Table of Contents

I: His Teaching
1. A Brief Biography
2. The Studio
3. Pressler's Early Training
4. The Debussy Competition
5. Opportunities in America
6. Bloomington
7. General Aspects of Pressler's Teaching
8. The Technical Approach
9. Principles of Expressive Performance
10. Guides for Practicing
11. Technical Helps
12. Pressler's Humor
13. Pressler at the Met: Beethoven's Sonata Op. 110
14. Pressler at the TCU/Cliburn Piano Institute

II: The Music
15. Johann Sebastian Bach, Partita No. 2 in C minor, S. 826
16. Béla Bartók, Out of Doors
17. Ludwig van Beethoven, Concerto No. 5 in E- flat major, Op. 73 "Emperor" Beethoven, Sonata, Op. 81a "Les adieux"
18. Johannes Brahms, Sonata in F-sharp minor, Op. 2
Brahms, Trio in B Major, Op. 8
19. Frédéric Chopin, Nocturne in E major, Op. 62 No.2
Chopin, Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58
20. Claude Debussy, Selected Preludes
"Les collines d'Anacapri" (Bk. 1, No. 5)
"Feux d'artifice" (Bk. 2, No. 12)
Debussy, L'Isle Joyeuse
21. Joseph Haydn, Sonata in C major, Hob. XVI:50
22. Franz Liszt, Après une lecture du Dante
23. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata in B-flat major, K. 281
24. Serge Prokofiev, Sonata No. 7 in B-flat major, Op. 83
25. Maurice Ravel, Gaspard de la Nuit
Ravel, Le Tombeau de Couperin
Ravel, Piano Trio in A minor
26. Franz Schubert, Fantasie in C Major, D. 760, "Wanderer"
27. Robert Schumann, Concerto in A minor, Op. 54
Schumann, Kreisleriana, Op. 16
28. Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, Concerto in B-flat minor, Op. 23
29. Carl Maria von Weber, "Perpetual Motion" (Sonata in C major, Op. 24, Finale)
Appendix A: Pressler's Musical Ancestry
Appendix B: Lineage of Piano Teachers
Appendix C: Tributes
Appendix D: Studio Rosters (1955-2007)
Bibliography
Index of Compositions

Promotional Information

Step into the studio of one of the world's greatest pianists

About the Author

William Brown is a professor of piano who has contributed to Piano Guild Magazine and PedalPoint. He lives in Bolivar, Missouri.

Reviews

"[Brown] provides a fine reference tool for the pianists not so fortunate as to have studied with Mr. Pressler, and for those who did, a means to reflect upon and deepen their understanding of this remarkable musician." Joel Harrison, Artistic Director, American Pianists' Association