of Anna Kafendová concurrently with private tutorials of music theory and composition with Alexander Albrecht, Ján Cikker and Ján Zimmer.
From 1956 to 1961he studied at the Academy of Music and Drama in Bratislava with Rudolf Macudzinski (piano) and Ján Cikker (composition).
After his education Martincek in 1973 became teacher of music theory and piano at the Faculty of Education of the Comenius University in Trnava and from 1973 to 1986 teacher at the Academy of Music and Drama - the last four years with title as professor.
Since 1986 he has worked as a free-lance composer.
Among his orchestral works are a Simple Ouverture (1961),Valse impromptu (1962), Balkan dances (1962) and a Symphony in memoriam Haydn (1981) and for strings Animation (1983-1986), Passacaglia (1967) and Aria and toccata.
Beside these he has composed a Dialogue in form of variations (1961) and a Rhapsody (1956) - both for piano and orchestra, a number of piano pieces, choral music and chamber works.

Preludium pour la main gauche seule (Bratislava, 1955)

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Policka, Bohemia, 08.12.1890 - Liestal, Switzerland, 28.08.1959

If ever someone should ever contemplate a web-site about strange places of birth Martinů must stand a fairly good chance of being included. Franz von Suppe was born on board a ship in the Adriatic Ocean and Kalkbrenner was born in a carriage on the way to Cassel - but Martinů was born - in a belfry. His father was a shoemaker and watchman of the local church tower - but Grove's does not tell us what Mrs. Martinů was doing in that tower.
Young Bohuslav was a violin pupil of a local tailor and amateur musician and at the age of ten he wrote his first string quartet after which he entered the Prague Conservatory at the age of sixteen but was expelled twice for not working to the expected satisfaction - being also deeply absorbed in literature and theatre. 
After spending some time at the Organ School instead he joined the  Czech Philharmonic Orchestra as violinist for ten years. Although he had two works performed at the National Theatre he was persuaded by Josef Suk that he still lacked training he re-entered the Conservatory as Suk's pupil but this was no success either, since Martinů felt he was too old to become a student again.
So he took the great step of moving to Paris becoming a pupil of Albert Roussel. At the same time conductors like Ernest Ansermet, Paul Sacher, Sir Henry Wood, Serge Koussevitzky and Talich in his own country were beginning to perform his works but with the Nazi-threat Martinů feared that he would be blacklisted like Hindemith and others, so he fled to USA first returning in September 1945. Now his works appeared regularly in concert programs though critics were divided between those who thought Martinů's music was outstandingly good and those who thought it to be outrageously bad. But it is music of both vitality and originality but without any specific common style.

Divertimento (Concertino) for piano left hand and orchestra  (1928) (Bärenreiter)
Written for WW I invalid Otakar Hollmann (1894-1967); there are three movements: 1. Allegro moderato, 2. Andante, 3. Allegro con brio - an absolutely charming work.
Like in the case of Wittgenstein - Hollmann had made many changes in the solo part. Some adaptations had been part of the deal when Hollmann commissioned the work. Martinů was a violinist himself and not sufficient knowledge of what the piano could do - especially played with the left hand alone so he made a firm and precise design for what he wanted and left it to Hollmann to give the solo part its final touches, but Hollmann probably went further than Martinů had wanted. For the recording mentioned below the soloist Jan Panenka has made a thorough research and restored the work - as far as possible - to its original form - also changing the title from Concertino back to Martinů's own: Divertimento.

The Divertimento is recorded by Jan Panenka: SUPRAPHON CDB 11 0373-2

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Nienstaedten nr. Altona, 23.06.1806 - Altona, 18.11.1887

Eduard's father was organist in Altona and it was his hope that boy would become a vicar some day. But instead he followed in his father's footsteps and chose music becoming a pupil of Clasing in Hamburg. Until his father's death in 1830 Eduard assisted him at the organ but then he decided to go to Vienna to seek further education in counterpoint and piano from Seyfried and Bocklet.
He had already begun composing and when he returned to Hamburg after four years in the Austrian capital he gave a concert which included eighteen of his own pieces.
From then on he lived in Hamburg as a very requested teacher securing his name in the history of music as Brahms' only teacher of composition and dedicatee of his B flat major piano concerto op. 83.

Eduard Marxsen with a beautiful layout of the picture. 
The medal is worn rather low - due to the beard, 
but the photographer 'managed' to capture it too.

Marxsen composed about seventy pieces - most of them for teaching purposes. Among the other pieces are many for four hands and then a work which attracts attention just by its title: 100 (!) Variations over a Folk Tune; An Attempt to unite the different times and rhythms in one Piece.

(6 Études op. 10)  (no publisher given)
These works are mentioned in Louis Köhler: Führer durch den Clavier-Unterricht, Ein Repetorium der Clavier-Literatur page 94, but attention has been brought to me - that this in fact is a misprint of Köhler's. Marxsen's op. 10 are Three poems after Heine for piano and voice and no left hand work.

Hommage à Dreyschock. Trois impromptus pour le piano-forte pour la main gauche op. 33  ( Published both by J. Schubert and A. Cranz)
The three pieces are: La Ricordenza, Serenata in C Major and Fugue in E Major.
(At Brahms' first public solo recital - Hamburg, September 21 1848 he did not play any works of his own woks, but included the Serenata by Marxsen (Source: Max Kalbeck's Brahms-biography (Johannes Brahms, vol. 1: 1833-1862, Wien &. Leipzig 1904).

Sechs Etuden für die linke Hand, op. 40  c.1844 (J. Schuberth)
The six études are: 1. Rapsodia in G minor, 2. Esercizio in E Flat major, 3. Scherzo in B flat Minor, 4. Canzonetta in G Major, 5. Danza di fata in A Major and 6. Capriccio in D Major, and they are dedicated to Adolf Henselt. 

I acknowledge great help, understanding and thorough research with this entry from Hartwig Molzow, editor of the "Biographisches Lexikon für Schleswig-Holstein und Lübeck" (Biographical Dictionary for Slesvig-Holstein and Lübeck") in the "Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesbibliothek, Kiel" (Slesvig-Holstein State Library, Kiel)

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Born: Tehran, 1940

Mashayekhi's first teachers in Iran were Dr. Lotfollah Mofakham Payan (Iranian music), the late Hossein Nasehi (Composition) and Ophelia Kombajian (Piano). After the education in his homeland Mashayekhi went to Vienna  to continue his studies of composition at the Akademie für Musik und Darstellende Kunst with Hanns Jelinek and Karl Schiske the former of which was inspirationel in his exploration of wide aspects of music in the 20th century. This became one of the two important foundations of his development as a musician - the other being his affinity to Iranian culture. 
After Vienna Mashayekhi went to Utrecht in Holland to study electronic music and attending the lectures of Gottfried Michael König.
Among the works of this prolific composer are symphonies, chamber music, works for piano solo and songs - and a great number of works which explore a variety of Iranian traditional instruments.

Etude for Piano (for left hand only, No.3) op.117 No.3 (1995)
Op. 117 consists of three etudes of which the first two are for the right hand alone.

Alireza Mashayekhi's homepage

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Born: ?

Massoud was educated as a pianist at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford and Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She has been active as a piano teacher for over 25 years. For the same amount of years she has been a member of the National Guild of Piano Teachers and she has also served as president of the Massachusetts Music Teachers Association-Southeast Chapter.
Together with her pianist husband, Steven, she has established the Massoud Piano Studio in 1980 in New Bedford, Massachusetts. They also perform together as a piano duet team. In addition to her teaching, Kathleen Massoud enjoys singing in the church choir (which her husband directs), doing volunteer work for their church and writing poetry. 
As a composer she has had numerous works written for students published over the years including the successful Let’s Sightplay series.

The Ocean Deep (for left or right hand) (Alfred Publishing)

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Paris, 14.10.1826 – Paris, 14.10.1910 (!) 

Mathias was a pupil at the Paris Conservatoire and privately of Kalkbrenner and Chopin. Normally the latter didn't teach beginners or children - unless they proved to be prodigies of extraordinary talent - like Mathias and Karl Filtch who died so young (he was a true genius, of whom Liszt said, When he starts playing I will shut up shop. The boy died in 1845, aged fifteen). And almost all his pupils came from well situated families since his fees were very high:  always fixed at 20 gold francs, the equivalent of a Louis d'or (£1 sterling of that time), or 30 francs if Chopin was to teach at the pupil's home. Each lesson lasted theoretically between 45 minutes and an hour, but would sometimes stretch out over several hours in succession, particularly on Sundays, for the benefit of gifted pupils whom he particularly liked. Pupils would receive one lesson a week, or more often two or three, depending on their teacher's availability, their own individual needs and their talents, and on the state of their finances. Some pupils maintain that Chopin unofficially taught them practically free of charge, or that they were offered numerous additional lessons. He received an average of five pupils a day and this treadmill - as he called - only lasted six moths of the year. They were his principal source of income and they were even more in demand than those of Liszt or Kalkbrenner.
In1862 Mathias was appointed professor at  the Paris Conservatoire - a position he held for 31 years (1893) and during this period he passed on to his students what he had learned from Chopin.
Among his own compositions are a symphony, 2 overtures, 2 piano concertos, 5 pieces for piano and strings, 6 piano trios, études and other piano pieces and songs. Among his pupils were Paul Dukas and Isidor Philipp. He also wrote a book of memoirs which is a major source about Chopin as teacher, performer and personality.

Deux Etudes d’apres Chopin (Two studies after Chopin's op. 10 No 5 and Prèlude op. 28 no. 17)

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Born: Ljubljana, 03.06.1926 - 

Maticic took his diploma exams in composition from the Academy in Ljubljana as pupil of Skerjanc in 1950 and the following year as a conductor in professor D. Svara.
After he himself had taught theory at the intermediate music school and at the academy in Ljubljana, he decided upon going to Paris to become a pupil of Nadia Boulanger which he was From 1959 to 1962. After this he associated himself with the  with Pierre Schaeffer's Groupe de Recherches Musicales until 1980. 
In 1983 he became teacher of composition at the Ljubljana University, which lasted until 1986 when he began teaching at various conservatories in Paris. 
His musical style began with both late Romantic and impressionistic elements when he - after a period of neo-classism - in 1960 turned to a more radical modernism
His compositional output encompasses two symphonies, two piano concertos, a violin concerto and three sonatas, eighteen etudes, two suites for the piano and electro-acoustic music inspired by Schaeffer.

Tri Etude  (1954 (Yugoslavia)

Tri Etude  (1961) (Drustvo Slovenskih  Skladeteljev)

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Born: Vilna, ?

Matuszewski made his debut as a pianist 26th June 1949 in Lodz where he was also engaged to play Beethoven's 3rd piano concerto in 1956. But since he could not get permission to participate in the 7th Chopin Piano Competition he emigrated to the US.
Half a year later he received the first prize in a Music Competition in Baltimore and on 26th February 1970 he made his New York debut in Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center. After this followed concerts in The White House and a tour through the US and Canada and a recital in Carnegie hall in 1975.
Matuszewski has twice been soloist at the Polish-American Festival in New Jersey beside concerts in London, Milan, Rome, Genoa, Lisboan, Rouen and Århus (Denmark) and frequently participated in music festivals in Baden-Baden, Schleswig-Holstein Raritäten der Klaviermusik, an annual festival of rarely heard piano music and every year recorded and published by Danacord. He has also appeared in Lancut and at other important music centers in his native Poland and a few times he has made tours of Brazil.
In his programs Matuszewski is propagating lesser known works by Polish composers like Ignaz  Paderewski, Josef Hoffman, Ignazy Friedman, Sigismond Stojowski, Theodor Leschetizky, Moritz Moszkowski and non-polish composers like Ernest Schelling (friend and pupil of Paderewski), Ignace Moscheles and lesser known pieces by Franz Liszt.
Matuszewski has been a very active performer on Radio and TV in Poland, Brazil, USA, Italy and Switzerland and written many articles on music and reviews for a number of well-known newspapers and magazines.

Vocalise for mezzo-soprano (or a dramatic soprano) and piano left hand (1990)
This is an arrangement of Chopin's Etude in F minor; Nouvelles études Nr. 1

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Born: 

Carol Matz studied composing, arranging, and orchestration at the University of Miami with an emphasis on studio and jazz writing and she received the Knight-Ridder Silver Knight Award in Music, sponsored by The Miami Herald.
Today she is active as composer, arranger, author and editor of educational piano materials. She also maintains a piano studio where she enjoys teaching students of all ages and abilities within a wide range of abilities like improvisation, composition, and music appreciation along with an emphasis on artistic expression. .
In addition to her compositions and arrangements for piano, Carol has written for a variety of ensembles including orchestra, jazz big band, chorus, string quartet and brass quintet. Her work also contains numerous sheet music arrangements for many internationally-known recording artists and  arrangements and recording sessions for a number of artists in Miami-area recording studios. Carol serves as a keyboard production editor for Alfred Publishing Company. 
In addition to original music, Carol has also written a variety of successful instructional publications and arrangements for FJH Music Company including, Classic Note Speller (Books 1 & 2), the Piano for Two^© duet series (equal part duets for one piano, four hands), and All About Music (with Victoria McArthur) -- an innovative approach to teaching music appreciation and theory through activities, games, and listening.
Among Miss Matz's additional titles for the piano are: At the Game Room, Can You Read My Mind? (Love Theme from Superman), Cats! Cats! Everywhere, Cats!, Copycat, I Believe in you, I Thought I Saw a Dinosaur, If the World Were Made of Chocolate and Inside Your Heaven and the albums Famous & Fun Christmas, Book 1- 5, Famous & Fun Classic Themes, Book 1- 5, Famous & Fun Familiar Favorites, Book 1- 5, Famous & Fun Pop, Book 1- 5 and Greatest Movie Hits.

Midnight Blues  (Alfred Publishing)
This left-hand solo will appeal to intermediate students with its sophisticated blues sound and -style. Voicing of the melody involves bringing out the top note of rolled chords in some measures and the top note of blocked chords and intervals in others.

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Born: ?  

Le premier livre des prèludes: op. 4 nr. 9  1951 (Eschig)

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Born: ?

Old Black Joe (arranged from Stephen Foster's song)  1939 (Boston Music)

Bonny Eloise  (arranged from Ambroise Thomas)  (Boston Music)

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Born: ?

Frederick Maxson (* 1862; † 1934) war ein US-amerikanischer Organist und Komponist.

Der Schüler von Alexandre Guilmant wirkte in Philadelphia als Organist an der First Baptist Church und der Central Congregational Church. 1909 gab er das Konzert zur Einweihung der Grace Lutheran Church in Lancaster/Pennsylvania auf einer von Robert Hope-Jones umgebauten Orgel der Firma Hook and Hastings. Maxson veröffentlichte eine Reihe von Kompositionen für die Orgel.

Reverie  1888 (North)

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Little miss serious  (New York: G. Schirmer, Inc.)
Mentioned in Schirmer's Publication Notes

Born: ?

Paganini capriccio nr. 6

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John McDonald  American composer, pianist and teacher

Born: Norfolk, Virginia, 27.10.1959

Education: BA 1981, Yale University; MM, MMA, DMA Yale School of Music, 1982, 1983, 1989
Since 1987John McDonald is a Associate Professor at Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts. 
He took his B.A. at the Yale University in 1981, the M.M. the following year, M.M.A. in 1983 and D.M.A in 1989, Yale School of Music.
McDonald has earned international acclaim both as composer and pianist; the Boston Globe has hailed him with words like: a fresh, inventive, urbane, and keen-witted young composer and a splendid pianist with a born pianist's command of colors, textures, dynamics.
His works have already been performed on four continents and he has served as Cultural Specialist in Mongolia, where he also premiered his work Music for Piano and String Orchestra and he has received invitations from Amsterdam, Budapest, Havana, Montreal, Shanghai, and St. Petersburg to come and perform his works.
His recent accomplishments have included Composer Residencies with the METYSO Youth Orchestra, the Southern Illinois University Music Department, and Duke University, commissions from American Composers Forum, the Harvard Musical Association, Brave New Works, the Fleet Boston Celebrity Series, the Rivers Music School, and First Prize in the Leo M. Traynor Composition Competition for music for viol consort.
McDonald's works center on the piano miniature. He has composed more than six hundred short piano pieces collected in a number of albums, and has also written more than 100 songs, 8 pianos sonatas, 2 string quartets, 2 piano concertos, several orchestral and large ensemble works, and chamber music of many varieties. His general compositional concerns value concision and clarity of expression over elaboration and/or ornament.

Left-Hand Arioso

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Born: ? 

Chopin through the looking glass : three studies for pianoforte arranged for the left hand  c.1929 (Oxford University Press)

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xxx

xxx

Little miss serious  (New York: G. Schirmer, Inc.)
Mentioned in Schirmer's Publication Notes

Monologue: Capriccio  (Milan: Carisch & Janichen)
Mentioned in Hofmeisters Handbuch der Klavierlitteratur 1909-1913, p. 502

Born: The Hague, 19.08.1946

Meinders got his first piano lessons from his parents at the age of five and then became a pupil of Jan de Man at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. 

In 1968 he won a national piano competition in the Netherlands and in 1971 he won the Prix d'Exellence before he continued his studies in Geneva with the Russian born piano virtuoso Nikita Magaloff on the encouragement of Martha Argerich. 

One year later he won the first prize at the international Scriabin Competition in Oslo and has since been considered one of the foremost Dutch pianists. 
On tours Meinders has played in most of the European capitals, Canada, both the Near and Far East and North and South America (living  in Brazil today)  - and he has been a frequent guest at the Piano Festival for rarely heard piano music in Husum in Northern Germany (Recorded every year by Danacord) - obtaining reviews of rare enthusiasm: 

Pianistically, however, it is the Dutch pianist Frédéric Meinders who steals the show. Meinders, one of those old fashioned types who strikes the notes instead of jabbing at them, produces gradations of tone and colours that transcend the dry and unforgiving Husum acoustic and the close microphone placement. Five of his transcriptions revealed a sophisticated pianist-composer in direct line of descent from Franz Liszt, Leopold Godowsky and Earl Wild.
International Record Review, Jeremy Nicholas dec. 2000.

And even though colleagues are rarely known to be very gracious to each other (believe me - there are many famous or rather infamous examples), the following credit comes from a startling virtuoso himself: 
No one with a fascination for the world of the pianist-composer should be unaware of the work of Frédéric Meinders, a uniquely gifted craftsman whose efforts continue to delight and often amaze me. His combination of boundless imagination, considerable compositional skill and ultra-polish offer prospective pianists a source of great joy and fulfillment. 
Marc-André Hamelin

Apart from solo recitals Meinders has appeared with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, The Hague Philharmonic Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under such well-known conductors as Bernhard Haitink, Colin Davis, David Zinmann and Leif Segerstam. In chamber music and piano duos Meinders has appeared with internationally acclaimed artists like Arleen Auger,  Janos Starker, Nelson Freire and has been a frequent guest in recording studios for EMI, CBS and Danacord.

But Frédéric Meinders is not just a brilliant pianist but also a person with an almost Beecham-like sharp wit which was developed at a very early stage of his career. As a boy of 8 years he developed his own fingering instead of following the one dictated by his teacher, who in despair finally tried to  threaten the boy that he would make sausage of him if he didn't comply. That worked - Meinders never touched Bratwurst since.
Today Meinders only plays chamber music or solo recitals - never with orchestras. As he has told this author: 

His total output as composer / transcriber is more than 600 works, AND with more than 140 works for the left hand alone Frédéric Meinders is today without comparison the most prolific composer and transcriber for that media in musical history ever - and always keeping up a very spectacular quality in accordance with the original works. One of his idols is Leopold Godowski, and he (Meinders) often spices up the harmonies like Godowski did - but always keeps the style and form in accordance with the original. A left hand transcription is NOT the same as the original but often you have to add some new aspect to the piece to make it a piece of art itself. The original must be respected according to the wishes of Mozart, Brahms etc., but a transcription for the left hand often has to be transposed to make it technically possible and since a direct transcription often gives very little to the piece, he - like Godowski - gives some spice to the piece, not always - but often to make the piece appear as a new composition in itself.

When a conductor once stopped me in a solo part at a rehearsal of Rachmaninoff's 2nd piano concerto and asked me: could you please play that solo part with less rubato? I said: no, I am so sorry, maestro, I don't have that quality - unfortunately. 
I compare myself to an orchestra:  I only play with rubato and the orchestra only plays with conductors and conductors never play wrong notes, and they are never out of tune!.

	The left hand of Frédéric Meinders on my piano in August 2008

Meinders' own compositions mostly concentrates on the solo-piano or chamber music either original or arrangements/transcriptions and many in different versions (one or  two hands). Among these are 17 remarkable paraphrases on Études by Chopin of which the first five are written on the étude op. 10 no 11 and conceived as a homage to Godowsky.

His total output as composer / transcriber is more than 600 works, AND with more than 140 works for the left hand alone Frédéric Meinders is today without comparison the most prolific composer and transcriber for that media in musical history ever - and always keeping up a very spectacular  quality in accordance with the original works. 
One of his idols is Leopold Godowski, and he (Meinders) often spices up the harmonies like Godowski did - but always keeps the style and form in accordance with the original. A left hand transcription is NOT the same as the original but often you have to add some new aspect to the piece to make it a piece of art itself. The original must be respected according to the wishes of  Mozart, Brahms etc., but a transcription for the left hand often has to be transposed to make it technically possible and since a direct transcription often gives very little to the piece, he - like Godowski - gives some spice to the piece, not always - but often to make the piece appear as a new composition in itself. A direct transcription will appear as a crippled version; just take a look at Meinders', Earl Wild's, Arkadi Volodos, Vladimir Horovitz's and Cyprien Katsaris' transcriptions. They are perfect musical gems in their own. They don't prey on some other composers' works more than Beethoven's, Mozart's, Brahms' and other great composers' transcriptions did, and we would not like to live without them.
And not only that: Meinders transcribes with a Mozartian ease and speed that leaves me baffled again and again, which confirms my theory about Mozart: To composer the Jupiter Symphony took him only split-seconds. Then the whole concept was clear to him and the rest was mere manual labor of writing the whole blessed thing down. This explains why he was able to write so much that scholars have estimated that it would take professional note-writer almost a life-time to copy it; he wrote - without sketches - just as long time as you will need to write a shopping list. (indeed a computerized system has tried to estimate his writing speed - and which can be seen at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, which confirms this). Meinders works the same way: he sees the concept in a flash and the rest is only "manual labor". A great artist and a great personality.
For my wedding to my beloved Kirsten Borges Hornemann Meinders composed a wedding march both celebrating my 60th. birthday and the great occasion - but for organ with two hands and two feet - a very rare and emotional gesture which we cherish very much with pride and joy.

	Kirsten Borges Hornemann, opera singer, dancer and  later much esteemed TV-producer of music programs  and especially ballets in the Danish National Radio and TV  and related to both the famous Danish composer J.O.E - and  C. F. E. Hornemann and author Jorge Luis Borges.  (but of course now she is Kirsten Borger Brofeldt)

Berceuse  (MS)
Composed December6 2007

Elegie  (MS)

Feuillet d'album (Hommage à Scriabin) (also for two hands)  (MS)

For James (Gavotte de Jazz - Study for the Left Hand)  (MS)
This piece was written November 9 2007 and dedicated to James Marchand who inspired him to this piece with his For Bill, and Meinders even quotes Marchand (with his theme inverted - going up instead of Marchand going down) and Bach (Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring) in the piece. In fact the piece could be called Hommage à James Marchand.

Friedmaniana  (MS)

Nocturne pour la main gauche  (MS)

Poème pour la main gauche  (MS)  

Poème-Nocturne pour la main gauche  (MS)

Suite im alten Stil (Sonata in old style) (also for violoncello-solo)  (MS) 

Variations on a theme by Rodriguez Flausino Valle: prelude no. 5 for violin ,(also for two hands)  (MS)

Sonata for violoncello solo (also for piano solo left hand)  (MS)

Variations on Ah-vous dirai-je maman (MS)

Paganini Variations (over the 24. capprice)  (MS)
Composed August 26. 2006 and dedicated to Claire and James Marchand (American pianist and specialist of piano music for the left hand).

Variations over a Theme by James Marchand  (MS)
This composition was finished April 14 2007 and the theme is taken from the first movement of James Marchand's Sonatine: Festive Dance. This is a virtuosic set of variations changing the original tempo of Marchand's theme from Allegro (punctuated crotchet = 70) to Allegro tumultuoso (punctuated crotchet = 120).

Viennese Waltz  (MS)
This was composed July 10 2007 and dedicated to the memory of Mischa Levitzky (Hommage á Mischa Levitzky). Meinders has headed the manuscript with these words: Album for the old, and as he has told this author: there are so many collections for the young (Album für die Jugend etc.) - so why not an album for the older - or at least the elderly who remember The Good old Days - maybe a reference to Die Welt von Gestern (Stefan Zweig's novel: The World from Yesterday). And besides this music may be too erotic to be understood properly by very young people.

	Mischa Levitzky (1898-1941)

As you will notice this list is very long; the pieces all bear a very personal mark of this composer whose inspiration is awe-inspiring and which makes Frédéric Meinders one of the most important transcribers for the left hand alone today. And - I am not the only one with this sort of opinion:

Frédéric Meinders is a remarkably skilled pianist and transcriber. His playing carries a rare blend of color and individuality. And his numerous transcriptions are among the most ingenious of their kind, entirely worthy of standing alongside those of Liszt, Godowsky, and Earl Wild. 
Donald Manildi, Curator International Pianoarchives, University of Maryland

Harold Arlen: Over the Rainbow (From The Wizard of Oz)  (MS)
This is not only a transcription but a Godowskian combination of Arlen's tune and J. S. Bach's Jesus Joy of Man's Desiring - of which one notable critic wrote:
His transcription of Over the Rainbow is a deft piece of keyboard wizardry. Jeremy Nicholas, Record Review London 

Bach: Badinerie (final movement from Orchestral Suite no. 2 BWV 1067)  (MS)
Transcribed November 3 2006 and dedicated to pianist colleague, Cyprien Katsaris after hearing this piano virtuoso's hair-raising and hilariously amusing arrangement. After this I wrote Mr. Katsaris and got a very kind mail - saying that he was no fan of left hand playing or - for that fact - music for four-hand piano or two pianos. What a pity; a master arranger who doesn't care for the medium! pity - just a pity and a waste for posterity.

Bach: Concerto for 2 violins and orchestra BWV 1043: 2. movement; Andante  (MS)
Transcribed July 4. 2006. This movement is one of classical music's wonders. There may not be a memorable tune in it - but what Bach does with these two voices defies all that has been written before or after. 

Bach: Jesu bleibet meine Freude - (Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring Final chorus from cantata: Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben BWV 147)  (MS)
This transcription was made November 6 2006. And - almost superfluous to say - is one of classical music's greatest hits. It has been arranged for piano by e.g. Myra Hess and made famous by Dinu Lipatti, who used it as a kind of signature tune. Other pianist/composers like Wilhelm Kempff have arranged it - but this is the first recorded version for the left hand alone.

Bach: Partita no. 3 for solo-violin BWV 1006; mvmt. no. 3: Gavotte en Rondeau  (MS)
Transcribed June 24. 2006

Bach: Choral prelude: O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde gross BWV 622  (MS)
Transcribed August 7 2007. This is one of the most ingenious compositions by Bach. It is indeed the pinnacle of expressiveness for organ - more heartfelt than anything ever written for the organ. The harmonic intricacies are so advanced that it leaves Wagner and other minor composer far behind. 
There is a story of Mozart - on travel - who entered a church where an organist was rehearsing some piece by Bach. He sat down and listened, and when he got up, he said finally some one from whom one can learn something. Listen to the last bars and you will see what I mean. The soprano-melisma is rich in itself - but the middle voices and the bass - making the harmonies are so startling, unsuspected and advanced that Wagner with his so-called Tristan-chord could learn a lot. The Tristan-chord was by the way no invention of Wagner's; he "stole" from his father-in-law, Liszt's song, Ich Möchte hingehn - changing just one single note. But it is hardly any news since many papers have documented that Wagner stole from Beethoven, Bach and a lot of others - even his enemy Mendelssohn. Well - a wise old gentleman said to me that plagiarism is the summit of admiration.

	Bach's original beginning of this heavenly piece which is adored and worshipped among organists and music-lovers through all the world.

Bach: Choral prelude: Wachet auf ruft uns die Stimme - BWV 645 (No. 1 from the Schübler -Choräle)  (MS)
Transcribed August 9 2007. This piece was in fact tentatively suggested by me but both I and (more important) Frédéric Meinders realized it impossible to transcribe. Well - this great man has done it again - forgetting his objections and making a transcription for the left hand of something which normally requires two hands and two feet. I have praised this composer many times and can only repeat Schumann's words: Hut ab (Hat off). I will to my dying day wonder if Godowsky would have dared to transcribe this great piece. 
If you don't know the piece it is a wonder of composition; a chorale prelude is in fact a setting of a hymn with an accompaniment - but here the accompaniment is far better than the hymn, and Meinders brings this out in the most wonderful way.

Bach: Choral prelude: Ich ruf zu dir Herr Jesu Christ - BWV 639  (MS) 
Transcribed October 16 2007. This is one of Bach's overlooked masterpieces; simple but brilliant choral preludes - and here transcribed in a way that leaves you in awe of these two great men: Bach and Meinders. 

Bach: Die Seele ruht in Jesu Händen (Jesu, my soul rests in your hand ) - soprano aria from Cantata No 127 BWV 127: Herr Jesu Christ, wahr'r Mensch und Gott. (MS)
This transcription was made October 11 2007.
This transcription has a very personal aspect for Frédéric Meinders: And it is dedicated to the memory of Wybo van Biemen, violist of the Residentie Orchestra of the Hague, who died on October 20 2007.

Bach: Choral: Wie wunderbarlich ist doch diese Strafe (from Sct. Matthew Passion BWV 244, second part).  (MS)
This transcription - made August 26 2007 - has a wonderful story. Meinders wrote to me as he suddenly remembered the wonderful melody which he would like to try his hand on. At the time he told me that he only heard it when he was eight years old, but he remembered the harmonies and all and started it by memory. So now - having identified the tune - he made this transcription and I later supplied him with the original - which showed that he did not have to change one note - amazing!.
A further transcription was graciously dedicated to me - but for two hands. Being a opera singer Meinders resolved that a two hand version would be OK. Quite right - I use both hands when I sing, but a transcription written on three staves for the piano, I wonder what I have done to "deserve" this.

Beethoven: Ich liebe dich WoO 123  (MS)

Beethoven: Menuet in G major WoO 10 no. 6  (MS)

Beethoven: Sonata nr. 14, C sharp minor op. 27 no. 2; The Moonlight; first movement  (MS)
The dedication of this transcription to me is one of the greatest honors ever bestowed upon me and my gratitude can hardly be expressed in words fit for this page. The almost Mozartian facility this composer produces these wonderful transcriptions with will never cease to surprise me; and I can only warmly recommend them to pianists of intermediate technique and upwards, who for some reason must look for left hand works or pianists who are looking for challenges in form of this unique art.

Louis Bonfá: Manhã de carnaval (The Day in the Life of a Fool) (MS)

Brahms: Da unten im Tale (no. 6 from the first book of 49 deutsche Volkslieder) (MS)
Transcribed January 2007

Brahms: Hungarian dance no. 5, F Sharp Minor (MS)
Transcribed January 2007

Brahms: Intermezzo op. 117 no. 2  (MS)

Brahms: Sapphische Ode op. 94 no. 4  (MS)

Brahms: Waltz in A flat major op. 39 no. 15  (MS)
Transcribed  July 2006

Brahms, Waltz in E Major op. 39 no 2 (MS)
Transcribed  December 2006

Brahms: Wiegenlied op. 49 no. 4 (two versions) (MS)

Brahms: Wie Melodien zieht es mir op. 105 no. 1  (MS) 

Chopin: Étude op. 10 no. 11  (MS)

Chopin: Étude op. 25 no. 1  (MS)

Chopin: Étude op. 25 no. 7  (MS)
Transcribed November 25 1994. On the cover page for this Meinders has written: As the Etude op. 25 no. 7 is the only Etude that Leopold Godowski did not collect in his Album "53 studies on the Chopin-etudes", I decided to make a transcription of this etude for the left hand alone as a tribute to Leopold Godowski. I decided to dedicate this transcription to the young Italian pianist Francesco Libetta after having listened to his outstanding performance of the Chopin/Godowsky etudes op 10.
Indeed - Godowski simply never got around to transcribing this etude for the left hand. We may assume that he did intend to since in the printed album it was expected to be study no. 37 but there is printed the following remark: Nr.37 fehlt vorläufig (No. 37 is missing for the time being) but there are more virtuosos - like Jonathan Mann -  who have tried their hands on this intended piece as a triple etude which should combine the three A Minor etudes.

Chopin: Étude op. 25 no. 8  (MS)

Chopin: Nocturne op. 9  (MS)

Chopin: Nocturne in e minor op. posth.  (MS)

Chopin/Liszt:  My Joys (Polish songs op. 74 no. 5)  (MS) 
Composed November 29. 2005

Chopin: Waltz op. 64. no. 2 (MS)
Transcribed July 8 2007. (Meinders made two versions of this very popular waltz but this is the one, which he considers the best).

Chopin: Waltz op. 69 no. 1  (MS)

Chopin: Waltz op. 69. no. 2  (MS)
Transcribed May 2007

Chopin: Waltz op. 70 no. 3  (MS)
Transcribed June 6 2007 and according to the heading to be played in Godowskian style. 

Debussy: Beau soir  (MS)
Transcribed on July 7 2007

Fauré: Après un rêve (op. 7 no. 1)  (MS)
Transcribed November 1 2006

Fauré: Les Berceaux op. 23 no. 1(MS)
Transcribed January 2007

Stephen Foster: Jeannie with the light brown hair  (MS)
Two versions of which the latter was transcribed December 6 2007.

Stephen Foster: Old folks at home  (MS)
Two versions of which the latter was transcribed December 4 2007.

Ignaz Friedman: Weihnachtslied (Christmas Song) op. 72 no. 2  (MS)
Transcribed December 6 2007 and dedicated to Jon Skinner

This is without doubt the most famous Danish composition. It was written as an accompaniment for the silent movie from 1925;  Don Q (son of Zorro) with Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Astor and premiered on 14th September 1925 in Copenhagen. The popularity of this is such that it is played every minute around the clock somewhere in the world - earning royalties of gigantic dimensions. This money is now used as a fund for scholarships to talented young Danish musicians. In fact the true title of the work is: Jalousie - Tango Tsigane (Gipsy Tango). 

Gershwin: Embraceable You  (MS)

Gershwin: I got Rhythm  (MS)
Transcribed November 2007 this a funny and most enjoyable piece to try you left hand on.

Gershwin: Swanee  (MS)
Composed 2006.

Glinka: Zavoronok (The Lark)  (MS)

Godowsky - Alt Wien  (MS) 

Granados: La maya dolorosa (Tonadilla 3) (MS)

Franz Gruber: Stille Nacht (Silent Night)  (MS)
This great transcription was made November 2007 - in due time to practice it before Christmas - and has a rather funny story: It all began with a joke. Meinders is a true genius (also) when it comes to make musical puns where he combines two or more tunes. In this he had combined Silent night with The Star-spangled Banner, Silent night and Happy Birthday. But afterwards he decided to make this serious version of the Christmas song. Now a lot of composers have given explanations about what to do with the right hand when playing these kind of works; Gerhard Rühm said that his version of Für Elise should be played with the left on the keyboard and the right on Elise and Roger Eno opened a whole new world to what you could do with the right while playing his piece Links, so - Meinders said that this version of Silent Night could be played with a candle in the right hand - try it, it will most certainly add to the serenity of the occasion.

Hans Leo Hassler: Hertzlich zur mich verlangen (organ choral prelude)  (MS)
Transcribed August 2 2007 - In memoriam Johannes Brahms from whose version opp. 129 no. 9 -10 this is taken. 

Antonio Carlos Jobim: Meditation on The Girl From Ipanema  (MS)

Fritz Kreisler: Liebesleid  (MS)
Transcribed August 6 2008 and for this piece Meinders has used some of the ideas from Sergej Rachmaninoff's famous transcription for two hands.
Apart from real connoisseurs Kreisler is dangerously in jeopardy of being forgotten today. As one of the greatest violinists in the 20th century some new strongly and commercially promoted stars wrinkle their nose - and one who thinks that a strapless gown is proportional with talent has publicly said that That kind of playing would never do today. If this person were able to play with the same intensity and heart I might have believed it - but alas - I am quite sure that this individual violin owner will be long forgotten when the memory of Kreisler's art is remembered with awe and gratitude.
But also - don't ever listen to people who consider Kreisler a composer of mere salon music (his string quartet is close to a master piece) and when a person like Rachmaninoff not only liked to play with him but brilliantly arranged some of his works for solo piano, it stands to reason that there is more to the question. 

Franz Lehár: Dein ist mein ganzes Herz  (MS)

Liszt: Consolation (Two versions) (MS) 
Transcribed December 29. 2005

Liszt: Oh! Quand je dors (MS)
This is a transcription, made July 2007 is of Liszt's song, which in 1842 was set to Victor Hugo's text: Oh! when I sleep...

Mancini: The Pink Panther Theme  (MS)
Transcribed June 15 2007 and dedicated to Frédéric Meinders' friend, the great pianist Martha Argerich.

Marchand: For Bill (MS)
This piece was transcribed November 1 2007 and has a rather amusing history. Almost to the date one year before James Marchand wrote this piece for the left hand alone but never wrote this in the score. So Meinders assumed that it was for two hands - but when playing it he realized that it could be done with one hand so he set out to transcribe it for the left hand alone adding his touch to the piece - thus giving us two left hand versions of this piece; a Guinness' Book of Records-breaking fact of a left hand piece being transcribed for the left hand alone. If you even remotely contemplate this to be futile, let me assure you that you are much mistaken, since it is a very instructive look into two great left hand minds. And - James Marchand's comment on the misunderstanding was: We had a good laugh as we had finally written exactly the same piece ! (Great minds think alike and all that. :-) 

Massenet: Meditation from Massenet's opera Thaïs for two left hands (one piano)  (MS)
In october 2008 Frédéric Meinders transcribed a version of this lollipop for one left hand alone.

Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte op. 19 no.1  (MS)

Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte op. 19 no.6  (MS)

Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte op. 30 no.6  (MS)

Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte op. 62 no.6  (MS)

Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Worte op. 85 no.4  (MS)

Mendelssohn/Kreisler: Lied ohne Worte opus 62. no.1  (MS)

Mozart: Left Hand Study on a theme by Mozart  (MS)
This is a virtuoso study on Secondate, aurette amiche as seen below and composed September 16 2007.

Mozart: Secondate, aurette amiche (Duet with chorus from the second act of the opera Cosi fan tutte)  (MS)
This left hand setting (as Meinders prefers to call it) was made September 15 2007. About this very straight setting Meinders wrote: I do not like to put different harmonies and changings in the rhythm in Mozart. It would change the original character too much in my opinion. I never agreed with Busoni that a transcription is completely free concerning style.

Mozart: Variations on Ah-vous dirai-je maman  (MS)

Mozart: Dei! vieni alla finestra (Canzonetta from act 2 of the opera Don Giovanni)  (MS)
Written September 29 2007. This is the so-called mandolin-aria of Don Giovanni's. A charming and perfect piece in the opera, which Meinders transcribed unknowing that it was the only aria from this opera I had performed. My gratitude to him for the dedication can not be expressed here. It is a fairly straight Mozartian transcription which works as a charm as the Canzonetta is.

Mozart: Eine kleine Nachtmusik: Romance, Andante (second movement)  (MS)
Transcribed April 12 2007 and in spite of the slow movement it contains some of the most difficult writing for the left hand ever.

Mozart: Sonata, A major KV. 331; 3. movement: Alla turca  (MS)
Composed November 10. 2005 in only three hours in a most inspiring and spicy Godowskian way with quite spicy harmonies. It is a perfect gem in this unique repertoire and has already been purchased by many lovers of left- hand playing. It is exceedingly funny and most rewarding to play which has proven to be a great success.

	Reproduced with the kind permission of Frédéric Meinders

Mozart: In diesen heil'gen Hallen (from the opera The Magic Flute)  (MS)
Transcribed October 7 2006 and generously presented to this author as a gift after Meinders had graciously accompanied me in this very aria in Husum as part of a improvised matinee in connection with the International Festival. On this occasion Meinders performed a feat which I shall never forget - since it gave a glimpse of what goes on in that brilliant musical mind of his. When Meinders sat down at the piano and waited for me to get ready - he improvised a fantasy on famous themes from Mozart's operas - from memory - and of course -  played by the left hand alone. Truly incredible - and awe-inspiring!. If ever there was a great moment in my musical life, where I hardly believed what I saw and heard - this was it.

Mozart: Voi che sapete (Cherubini's Canzona from the 2. act of the opera The Marriage of Figaro)  (MS)
The musical history is filled with remarkable and even startling histories of how works of music came into being and under what circumstances; this is one of them: On waiting in the terminal of the airport of Salvador this musical gem suddenly appeared in Meinder's mind. Without piano and with no note paper at hand he sketched this transcription. A truly remarkable feat of a musical brain, which will never cease to astonish me. To this author Meinders wrote the following: Thirty years ago I entered the Conservatory in Maastricht. Many years ago girl who wanted to take the examination for admission wanted to sing this aria of Cherubini's - but she had no accompanist. Meinders had hear the aria as a child and he volunteered to accompany her from memory. Once Meinders has heard a melody or other piece he is able to reproduce it from memory - and he did - and the girl was admitted. Among all pieces of music this is the most simple but perfect. Indeed  Richard Strauss said that he would have given all of his operas - including Der Rosenkavalier if he had been able to write this aria.

Jaime Ovalle:  Canção brasileira op. 21 (Azulão)  (MS)

Cole Porter: Wunderbar - Wunderbar (waltz from the musical Kiss me Kate - after Shakespeare's comedy The Taming of the Shrew)  (MS)
Transcribed November 2007

Rachmaninoff: Vocalise  (MS) 
Transcribed November 29. 2005

Rachmaninoff: Beloved let us fly, op. 26 nr. 5  (MS)

Joachim Raff: Etude op. 157 nr. 2 La Fileuse  (MS)
Transcribed August 13. 2006

Rimsky-Korsakov: Flight of the Bumble-Bee (From the opera Czar Saltan)  (MS)
Transcribed June 16. 2006

Rubinstein: Melody in F op. 3 nr. 1  (MS)

Rubinstein: Romance op. 14  (MS)

Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata in A Major K. 101 (Longo 494)  (MS)
Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata in B Minor K. 27 (Longo 449)  (MS)
These two sonatas were transcribed July 2006

Schubert: Auf dem Wasser zu singen  D. 774  (MS)
Transcribed November 6 2006 and certainly far beyond any possible merit dedicated to this author. In fact all I had to do with this particular song is a rather enlightening sequence of happenings. Earlier I wrote that Mr. Meinders baffles me again and again - but now I must explain this a little better, because by now - nothing surprises me with this composer. Only one year earlier he answered a proposition from me of this song by saying that it was totally impossible to transcribe for the left hand alone. Happily forgetting this and with his incomparable insight and experience in the world of left hand playing - combined with a flash of compositional inspiration he actually did it. But - as Benjamin Britten once said: In a piece of great art you can't distinguish between technique and inspiration.

Schubert: Ave Maria (actually: Ellens Gesang III D 839)  (MS)
This very well-known and popular song was transcribed most beautifully February 19 2008.

Schubert: Der Doppelgänger  D. 957 No. 13 (from Schwanengesang)  (MS)
Transcribed January 2006

Schubert: Du bist die Ruh  D. 776  (MS)
Transcribed February 28. 2006

Schubert: Impromptu D.899  (MS)

Schubert: Liebesbotschaft  D. 957 no. 1 (from Schwanengesang)  (MS)

Schubert: Litanei D. 343 (Two versions) (MS) 
The last transcribed May 24. 2006

Schubert: Der Neugierige (No. 6 from Die schöne Müllerin D 795) (MS)

Schubert: Des Müllers Blumen (No. 9 from Die schöne Müllerin D 795) (MS)
Transcribed July 2007

Schubert/Tausig: Marche militaire no. 1, Op.51 No.1  (MS)
Transcribed August 21. 2006

Schubert: Ständchen D. 957 (From Schwanengesang)  (MS)
Transcribed May 29 2006

Schubert: Trockne Blumen D. 802 (from Die schöne Müllerin)  (MS)
Transcribed January 2006

Schubert: Das Wandern D. 795 (from Die schöne Müllerin)  (MS)
Transcribed May 2006

Schubert: Wiegenlied D. 498  (MS)

Schubert: Wohin  (MS)

Schumann: Am leuchtenden Sommermorgen  Op. 11 No. 2  (MS) 

Schumann: In der Fremde (from Liederkreis op. 39)  (MS) 
Transcribed December 29. 2005

Schumann: Die Lotusblume (No. 7 from Myrthen op. 25)  (MS) 
Transcribed December 29. 2005

Schumann: Romanze no. 2 op. 28  (MS)

Schumann: Stücke im Volkston op. 102 no. 2  (MS)

Schumann: Von fremden Ländern und Menschen (from Kinderszenen op. 15 no. 1) (MS)
This transcription was written on June 30 2007 and probably dedicated to me. Well - the reason for this tentative assumption is my knowledge of Frédéric Meinders and his humour which - like Mozart's - includes play with words and changing names. Mozart e.g. often wrote his name backwards Trazom, and this particular transcription is dedicated to a rather enigmatic person by the name of Wans Brozartfeldt. Anyway I am very happy, proud and grateful for this work. Strangely enough I was studying the original version when this transcription arrived - in no way Meinders could have known this fact. Which brings to mind these words: There are more things in heaven and earth than you have dreamt of in your philosophy (Hamlet: Act I scene IV).

Schumann: Widmung  (no. 1 from Myrthen op. 25 ) (MS)
Composed 2007 and dedicated to Claire and James Marchand  

Schumann: Wilder Reiter (from Album für die Jugend part 1 op.68 no. 8)  (MS)
This transcription was made April 30 2008 and gives the player and unique and rather schizophrenic opportunity of playing five semiquaver (quintuplets) against three quavers with one hand. 

Saint-Saëns: Le Cygne (The Swan from Carnaval des animeaux)  (MS)

Sousa: Stars and Stripes  (MS)
Transcribed December 11 2007

Johann Strauss (son): G'schichten aus dem Wienerwald op. 325  (MS)
Transcribed November 2006

 Johann Strauss (son): Walzer Paraphrase for the left hand (MS)
Composed September 26/27 2017 as "result" of my teasing Meinders with the information that Scriabin on his tour in USA played a similar piece. But since he changed it every time he played it was probably never written down. About this piece of Meinders' he wrote:

In the middle you find some Scriabin harmonies and at the end the theme of the Scriabin Nocturne opus 9  or the left hand has been used as waltz theme. The other themes are completely mine. Who knows if Scriabin would have liked this LH piece for his American tour?

The dedication of this piece is of course wholly undeserved.

Richard Strauss: Allerseelen  (MS)
Transcribed December 2006

Richard Strauss: Traum durch die Dämmerung  (MS)
Transcribed December 2006

Tchaikovsky: Barcarolle (June from The Seasons op. 37b)  (MS)

Tchaikovsky: Lullaby op. 16 no. 1
Transcribed November 11 2006. For this transcription Frédéric Meinders has given two endings; the second being inspired by Rachmaninoff's transcription for two hands but arranged for the left hand alone.

Tchaikovsky: None but the Lonely Heart (Goethe's song of Mignon) op. 6 no.6 
Transcribed January 2007

Fructuoso Vianna: Cantar Galego  (MS)

Fructuoso Vianna: Vilancete  (MS)

Victor Young: When I fall in love  (MS)
Transcribed December 4 2007.

Meinders: A song for bass-baritone and piano left hand  (MS)
Composed May 27 2006
This original composition - which was a private gift to me (?) - has a great story - but let me first introduce you to a major participant in the story - my cat Pebble. 

Only God and Meinders (though not necessarily in that order) know how she became part of this story, but the piece is dedicated to her thereby making her one of several animals playing a major part in a composition; Chopin's minute-waltz is said to have been inspired by a cat chasing its tail (Pebble is much too intelligent for that sorts of nonsense), the rather stupid bulldog Dan who is depicted in Elgar's Enigma Variations nr. 11, James Marchand's notorious Halloween Mouse and recently a Casper Waltz, which is dedicated to another dog -  a beagle (like Snoopy) - and even Frédéric Meinders has written a piece for the dog Mr. Jackson (no relation to Michael - at least so I am informed - but once owned by Jeremy Nicholas - or vise versa - if you like). This particular short song by Meinders is based on a small poem Ein Mench erhofft sich.. by the German poet Eugen Roth (1895 - 1975) and whose essence is very simple, true and one of my mottos: If you don't get what you like, You better like what you get.
Now - Meinders composed this song in less than two hours on May 27 2006 - and looking for a worthy dedicatee with superior intelligence and great human understanding Meinders chose not me - but my cat - but thus making one crucial error: I am the bass-baritone while Pebble is a mezzo or at dinner time a soubrette and she does not play the piano - though she had done other thing to my valuable instrument which I will not reveal - though it has cost me lots of money. But – I had the great honour of the private world premiere on the May 28. 2006. By the way Frédéric Meinders has also proved to be a gifted and extremely witty poet and in this capacity written a new text for Mozart's Unser dummer Pöbel meint changing Pöbel to Pebble and transcribing the accompaniment for the left hand alone - and of course not making her stupid in any way.

About transcriptions and the left hand Frédéric Meinders wrote to this author: 
I started my first transcription in 1977 with Kreisler's Schön Rosmarin, as I was inspired by Rachmaninoff's two Kreisler- transcriptions [Liebesfreud and Liebesleid]. I always loved songs and violin music, and adored the Schubert/Liszt songs [transcriptions], so that I decided to start my work as composer and transcriber, next to my concert career. 
Concerning my style I can say that I was very influenced by Godowsky's work, the Russian composers and also by Fauré. Later I decided to arrange also orchestral music and chamber music, next to original works which are in romantic piano style. The left hand "an sich " [in itself] is already interesting as one hand is busy with both melody and harmony, so I see it as a good compositional training to compose for the left hand.

	There are some differences of opinion about Meinders' attitude on this picture; he might just be trying to keep  his balance during one of his incredible left-hand stunts,  or more plausibly he is demonstrating how to conduct  an orchestra with his right hand and play the piano with  his left. What speaks in favour of the latter is the fact  that Mr. Meinders has decided not to play with  orchestras any more but concentrates on  solo appearances and chamber music.

	Frédéric Meinders ca. 2007.

NB. I have not written any publishers at the various pieces, since Frédéric Meinders has decided to be his own publisher and can be reached via his homepage. From there his works can be obtained easily. 

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Alfonso Melendez  

Born: 1930

Arpegio in A flat minor op. 15 nr. 2   (Casa Amarella)

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Arne Mellnäs  Swedish composer

Stockholm, 30.08.1933 - 22.11.2002

Mellnäs began his studies at the Musikhögskolan in Stockholm (theory, piano, violin and conducting) from 1953 to 1959 and again from 1962 to 1963. Meanwhile he studied privately Erland von Koch from 1954 to 1955 and later with Lars-Erik Larsson and Karl Birger Blomdahl at the Musikhögskolan.
Further studies went on at the Hochschule für Musik Berlin with Boris Blacher (composition), and Josef Rufer in Schönberg (analysis) in 1959-60; privately with Max Deutsch in Paris and György Ligeti in Vienna from 1961 to 1962 and electronic music with Gottfried Michael Koenig in Bilthoven, Holland from 1962 to 1963.
Back in Sweden Mellnäs was appointed teacher of theory at the College of Music from 1963 to 1972 and composition from 1972 to 1986.
In 1964 he visited Tokyo and The Tape Music Center in San Francisco and in 1985 he was visiting professor at Rice University, Houston, Texas in 1985 after which Mellnäs chose to live as a freelance composer. 
At the same time he was though Board member of the Swedish Composers´ Society 1979-89. Member of the Royal Academy of Music since 1984; lifetime State Artist´s Grant since 1986, President of the ISCM 1996-2002, honorable member of ISCM in 2002. He received the first prize for the orchestral work Collage in the Gaudeamus composition competition in Holland in 1963. 

Tre miniatyrporträtt (Three miniature portraits)  (1992) (SMIC)
Dedicated to the poet Tomas Tranströmer.

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W. P. Mero  

Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms  1915 (Presser)

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Paul Mertz  

Rhythmic Etude  1934 (MS)

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Hans Mettke  

Sweet Sixteen  1893 (Church)

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Berlin, 05.09.1791 - Paris, 02.05.1864

(Robert le Diable) See  Fumagalli

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Kamieniec, 05.05.1851 - Warsaw, 17.10.1938

Around the turn of the pervious century Michałowski and Paderewski were the two most important Polish pianists but unlike his younger colleague Michałowski - though never a head-liner but with a decisively better technique - concentrated on the music of Chopin. During his early years he had studied at the Leipzig Conservatory (1867-1869) with Carl Reinecke, Theodor Coccius on Ignaz Moscheles as his principal teacher. After this he went to Berlin to Berlin to become a pupil of Carl Tausig but in 1870 he returned to his native Poland and settled in Warzaw. 
During these years he toured frequently displaying his tremendous technique for which he was highly appreciated and admired, but after being appointed professor of the pianists' class at the Warzaw Conservatory he concentrated more and more on teaching - a job of which he was exceptionally fond. 
In this work he was helped by an excellent memory and an incredible hearing both of which he put to good use since he was very shortsighted, and he was said to have been able actually to distinguish with which finger the pupil produced the tone in swift passages. During lessons he would sit at a second piano and play simultaneously with the pupil and often he would rejoice when in a race for tempo it was he who won.
As an exponent of the music of Chopin he created a style which was greatly admired and which found many imitators. It consisted in chiseling of swift passages and stressing their elegance in smoothing the edges of sharper expressive climaxes - thereby often lending Chopin's music an air of almost drawing-room sentimentality. But it was always done with great taste and complete control of moderation and instrumental purity which gained him the public recognition as the ideal interpreter of Chopin. 
As a human being he was neat, witty and extremely well liked; he often gave concerts for charity and during his long career as a virtuoso jubilee celebrations were given in his honour, regular rallies of music-lovers and of his numerous student who would come together to listen to his playing, pay him tributes address to him cards, wreaths and flowers.
He preferred pianos with a very soft key-board and was justifiably proud of his constant readiness of his fingers. In fact every morning upon wakening he would - still in his night-shirt - rush to his piano and play the notes below from the middle part of Chopin's Scherzo in C sharp minor....

... just to make sure that they were still as impeccable as they always had been. 
Fortunately Alexander Michałowski left more than a dozen recordings - mostly of music by Chopin - and even though he was 89 at the time - and once or twice gets out of control - his playing is certainly grand.
As a composer Michałowski wrote a number of pieces for the piano who were inspired by Chopin and Anton Rubinstein and a number of his piano pupils became well-known on the world's concert platforms - notably Wanda Landowska (1877-1959), Żurawlew Jerzy (1887-1980), Śmidowicz Józef (1888-1962), Heinrich Neuhaus (1888-1964), Mischa Levitzky (1898-1941).

Prélude (pour la main gauche) op. 33 no. 5 (Gebethner & Wolff, Warsaw 1922)

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Born: ?

Martha Mier is a piano teacher in Lake City, Florida. She graduated from Florida State University, where she was a member of Sigma Alpha Iota, the national honorary music fraternity. 
Besides her teaching Ms. Mier has been active in church music and as a professional accompanist. She is a member of the Music Teachers National Association, the Florida State Music Teachers Association and the National Guild of Piano Teachers. 
Ms. Mier presents workshops for piano teachers and is in demand as an adjudicator. Many of the solos and collections she composed were chosen for the 1998-2000 National Federation of Music Club's Junior Festival Bulletin.
Her educational piano music for students on all levels has made her one of today's most popular composers. Students in the United States, Australia, Canada, Europe and Japan enjoy playing her music, including the popular Jazz, Rags & Blues series and the Romantic Impressions series.

Rhapsody  (Alfred Publishing)

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Bucharest, 22.10.1898 - Paris, 12.08.1985

Mihalovici studied in Paris at the Schola Cantorum with Vincent d'Indy and joined a group of composers comprising Tibor Harsanyi, Alexander Tansman, Conrad Beck, Bohuslav Martinu and Alexander Tcherepnin under the name École de Paris. 
In 1932 he formed a chamber music society, Triton with Darius Milhaud, Arthur Honegger, Sergej Prokofiev, Jean Rivier, Tibor Harsanyi, Jacques Ibert, Henri Tomasi and Maurice Rosenthal.
Among his compositions are operas, ballets, orchestral works, songs, chamber music, choral works  and piano pieces. But Mihalovici has also composed plenty for film, radio and television.
He was married to the famous pianist Monique Haas.

Passacaglia op. 105  (18 variations over a bass tune)  1975 (Salabert)
Written for the pianist Lelia Gousseau

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Born: ?

Foglie d'autunno (Autumn Leaves)  1928 (Ditson)

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Born: West Byfleet, Surrey, 1946

John Mitchell spent his childhood in London but spent most of his professional life as a as a community pharmacist in Kent. 
Meanwhile he studied privately from 1974 to 1980 with Carey Blyton taking his  A.Mus. diploma from Trinity College, London, in 1977.
The majority of his compositions are on a smaller scale and include piano pieces, songs and instrumental works with a special affinity to handbell ringing and being Musical Director of the Martello Ringers from 1983 to 1999. This interest has led him to arranging and even composing some original pieces for this media. 
John Mitchell has always had a special interest in English music making several transcriptions of orchestral works by George Butterworth, Peter Warlock, Ernest John Moeran and Charles Wilfred Orr.

Clodhopper (2004)  (Fand Music)
For this four page piece with the rare Tempo indication: Galumphingly the composer has written: I'm not sure I've got much to add by way of composer's note. Hopefully the title says it all! Two things did occur to me, however, by way of pointers, for those interested in prose before playing. Firstly my lifelong interest in in classic Light Music , and secondly my determination to write a piece where the bass clef predominates in the main section: e.g., a piece for the left hand, not that pretends to be a two-handed one!

Federico Mompou  Spanish composer and pianist

Barcelona, 16.04.1893 - Barcelona, 30.06.1987

Mompou's mother was of French descent and his father Catalan. His mother's family owned the Dencausse Bell Foundry (the sound of bells were later shown to have been influential to Mompou's music - just with Rachmaninoff). He was born during the Catalan Renaissance of the arts that occurred during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

	Mompou at the bell foundry

His musical training began at the Barcelona Conservatory, but in 1911, at age 18 (with a  recommendation from the composer Enrique Granados) he went to Paris to study with Isidor Philipp (piano) and Ferdinand Motte-Lacroix, as well as with M. Samuel Rousseau (harmony). This was to be his only formal musical training - he never formally studied counterpoint or composition - consequently, he always rejected the title of "composer". 
Mompou was a very shy and withdrawn person who apparently lived in his own personal aesthetic world, from which his music was born. His musical output was almost all for the intimate expression of solo piano, piano with solo voice, solo guitar, or solo organ.

	Federico Mompou, A. Rubinstein  and Frank Marshall

Mompou had to leave Paris during World War I, and returned to Barcelona for 7 years. But he returned to Paris in 1921 and lived there for the next 20 years, during which time he gained widespread recognition for his piano music.
Mompou left Paris again in 1941 due to World War II and moved back to Barcelona, where he lived quietly and enjoying Catalan mystical poetry. He was married to the Catalan pianist Carmen Bravo, for whom he composed his Paisajes (Landscapes). He remained in Barcelona until his death at the age of 94.

	Mompou at the piano

Prelude nr. 6  (1930)
The idea to this piece came to Mompou one day in 1930, when he was having a conversation with the famous Spanish guitar player Miguel Llobett. During the conversation Mompou let his left hand (obviously rather absentmindedly) glide improvisingly over the keys of his piano.

Lento; nr.3 from Variations on theme of Chopin (Prelude in A Major op. 28/7) 

Prelude nr. 6 is recorded by Stephen Hough: Hyperion CDA 66963

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Born: Osorno, Chile, October 28 1924 - 

Montecino graduated from the National Conservatory of Music at the University in Chile and went on to study composition in the US at the Juilliard School of music. His prime teachers in composition has been Roger Sessions, Bohuslav Martinu, Randall Thompson and Edgar Varèse. Montecino was also trained by the piano virtuoso Claudio Arrau before he embarked upon a career as a distinguished composer, pianist and teacher together with joining the Faculty of Music at the Indiana University.
Beside his work as a composer and teacher Montecino has toured extensively in Europe, the Americas, and Asia. He is well known for his performances of the cycles of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier and Beethoven's sonatas.
Among his ca. forty works are two string quartets, a saxophone quartet and a piano concerto which the composer himself premiered at the Festival Latinoamericano de Música de Caracas, Venezuela. Montecino has also composed other works for piano and orchestra, sixteen songs with piano and various pieces of chamber music - among these piano pieces.

Compositión en 3 movimentos  1951 (MS)

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Girona, 11.03.1912 - Barcelona, 07.05.2002 

Montsalvatge showed very promising musical gifts already as a child and started his training very early in Barcelona under Enric Morera (1865-1942), Luis Millet (1867-1941), Eduardo Toldrà (1895-?), Costa and Jaime Pahissa (1880-?). Here he also came in contact with the very active musical life then and was able to hear the works of Manuel de Falla, Igor Stravinsky and Arnold Schönberg performed by the composers themselves and by musicians of international fame as Artur Rubinstein, Wanda Landowska and Pablo Casals. 
Being attracted to composition he wrote his first work, Tres Impromptus in 1934, and won the Patxot Foundation's Rabell prize. Since then, he has composed over one hundred works which cover the whole range of musical genres from symphony to opera and from ballet to film music.
Among his most important works are the operas El gato con botas (1948) and Babel 46 (1967), the orchestral works Tres danzas concertantes (1960), String orchestra Concertino (1975) Simfonia mediterránia, his perhaps most ambitious work (1948) Caleidoscopio (1955) Laberinto (1971).
Some of his chamber works exist in two versions; Variacions sobre 'La Spagnoleta' de Giles Farnaby (1945) for violin and piano (and a version for guitar and orchestra), Serenata a Lydia de Cadaqués for flute and piano (1970) (with a version for flute and orchestra), while the more traditional include a piano trio (1989) and Cuarteto indiano (1951). Of vocal works there are Cinco canciones negras (1945) soprano and piano or orchestra and  Cinco invocaciones al Crucificado (1969) for soprano and chamber ensemble. Finally there are numerous piano pieces and songs.

Alongside with his work as composer Montsalvatge has been employed as music critic by such prestigious publications as Destino magazine and La Vanguardia newspaper and has been professor of compositions at Barcelona's Superior Conservatory. His work as an artist has earned him various honors including an Honorary Doctorate from the Barcelona University, the Sant Jordi Cross and the Premi d'Honor de la Música Catalana.

	Montsalvatge at the piano

Si, a Mompou (Yes, to Mompou)  (1985) (Union Musical Espagñola)
The given date (1985) is the date of publishing. It would be likely to think that the piece was in fact written in 1983 for Mompou's 90th birthday.

Una pàgina per A. Rubinstein. (A page for Artur Rubinstein)  (1987) (Union Musical Espagñola)

Both works have been recorded on Etnos 

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François Morel (born 14 March 1926) is a Canadian composer, pianist, conductor, and music educator. An associate of the Canadian Music Centre, he was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec in 1994 and was awarded the Prix Denise-Pelletier in 1996. He has had his works premiered by the CBC Symphony Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and the Philadelphia Orchestra.^[1]

Life and career[edit]

Born in Montreal, Morel studied at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal from 1944–1953. His teachers included Claude Champagne (composition), Isabelle Delorme (harmony, counterpoint, fugue), Gérald Gagnier (conducting), Arthur Letondal (piano), Germaine Malépart, Jean Papineau-Couture (acoustics), and Edmond Trudel (piano). He was a founding member of the Canadian League of Composers in 1951. From 1956–1979 he worked for CBC Radio as a composer of incidental music, music consultant, and researcher.

Morel taught music analysis and composition at the Institut Nazareth from 1959–1961. In 1972 he was appointed director of the Académie de musique du Québec, a position he held through 1978. From 1976–1979 he taught at the Bourgchemin Cegep in Drummondville and from 1979–1997 he taught at Université Laval. He also served on the faculty of the Université de Montréal in 1979–1980.

was born in Montréal on March 14, 1926 into a family of musicians. He received much encouragement in his first musical activities and began piano studies at an early age. At 17, he decided to enter the Montréal Conservatory, studying composition there with Claude Champagne. On leaving the Conservatory, he resolved, unlike his contemporaries who were continuing their training in Paris, to remain in Québec and to meet Varèse in New York. This decision did not compromise his international reputation. His works have been performed in the United States, in Japan, in China and in Europe, by renowned conductors like Stokowski, Monteux, Mehta, Schippers, Abbado, Ozawa, Charles Dutoit and several others. Morel has worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for more than 25 years as a composer and independent conductor, writing works for the theatre, radio and television.

Since 1979 he has been a professor at the School of Music of Laval University where he teaches musical analysis, orchestration and composition. He was as well one of the founders of the Société de musique de notre temps with, among others, Serge Garant. The objective of the organization is the promotion of 20th century music. In 1978 he co-founded "Éditions Québec Musique" with Louise Laplante and today this venture has become a special collection in the catalogue of the Québec publishing house Doberman-Yppan. Morel was also (in 1983) founder and artistic director of the "Ensemble Bois and Cuivres du Québec" which, for its two Québec City seasons, presented a unique contemporary repertoire for wind instruments and works by Canadian composers, both on CBC radio and in live concerts.
Many organizations have commissioned works by Morel: the CBC, the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec, the symphony orchestras of Montréal and Edmonton, and the Toronto Guitar Society. Recently, on January 26 and 27, 1988, a work commissioned by the Montréal Symphony Orchestra, Aux Couleurs du Ciel, for woodwinds, brass, harp, piano/celesta and timpani, was premiered with conductor Charles Dutoit, to whom it is dedicated.

Born: ? 

Concert Study  (Breitkopf & Härtel)

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Wroclaw (Breslau), 23.08.1854 - Paris, 04.03.1925

Moszkowski was educated first in Dresden an later in Berlin at the Stern Academy and at Theodor Kullak's Academy where he eventually became teacher himself for many years. At the same time he toured extensively - Germany, France and England until he finally retired to Paris in 1897 and where he died in poor circumstances.
As a composer Moszkowski perhaps lacked true depth but his many works for piano became very popular indeed around the turn of the last century. His greatest "hit" was two books of Spanish Dances for piano duet written in a rather self-constructed Spanish exoticism. He also tried his hands on other folkloristic idioms but it was the Spanish that was most successful so he tried to follow up on his success by a new set of dances. Among his other works were a Symphony "Jeanne d'Arc", a piano concerto in E major op. 59, a violin concerto and some pieces of chamber music.
Today he is almost forgotten as composer if it were not for a few pieces that remained on the programs of the great pianists as typical "encore-pieces": Etincelles op. 36 nr. 6, La jongleuse op. 52 nr. 4 and the etudes in F major and A flat major op. 72 nr. 6 and 11, which Horowitz included in his repertory.
He also wrote an opera - again  with a Spanish subject - Baobdil, der letzte Maurenkönig (Baobdil, the Last Moorish King) which was produced in Berlin, Prague and New York but whose popularity did not last long - except for its ballet music.

12 Etudes op. 92  1915 (Enoch)
Dedicated to Harold Bauer.

No 1,2,4,9,11 & 12 are recorded by Raoul Sosa: Fleur de Lys FL 2 3080-1

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Born: ?

Romanze  1917 (Presser)

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Passau, 24.04.1690 - Vienna, 09.12.1770

Gottlieb was son of the better known composer Georg Muffat (1645-1704) and was a pupil of J. J. Fux (about 1711) before he became court and chamber organist to the emperor Charles VI  in 1717 and music master to the imperial children - and indeed the leading keyboard composer in Vienna in the first half of the 18th century. 
He was an organ- and harpsichord player of the greatest distinction and taste and a composer of numerous works - mostly for the harpsichord and the organ. Indeed he must have been a quite well-known and respected composer throughout Europe, since the theme from the beginning of Handel's ouverture to the oratory Theodora is a direct copy of a harpsichord work by Muffat, called Trio, and published in his Componimenti Musicali per il Cembalo.

	The imposing front page of Muffat's Componimenti Musicali per il Cembalo.

I have not been bright enough to see any difference between the two. Musical borrowings is a chapter of itself commendably commentated and documented on a site where you will find many interesting examples by Tim Phillips

Handel's version from Theodora

Muffat's Trio

. 
By the way a remark about Muffat's first name is perhaps appropriate here: Gottlieb means loved by God - so does Theophil - only in Greek - and in that connection it should be remembered, that Mozart was baptized: Johannes Chrysotomus Wolfgangus Theophilius Mozart, so the name Amadé or Amadeus is a French/Latinized version of loved by God.

Kleines Menuett (Einhändig)  (Verlag J. P. Tonger)

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Born: ?

Sounds for One Hand: Five Lyric Studies 1986 (Willis Music)

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