Inventions for Young Pianists

Péter Wolf (1947) studied classical piano and jazz piano at the Béla Bartók Secondary School under Kornél Zempléni, Ferenc Rados, and János Gonda. In 2015, he obtained his DLA degree from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music with his thesis on jazz arrangements. In 1969, he became the keyboard player of the band Ex Antiquis. He composed many hits of the 1970s and 1980s, as well as scores for popular films and musicals. His virtuosity as an orchestrator was shown in concerts and albums of the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra; he also orchestrated violin pieces for Isaac Stern's 'Kreisler' CD. In 1995, he was awarded the Fényes Szabolcs Prize, in 2005 the Erkel Prize, and in 2018 Artisjus's Life Prize. In recent years, he has had numerous large-scale compositions premiered by excellent performers: his two piano concertos and his concertos for oboe, clarinet, and violin respectively. About Inventions for Young Pianists, piano teacher Rita Znamenák writes: 'This volume expressly aims at extending the repertoire of 3rd- and 4th-grade primary music students (and, of course, that of the older ones, too). Each of the 23 inventions expands and revolves around a musical idea. The short pieces inspire the children's imagination already with their titles. Teachers and students can freely choose among pieces which require crossing hands, arpeggios, clusters, polyphony, syncopated rhythm, chromaticism, and pedalling. There are melodies with accompaniment, playing with alternate hands, playing legato and staccato, notes with appoggiaturas and acciaccaturas, jazz accents, and glissandi, too. The composer wrote unusual sound effects into a few pieces for the brave. It's my most sincere wish for young pianists that they find joy in studying Péter Wolf's works, and I encourage my colleagues to include pieces from this volume into their material: maybe students will also become more open to contemporary music through them.'