La Moldau

The Anacrouse collection offers pianists, beginners and advanced alike, a wide choice of classical works from the Renaissance to the present day. It brings together major works of the repertoire as well as rarer pieces, and also offers transcriptions for piano solo or four hands, selected for their musical and educational interest. Each score, available individually or in a songbook, benefits from careful editorial work: a rigorously established musical text, clear and legible engraving, accompanied by a short biography of the composer and a note on the work.

“The Moldau” (in E minor), presented here in a piano four-hands transcription by Jean-François Pailler, is a fascinating study in lyricism and fluidity of playing. This title is taken from the reference songbook “8 Famous Classical Themes for Piano 4 Hands”, the first volume of the Anacrouse collection, which offers an interactive approach thanks to its 2 included CDs. For each work, three tracks are available: a reference version (Piano 4 hands), a track for practising the Piano 1 part (Piano 2 accompaniment alone) and a track for Piano 2 (Piano 1 accompaniment alone). This system allows the student to perfect rhythmic placement and synchronisation, even when practising alone.

Composed in 1874 by Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884), this symphonic poem is the second part of the cycle Má vlast (My Homeland). It describes the course of the river Vltava, from its source to its triumphant entry into Prague. For the piano duo, the technical challenge lies in rendering the rippling of the water: the parts must interweave with a perfectly even touch. The passage of the main theme, noble and singing, demands subtle handling of the balance of sound between the melody and the garlands of arpeggios that accompany it.