Loeschhorn Piano Studies Opus 65 ‘There is a plentitude of performing artists but great teachers are rare, Albert Loeschhorn was a great teacher, a complete musician, and gifted composer. Born in Berl ), he received much of his training at the Royal Institute of Chur in that city, where, in 1868, he was made Royal Professor of in 1905. His Music, show These Studies (actually short pieces in various styles) have been selected from his Opus 65 and arranged in progressive order of difficulty. The first few pieces are quite eaxy technically and present the simplest problems in phrasing, then advance quite rapidly to the more complicated rhythms, phrasings, and the most used ornaments, and cover all the funda- mentals required for artistic piano playi ‘The phrasing has been very carefully edited. It has been said that “Silence is the most impressive thing in music,” and Silence means Rests. In many compositions only a few rests may he printed in the music, but there may be several hundred more indicated by other means. At the end of each phrase there must be a breathing place (Luftpause) while repeated and detached notes (Staccato) must be very carefully articu- lated. In the first few studies, to indicate exactly when a note should be released the editor has used a verticle line, (1) and when necessary the exact values are shown in small notes printed above the music. ‘These principles of articulation should be learned and applied to all music. Correct fingering is essential to fine playing. Fingering is given only where needed to indicate a change of hand position, The student should learn the “geography of the keyboard” so the fingers can find the correct keys without looking for them. Correct fingering, based on the key in which one is playing, makes this possible. ‘Two Metronome Tempi are given, The speed of the first (slower) tempo should not be exceeded until the piece is perfect in every detail of phrasing and articulation. The speed may then be increased to the faster tempo. JEAN PASQUET