Latest Releases for STRINGS

R. Bernard FITZGERALD
Gaelic Suite
Arranged for Violin and Piano
by Daniel Dorff

A suite of three evocative movements in an approachable, intermediate level.
(I. Procession, II. Elegy, III. Gigue) Duration: 8' 45"

Theodore Presser Co. 114-41330 • $9.95  Add to Cart

R. Bernard FITZGERALD
English Suite
Arranged for Violin and Piano
by Daniel Dorff

For the English Suite, Fitzgerald has chosen to base each of his five movements on English folk music, such as Rule Britannia, Greensleeves, and Begone Dull Care. Duration: 8' 30"

Theodore Presser Co. 114-41331 • $9.95  Add to Cart

Spotlite on...

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Por una cabeza

Carlos Gardel
Tango Violin Duets
Violin Duo
Arranged by Diego Collatti

A tango superstar, Gardel is perhaps today best known for his Por una cabeza, the sumptuous tango featured in Scent of a Woman, then True Lies, then Schindler's List. Collatti's violin duo arrangements also include El dia que me quieras and Mi Buenos Aires querido, which are far more popular outside the U.S., along with two more! A tango must for violinists.

Universal Edition UE33651 • $17.95  Add to Cart

Includes solos and ensembles from Presser,
Carl Fischer, and our Affiliated Publishers.

Henryk Wieniawski
Adagio Elegiaque, Op. 5
for Violin and Piano
Edited by Antoni Cofalik

In stark contrast to his Fantaisie Orientale, Wieniawski’s Adagio Elegiaque (a much earlier work) focuses not so much on technique as on expression. Says Cofalik, “I especially recommend it to students wishing to develop the expressive, tonal aspect of their playing as well as octave and arpeggiated chord techniques.”

P.W.M. 514-02982 • $10.45  Add to Cart

Hailstork was enlightened on baroque violin performance by violinist and choir member Martha Perry, for whom he wrote Baroque Suite. A bit of a departure for Mr. Hailstork, Baroque Suite features four standard Baroque movements, with traditional ornamentation and tempos, but with a touch of Hailstork's contemporary voice. The Sarabande and Air are lyrical and expressive movements, while the Prelude and Gigue are faster rhythmic and lively passages. Suitable for advanced students and lovers of Baroque music!

Theodore Presser Company 114-41217 • $12.95  Add to Cart

Igudesman is, without question, a showman of the violin. His performance style is all about FUN, and the perfect match to that style is the music of Ireland and Scotland. Here he presents 10 Celtic classics in fairly authentic arrangements for violin duo, an excellent choice for the fast jigs or for mimicking the drone of the bagpipes. For the accomplished students who want to break out!

Universal Edition UE33652 • $17.95  Add to Cart

Chopin’s original 230 works have led to over 4,000 transcriptions for various instruments and ensembles! The editors have selected the most important and most creative of these arrangments of the past 150 years, which exemplify the inspiration generated by Chopin’s works. The arrangers are noted after each work, along with key change, if any.

PWM 514-02333 • $22.95  Add to Cart

Henryk Wieniawski
Fantaisie Orientale, Op. 24
for Violin and Piano
Edited by Antoni Cofalik

Once the pianist sets the mood, Wieniawski’s Fantaisie immediately opens with a violin flourish. This is a pure treat for the advanced performer, full of Wieniawski’s rapid passages and double-notes, along with a memorable melodic line.

P.W.M. 514-02079 • $12.45  Add to Cart

Henryk Wieniawski
Grand Caprice Fantastique sur un thème original, Op. 1
for Violin and Piano
Edited by Antoni Cofalik

Wieniawski: a name that gives violinists either chills or delight. One of the greatest composers for the instrument and one of its outstanding practitioners, Wieniawski has written one showpiece after another.

The Opus 1, product of a 12-year-old composer, may well serve as an introduction to the man’s output. Certainly, it contains many of the tricks and techniques he would use and develop in his later works. Editor Cofalik has taken the original (and only!) edition of some 150 years ago and corrected many of the errors and oversights, and has included detailed fingering, bowings, and dynamics. The Grand Caprice Fantastique will serve to open the door to Wieniawski’s more demanding works, along with those of Paganini and Ernst.

P.W.M. 514-02368 • $17.95  Add to Cart

Niccolò Paganini
Introduzione e Sonata a Movimento Perpetuo
for Violin and Piano
Edited by Vincenzo Bolognese

"...a re-elaboration of his Quartet No. 14 for violin, viola, cello, and guitar.
..."It must be emphasized that the work has nothing to do with the well-known C Major Moto Perpetuo Op. 11...
"...The Andante amoroso and the perpetual motion Sonata is an extremely charming pleasant piece with thrilling instrumental bravura." (The Editor)

Boccaccini & Spada 514-02469 • $29.95  Add to Cart

Aleksey Igudesman
Klezmer & More
Violin Duets

"What is Klezmer? I wish I knew. I don't. And despite what textbooks, computer search engines and above all specialists will tell you, they don't either." Somehow, we think that Igudesman knows more than he's letting on! From its Eastern European foundation, Igudesman takes Klezmer to new heights in this collection of ten violin duets. His lead-off discussion of Klezmer, its roots, its style, and its performance will stimulate and inspire violinists on their enjoyable journey through Igudesman's vision.

Universal Edition UE 33650 • $17.95   Buy

A rediscovered gem from 1938, the Sonata includes an Adagio section, its climax described by Ernst Krenek as one of the "greatest and most inspired pages in the literature."

Read the introduction about the Sonata.

Peermusic Classical 62139-602 • $39.95  Add to Cart

A tango superstar, Gardel is perhaps today best known for his Por una cabeza, the sumptuous tango featured in Scent of a Woman, then True Lies, then Schindler's List. Collatti's violin duo arrangements also include El dia que me quieras and Mi Buenos Aires querido, which are far more popular outside the U.S., along with two more! A tango must for violinists.

Universal Edition UE33651 • $17.95  Add to Cart

Seven selected pieces from Tchaikovsky’s beloved works, edited for violin and piano under the direction of Andrzej Gebski.

Chanson triste, Op. 40, No. 2 • Andante cantabile, from String Quartet in D, Op. 11
Scene from Act II of Swan Lake, Op. 20 • Canzonetta, from Violin Concerto in D, Op. 35
June - Barcarolle, from The Seasons, Op. 37bis • Chant sans paroles, Op. 2, No. 3
Waltz of the Flowers, from Nutcracker, Op. 71

PWM 514-02332 • $26.95 Add to Cart

Gioachino Rossini
Un mot à Paganini
for Violin and Piano
Edited by Marco Sollini

Spada presents a previously unpublished Rossini violin solo, edited by Sollini from the autograph. The great Rossini’s tribute to Paganini will be welcome by advanced violinists in search of a new showpiece. The piano part, while not “overlooked” by any means, is definitely more in the traditional accompaniment role, allowing full attention to be paid to the violinist.

Boccaccini & Spada 514-02022 • $9.95 Add to Cart

This second volume presents the infamous F.A.E.Sonata, together with the 3rd Sonata, long overshadowed by the 1st and 2nd. A critical edition from the sources by Ute Bär, with fingering and notes by Christiane Edinger (violin) and Peter Roggenkamp (piano). The preface provides fascinating background information and historical reference.

Vienna Urtext UT50238 • $32.95  Add to Cart

Mario Lavista
Cuaderno de Viaje (Travelogue)
for Solo Viola

"...entrancingly simple and beautiful. The piece was entirely in natural harmonics, excepting two strategically-placed pizzicatos. The harmonics made the piece airy and ethereal, with the resulting overtone-based, rather than equal-tempered, intervals creating a pure and pristine sound. ...One might think that harmonics for so long would grow tiresome, but Lavista kept the piece fresh and captivating." -- Jonathan Russell, San Francisco Classical Voice

Peermusic 62298-618 • $11.95  Add to Cart
(See also transcription for Solo Cello, below)

For advanced violists, Hailstork "reflects [upon] the contrast between the turbulence of the outside world and the search for serenity within the walls of the cathedral" in this multifaceted duo. Includes a brief period of improvisation in both parts.

Theodore Presser Company 114-41099 • $16.95  Add to Cart

Volume One:
PWM 514-02367 • $26.95 Add to Cart

Volume Two:
PWM 514-03175 • $27.45  Add to Cart
See a sample page.

Volume One Includes:
Prelude in B minor, Op. 28 (transcr. Michalik, Paderewski)
Nocturne in E Flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2 (Popper)
Nocturne in F Sharp Major, Op. 15, No. 2 (in A Major, Davidov)
Study in E Major, Op. 10, No. 3 (in D Major, Grützmacher)
Study in C Sharp minor, Op. 25, No. 7 (in E minor, Glazunov)
Mazurka in C Major, Op. 33, No. 3 (in D Major, Franchomme)
Mazurka in A minor, Op. 67, No. 4 (Krein)
Waltz in A minor, Op. 34, No. 2 (Davidov)
Waltz in D Flat Major, Op. 64, No. 1 (in Fflat Major, Davidov)
Waltz in C Sharp minor, Op. 64, No. 2 (Davidov)

Volume Two Includes:
Prelude in A minor, Op. 28, No. 2 (Kazimierz Michalik, Maciej Paderewski)
Prelude in E minor, Op. 28, No. 4 (Michalik, Paderewski)
Study in A minor, Op. 10, No. 2 (Gregor Pecker)
Study in F minor, Op. 25, No. 2 (transcribed in D minor by Pecker)
Nocturne in F Major, Op. 15, No. 1 (in G Major byFranchomme)
Nocturne in F minor, Op. 55, No. 1 (in A minor by Franchomme)
Nocturne in E Flat Major, Op. 55, No. 2 (Franchomme)
Waltz in A Flat Major, Op. 34, No. 1 (in A Major by Carl Davidov)
Waltz in F Major, Op. 34, No. 3 (Davidov)
Waltz in A Flat Major, Op. 64, No. 3 (Davidov)

Mario Lavista
Cuaderno de Viaje (Travelogue)
for Solo Cello

"...entrancingly simple and beautiful. The piece was entirely in natural harmonics, excepting two strategically-placed pizzicatos. The harmonics made the piece airy and ethereal, with the resulting overtone-based, rather than equal-tempered, intervals creating a pure and pristine sound. ...One might think that harmonics for so long would grow tiresome, but Lavista kept the piece fresh and captivating." -- Jonathan Russell, San Francisco Classical Voice

Peermusic 62299-623 • $11.95  Add to Cart
Transcription of original for Solo Viola (see above)

In this musical gift to the cellist Elinor Frey, Stucky creates a challenging solo piece from the letters of her first name, in time honored tradition. The following seven short variations on that theme are, however, pure Stucky, as he crafts a dialogue between the theme notes and contrasting combinations of non-theme notes. The whole is artfully edited by Frey, herself, who first recorded the piece on Yarlung Records.

Merion Music, Inc. 144-40511 • $7.95  Add to Cart

Premiered November 13, 2007 by The Krosnick and Kalish Duo, Paul Hall, Juilliard School of Music. "Mr. Krosnick and Mr. Kalish were joined by Darrett Adkins, a cellist, and Christina Dahl, a pianist, for Richard Wernick’s spirited, grandly scaled Double Duo (2004), a piece that works its magic by having the pairs of pianists and cellists begin in tandem and gradually find their independence. Subtle changes of texture were everything." (Allan Kozinn, New York Times Music Review) (Dur.: 13' 30")

Theodore Presser Co. 114-41301 • $77.50 Available on Custom Print

Well known as a work for viola and piano, also for string quartet and string orchestra. Now cellists can enjoy it and help celebrate Elliott Carter’s 100th birthday (December 11).

Peermusic Classical 62293-624 • $9.95  Add to Cart

Michaca, a noted Professor of Cello in Paris, has formed and leads Cellophilharmonie, a group of talented young student cellists from 14 to 22 years old. In this role, she is constantly on the lookout for suitable material, often creating her own arrangements from the classics. In this first of two new Billaudot publications of her work, Michaca extracts this short (2’ 40”) allegretto from the Brahms Third Symphony, fashioning a wholly-new study and performance piece for advancing students or concert level quartets.

Billaudot 514-03082 • $22.45  Add to Cart

In another very brief (1’ 55”) but very pleasing arrangement, Michaca turns to the never-fails Tchaikovsky and his 4th Symphony. In true scherzo form, the piece is fast, punctuated, and features multi-layered, overlapping melodic lines throughout the parts. Although somewhat demanding, the Scherzo-Pizzicato Ostinato is ultimately rewarding.

Billaudot 514-03086 • $26.95  Add to Cart

A four-movement work written for fellow ensemble musician, Gregor Piatigorsky, who, unfortunately, did not perform the work. Premiered by Georg Neikrug, only a few weeks before Schnabel's death in 1951.

Peermusic 62138-623 • $17.95 Add to Cart

Read the introduction about this Sonata.
See Page 1.

Lowell Liebermann
Sonata No. 3 (Sonata Semplice), Op. 90
for Cello and Piano

Composed as a birthday present, Liebermann's Third is a single movement of 16'.
See a page!

Presser 114-41294 • $19.95  Add to Cart

For the cellist's introduction to Vienna Urtext, there could be no more perfect a piece than the Bach Suite No. 1. At only $7.95, cellists have the pure joy of Bach's work, in a thoroughly-researched, up-to-date edition, which even eliminates any worry of page turns! The best urtext, a clean and clear new print, and the preeminent Bach cello suite.

Vienna Urtext UT50260 • $7.95  Add to Cart

For bassists, a better approach to the famous Suites! Playing these classics on the doublebass injects problems and issues over and above those that a cellist would have. Part of Salles' solution is his transcription of the Suites into the same key signature as Suite I, which lies more adequately within the normal bass range. Putting all of the Suites into the key of G makes them more playable, but hardly any easier! To further assist, Salles provides fingerings and bowings ("...that would make shifts as inaudible as possible").

Volume 1: Suites I, II, III
Billaudot 514-02087 • $12.45 Add to Cart

Peermusic Classical continues to shine light upon this composer, whom Shostakovich, himself, believed to be among the best of the Soviet Union (and very close to his own views). This challenging sonata will bring Weinberg's story and voice to a new audience, and should find its own spot in the bassist's repertoire.

Peermusic Classical 62308-634 • $22.95  Add to Cart

Arvo Pärt
Spiegel im Spiegel
for Contrabass and Piano

Pärt's music is speaking to ever more newly converted fans. Spiegel im Spiegel, in particular, is an absolutely beautiful, dreamy reflection, created from seemingly nothing and touching everyone. Universal Edition now releases an arrangement for bass and piano.

Universal Edition UE33057 • $14.95   Buy

Presser Music in Action!

The violin and piano version is performed beautifully with an accompanying slideshow in this YouTube presentation posted by maxim6032

See a page

Peermusic (Available soon)
Score: 62300-757 • $14.95
Parts: 62301-758 • $44.95

Pärt's "Prayer for Peace" has been recorded and performed many times in its choral setting, and should quickly become a favorite of string quartets. Paul Hillier, Pärt's long-time collaborator, describes the piece: "Each pitch is carefully placed in position like stones in a Zen garden." Reviewers struggle to capture the work in phrases such as "almost motionless" and "utmost austerity and stillness," yet the quickly growing numbers of Pärt's fans don't question - they just sit back and soak it all in. Da pacem Domine, while not technically demanding, is challenging in its blending of sonority.

Universal Edition UE33340 • $19.95 (Score and Parts)  Add to Cart

Edvard Grieg
In the Hall of the Mountain King (from Peer Gynt)
Arranged for String Quartet
by Carlo Martelli

Following up the recent release of the excerpt Morning from Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite, Martelli tackles the chilling and thrilling title here. A wonderful change of pace program piece, and a sure-fire audience pleaser! See 160 string quartet arrangements from Broadbent & Dunn.

Broadbent & Dunn
Score 514-03424S • $8.45  Add to Cart
Parts 514-03424 • $19.95  Add to Cart

Ives wrote his great The Celestial Country while still a young man. This excerpted string quartet, then, becomes an example of the early Ives from the work that may have been his "last attempt to create a work along 'conventional' lines."

Peermusic Classical 62232-759 • $19.95  Add to Cart

Gustav Holst
March from Suite in E Flat for Military Band
Arranged for String Quartet
by Carlo Martelli

Carey is an amazing young composer, who has already compiled an impressive resumé of awards, commissions, and orchestral performances, and she is still a sophomore at Harvard College! So impressive at the young age of 15, Carey had her violin and piano work Pas de deux published by Theodore Presser Company, which has led to a growing catalog of works available on rental and sale. The March of the Broken Toys was commissioned for a benefit concert with the Charness Family Quintet and the Newton Symphony. Described as a “concerto a cinque,” originally for the quintet and full orchestra; piano reduction now available. Duration: 6' 30".

Presser Custom Print 114-41147 • $26.25
  Score only: 114-41147S • $12.75

Morning now joins three previous string quartet arrangements of the favorite Grieg suite, and over 100 of the greatest themes from all of classical music in the Broadbent and Dunn catalog. The entire series, as with Morning, was arranged and published with the working quartet in mind. Clarity and ease of use are paramount.

Broadbent & Dunn 514-03421 (parts) • $14.95  Add to Cart
(Score available separately: 514-03421S • $8.45  Add to Cart

"Romantic, quasi-improvised music that should be sung at night under the stars," says del Aguila. "In an age of boomboxes, media bombardment of information, and pop-culture becoming increasingly aggressive, boisterous, and violent, I felt the need to write just the opposite... to show once more that less is more."

Peermusic Classical 62052-790 - $24.95 Add to Cart

Del Aguila’s Presto II is a total makeover of the final movement of his own String Quartet No. 2, written for the Cuarteto Latinoamericano. “A Latin dance of never-ending movement. The candid and swinging theme insinuates itself with pizzicatos, progresses in crescendo and bursts into an agitated scherzo to arrive at a climax that involves a hilarious wink toward Ravel’s La Valse.” (--http://newalbion.com/NA100/)

Peermusic Classical 62149-759 • $24.95 Add to Cart

Commissioned by Texas Christian University School of Music, Fort Worth, Texas, Richard C. Gipson, Director. Says the composer, "Search is very close to my heart, as it reflects much of what I am trying to express musically in these times of upheaval, cruelty, and uncertainty." Premiered March 1, 2005 at Weill Recital Hall (Carnegie Hall) by the Feghali/Thompson/Castro-Balgi Trio. (Dur.: 23')

Merion Music, Inc. 144-40502 (Score and Parts) • $36.50 Available on Custom Print

An 18-minute successor to Tsontakis’ first piano quartet, Bagatelles, both recorded by the Broyhill Chamber Ensemble on the Koch International CD, Tsontakis: Piano Quartet Trilogy. A recent Grawemeyer Award recipient, Tsontakis is garnering quite a bit of attention. In his New York Times review, Anthony Tommasini writes of the Second Piano Quartet, “The first movement ... is called ‘Lazy,’ and true to the title, the piano begins with seemingly aimless, thickly chromatic piano chords. Yet the harmonies are so pungent and the chord shifts so sneaky that when a magisterial melody for the cello breaks out, you can't stop listening to those fidgety piano chords.”

Merion Music 144-40403 • $80.75 Available as Custom Print

Bermel has traveled the globe, studying traditional instruments and the music surrounding them, honing his compositional skills in a broad range of musical styles, learning from masters such as William Albright, William Bolcom, and Louis Andriessen. He is today a composer to watch, as he garners awards and commissions in the U.S. and abroad. Soul Garden , title composition of Bermel’s 2002 CD recording of his own smaller chamber works, may originally have been written for a dance company, but later became a showcase for solo viola. The opening passage of languid, lopey, liquid blues immediately sets the tone.

Commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Peermusic Classical 62092-765 • $49.95 Add to Cart

Composed in March 2002 for an all-Hailstork chamber concert on May 1, 2002, and dedicated to Virginia Chamber Players. All of the material of this 3-movement work springs from the melody of the second movement (Adagio), which is available on rental as a string orchestra piece. (Dur.: 17')

Theodore Presser Co. 114-41329 (Score & Parts) • $62.00 Available on Custom Print

“In the last, rather intense movement... it moves forward precipitously until it gets caught in a knot; then there is a fairly graphic depiction of shaking, and pulling at strings to undo the knot. Later it gets caught again, and the second knot is untied in a different way.” (The composer) Hoover's String Quartet No. 2, as with her first, is being actively performed and promoted by the immensely talented Colorado String Quartet, who premiered the work in March 2006, as part of the Rockford College series UnCommon Lives: Extraordinary Women in the Arts.

Papagena Press PP172 (Score and Parts) • $24.95  Add to Cart

Schnabel is immediately known as perhaps the finest touring pianist of his day, one whose performances of Beethoven's concerti are still prized today. At great odds with his choice in performance, Schnabel's own compositions were wholly different. "Schnabel's compositional method has not yet been analyzed, but it is clear that he paid keen attention not only to the development of the individual voice, but also to the complex interpenetration of chromatic harmony among voices." (Schnabel Music Foundation) Further, a 1955 review suggests that Schnabel was well ahead of his time!

Peermusic Classical 62137-756 • $29.95 Add to Cart

Serebrier's own transcription of his successful orchestral work, now published for string quartet. Tango In Blue marks his return to the music he knows best. "After writing experimental works during the sixties and seventies, it was a challenge to go back to basics, and write a simple tune, a sort of popular piece for concert use."

Peermusic Classical 62158-759 • $19.95 Add to Cart
Orchestral Score also available: 62103-856 • $16.95 Add to Cart
Performance materials are available through Presser Rentals.

Designed for children's audiences, exposing them to different "voices" in music. Commissioned through the American Composers Forum, as part of the "Community Partners" program, Dorff's The Three Little Pigs covers the familiar tale through spoken word and the voices of violin and cello, which musically describe the action and the characters. Audiences are encouraged (indeed, coached) to join in at a very special cue!

Theodore Presser Co. Available on Custom Print
Set of 3 Scores 111-40126 • $31.75
Single score 111-40126S • $15.75

Your better piano trios will exult in Liebermann's second foray into the field. This 16-minute work was co-commissioned by the Lied Center for the Performing Arts (Lawrence, Kansas), where the Perlman/Nikkanen/Bailey Trio performed the world premiere.

Theodore Presser Co. 114-41256 • $39.95  Add to Cart

The Waltz brings the total of available string quartet arrangements of Tchaikovsky classics to twelve, including the overture from Romeo and Juilet, the Waltz from Eugene Onegin, and, of course, the Nutcracker Suite. W