Milhaud, Darius : Exercice ("La Petite Méthode de piano")
Work Overview
Publication Year:1961
First Publisher:Salabert
Instrumentation:Piano Solo
Genre:etude
Total Playing Time:1 min 00 sec
Copyright:Under Copyright Protection
Commentary (1)
Author : Nishihara, Masaki
Last Updated: February 8, 2024
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Author : Nishihara, Masaki
No opus number. This is a short piece written by Milhaud for "La Petite Méthode de piano" (The Little Piano Method), published by Marguerite Long in her later years. It is marked Modéré (moderately), in 4/4 time, and in C major (with no key signature). Extremely short, it condenses challenges such as polyphony, bitonality, and changing meters into just 12 measures. This would likely be considered quite advanced for a beginner's study.While Long's method primarily focuses on fundamental finger exercises, a significant feature is that, in addition to Milhaud, many distinguished composers contributed their own distinctive short pieces. Pieces such as Mompou's "On Tiptoe", Daniel-Lesur's "The Bells of Place Vendôme" and "Pastoral Song", Jolivet's "Caribbean Dance", Dutilleux's All Roads Lead to Rome, Auric's "Little March", and Françaix's "Rock 'n' Roll of the Commander and the Captain" made their first appearance here.In 2009, a collection titled "Album de Marguerite" was also released, featuring only the short pieces (20 works by 17 composers) extracted from the method book. It is worth re-examining.