The Pianist's Dictionary

Maurice Hinson, Wesley Roberts

• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9780253047311, 9780253047311
• eBook ISBN: 9780253047342
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Music

From A to Z to middle C: An "essential reference" for piano students, teachers, players, and music lovers, with hundreds of definitions (E.L. Lancaster, Alfred Music).
The Pianist's Dictionary is a handy and practical reference dictionary aimed specifically at pianists, teachers, students, and concertgoers. Prepared by Maurice Hinson and Wesley Roberts, this revised and expanded edition is a compendium of information gleaned from a combined century of piano teaching. Users will find helpful and clear definitions of musical and pianistic terms, performance directions, composers, pianists, famous piano pieces, and piano makers. The authors' succinct entries make The Pianist's Dictionary the perfect reference for compiling program and liner notes, studying scores, and learning and teaching the instrument.
"This new edition is a go-to source for piano scholars and students for quick information on musical terms, pianists, major works in the piano repertoire, piano manufacturers, and more . . . comprehensive, easy to use." —Jane Magrath, University of Oklahoma

A

A (It.), À (Fr.). At, in, to.

À deux (Fr.). For two (as a duet).

À deux mains (Fr.). For two hands.

À l’aise (Fr.). Comfortable; in a relaxed manner.

À la manière de (Fr.). In the style of.

À la mesure (Fr.). A tempo; in strict time.

À peine (Fr.). Slightly, scarcely.

A piacere (It.). At pleasure, as desired. The pianist is to use his or her discretion as regards the rhythmic or dynamic nuance; play freely.

À quatre mains (Fr.). For four hands.

A tempo (It.). In the original speed, resume the original tempo after having made some deviation from it.

À temps (Fr.). In time.

À un temps (Fr.). In one beat.

À volonté (Fr.). At will, leisurely.

Ab Irato (In a Rage). Franz Liszt, S. 143, 1852. This piece first appeared in 1842 as Morceau du salon. It was expanded and reappeared in 1852 with the new suggestive title. It is an effective octave and chord study in a mainly violent mood.

ABA. Analysis term used to describe sections of a piece: A = first section, followed by contrasting section B, followed by repeat (sometimes modified) of A section.

Abegg Variations. Robert Schumann, Op. 1, 1829–30. A set of variations on a theme based on the notes A-B♭-E-G-G and dedicated to his friend Meta Abegg.

Aber (Ger.). But.

Abgestoßen (Ger.). Staccato, detached.

Abram, Jacques (1915–98). American pianist and teacher, he began performing in public at the age of six and studied at Curtis with David Saperton and Juilliard with Ernest Hutcheson. He performed literature from Johann Sebastian Bach through Béla Bartók and gave the American première of Benjamin Britten’s Piano Concerto. He taught at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and the University of South Florida in Tampa. His course Issues in Music in Tampa was immensely popular and usually closed out each semester with over two hundred students from across campus.

Abridged Sonata Form/Modified Sonata Form. A form based on sonata form but not containing a development section.

Absolute music. Music without any attempt to relate to anything else. The opposite of programmatic music. Examples would include sonatas, trios, and quartets.

Abstufungen (Ger.). Nuances.

Accarezzevole (It.). Caressingly.

Accelerando, Accel (It.), Accélerer (Fr.). Increasing the speed, accelerating, becoming faster.

Accent. A stress or emphasis indicated by a > sign. Other types of accents are used by composers, in particular the ∧ sign, which generally represents greater punctuation.

Acciaccatura (It.). A type of grace note indicated by a small note with its stem crossed through. It is a “crushed note,” to be played a split second before the principal note and released at once.

Accidental. An indication to adjust a pitch in relation to its appearance earlier in a measure or to adjust the pitch differently from the key signature. Accidentals are indicated by signs for natural

, sharp

, and flat ♭.

Accompaniment. Musical background for a principal part or parts.

Accusé (Fr.). With emphasis.

Action. Mechanism of the piano that causes a string to sound when a key is depressed, especially, though not limited to, the movement of the hammers.

Ad libitum (Lat.). At will, freely.

Adagietto (It.). Slightly faster than adagio, of which term it is the diminutive.

Adagio (It.). At ease, leisurely; slowly with great expression. “To play an adagio well, enter into a calm and almost melancholy mood” (Quantz 1966, p. 163).

Adagio non troppo (It.). Slow, but not too slow.

Adagissimo (It.). Extremely slow.

Adams, John (b. 1947). American composer of minimalistic tendencies known for large-scale compositions. His small output for piano includes China Gates and Phrygian Gates.

L’adieu valse (Farewell Waltz). Fryderyk Chopin, Waltz in A-Flat Major, Op. 69, No. 1, 1835. Composed as a “farewell” present to Maria Wodzínska on the breakup of their romantic relationship.

Adieux, l’absence et le retour, Les (Fr.) (The Farewell, Absence, and Return), Das Lebewohl, Abwesenheit und Wiedersehn (Ger.). Ludwig van Beethoven, Sonata in E-Flat Major, Op. 81a. Title given by Beethoven’s publisher to this Sonate caractéristique, dedicated to the Archduke Rudolph, who had to leave Vienna when it was under attack by the French. Beethoven wrote Lebewohl (farewell) over the opening phrase, and he referred to it as the Lebewohl Sonata.

“Aeolian Harp” Étude. Fryderyk Chopin, Étude in A-Flat Major, Op. 25, No. 1, 1836. Perhaps this title came from a remark made by Robert Schumann comparing Chopin’s playing to an Aeolian harp, a stringed instrument that when placed outside or in a window makes vague, eerie harmonies when the wind blows through it. Chopin is supposed to have referred to this study as the “Shepherd Boy” Étude. See “Shepherd Boy” Étude.

Aérien (Fr.). Light, airy.

Affabile (It.). Affable, pleasing, politely, pleasantly, gentle.

Affettuoso (It.). Affectionately, with feeling or tender feeling, warm, emotional.

Affretando (It.). Hurrying, increasing the speed, pushing on.

Agevole (It.). Easy, relaxed, smooth, comfortable, facile.

Agitato (It.). Excited, agitated, hurriedly, at a slightly faster tempo.

Agité (Fr.). Agitated, restless.

Agosti, Guido (1901–89). Italian pianist renowned for concerts throughout Europe. He taught in Venice and Rome and made editions of works by Ludwig van Beethoven and Fryderyk Chopin.

Agrandissement asymétrique (Fr.). Asymmetrical enlargement. A technique used by Olivier Messiaen to expand a motive or phrase by lowering the lowest pitch and raising the highest pitch a half-step upon successive repetitions.

Agrémens, Agréments (Fr.). Grace notes, in particular the “small ornaments” found in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century French music.

Aigre (Fr.). Harsh, shrill.

Aigu (Fr.). Sharp, acute.

Aimable (Fr.). Kindly, pleasant, nice.

Aimard, Pierre-Laurent (b. 1957). French pianist who studied with Yvonne Loriod, he has had a special interest in music since World War II. Among his repertoire are pieces by Olivier Messiaen, Pierre Boulez, György Ligeti, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Elliott Carter, as well as J. S. Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven. The winner of the Olivier Messiaen Competition in 1973, he has appeared in solo and with major orchestras throughout Europe and the United States.

Air. A tune, a simple melody, sometimes in the style of a folksong. In suites of the Baroque and Classical eras, the air was an optional piece, in general as opposed to the dance-based pieces in the suite. J. S. Bach used the term for the fourth movement in his French Suite No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 813, and the fifth movement in his French Suite No. 4 in E-Flat Major, BWV 815.

Air with variations. See theme and variations.

Airplane Sonata. George Antheil, Sonata No. 2, 1922. Sonata in two movements, its rhythms are aggressive and motoristic but also sometimes reminiscent of ragtime. It is characterized by clusters and strident harmonies and is deliberately noisy; material is repeated either wholly or in fragments.

Aisé (Fr.). Easy.

Aisément (Fr.). Unhurried, with ease.

Al, Alla (It.). To the, at the, in the (manner, style, etc.).

Al fine (It.). To the end (go).

Al niente (It.). Dying away to nothing, gradually fading away.

Al segno (It.). To the sign: locate the sign in the score and play from there.

Albéniz, Isaac (1860–1909). Spanish composer and pianist, he studied with Franz Liszt. Albéniz composed over two hundred piano pieces with strong rhythmic Spanish features, including Iberia, a cycle of twelve pieces, and the popular Tango in D.

D’Albert, Eugen (1864–1932). German composer, born in Glasgow, Scotland. A student of Franz Liszt and highly regarded as a piano virtuoso and composer, d’Albert’s piano works include two piano concertos, a sonata, a suite, and miscellaneous piano pieces. He also edited piano music. One of d’Albert’s six wives was the Venezuelan pianist Teresa Carreño.

Alberti bass. An accompaniment figure, located mainly in the left hand. It gets its name from Domenico Alberti (1710–40), who used it frequently. A good example is found in the first movement of the Mozart Sonata in C Major, K. 545.

Alborada (Sp.). Music at dawn, a morning song. Maurice Ravel’s Alborada del gracioso (The Fool’s Dawn Song) from his...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface to the Second Edition
• Preface to the First Edition
• List of Abbreviations
• The Entries
• Bibliography
• About the Authors