Fand IncWessex Press

Welcome to Fand’s latest news. We must draw your attention to new items in our catalogue. You will possibly already be aware of our edition of Gary Higginson’s Shadows for piano; it is a set of pieces of Grades 3–4 level, and is a great introduction to different styles of composition. Here Higginson ‘shadows’ various composers, from Machaut to George Lloyd, from Bach to Peter Warlock. The volume has been welcomed enthusiastically by both Music Teacher and Piano magazines. And now, new this summer, comes Scenes from Shakespeare, again by Gary Higginson. It is a follow-up volume to Shadows, and is a set of eight pieces for pianists of higher grade, each prefaced by a quotation from Shakespeare.

Next, the first ever edition of Sir Arnold Bax’s Salzburg Sonata in B flat for piano. This piece, written by Bax in his 50s, is tremendous fun both to play and to listen to. It was never published in his lifetime, yet Bax clearly liked it, incorporating the second movement into his Violin Concerto, and, as the manuscript shows, devoted a lot of time and care into its composition. It is a great rarity, and will get you chuckling with delight as the ‘brazen romantic’ puts the ‘classical sonata’ through its paces. It includes an introductory note from Graham Parlett.

Another volume we must mention is the Fand Grade 5 Piano Album. Here is a varied selection of pieces from Sir Arnold Bax (the Minuet from the Salzburg Sonata) to Roger Eno; from Francis Pott to Warlock and Fauré tributes by Gary Higginson; from … well, discover for yourself—that’s Fand’s motto! There’s nothing above Grade 5 level here; 13 pieces, 31 pages.