Milan Dvořák: Complete Jazz Piano Etudes
The Jazz Piano Études of the Czech composer Milan Dvořák (b. 1934) developed from transcriptions of popular songs in the early 1960s and soon found an identity of their own. Dvořák’s aim was two-fold: to keep the music within the range of amateur jazz pianists and yet maintain the harmonic, melodic and rhythmic interest of each piece. Small wonder that these sprightly miniatures have been taken up the world around; surprisingly, this is their first recording.
Milan Franěk, piano
Listen To This Recording:
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Volume One:
- No. 1 Allegro
- No. 2 Allegro
- No. 3 Allegro
- No. 4 Medium
- No. 5 Allegretto
- No. 6 Medium tempo
- No. 7 Allegro
- No. 8 Vivo
- No. 9 Vivace
- No. 10 Moderato
- No. 11 Medium boogie tempo
- No. 12 Zive
- No. 13 Cha-cha moderato tempo
- No. 14 Allegro
- No. 15 Fast
- No. 16 Allegretto
- No. 17 Swingy
- No. 18 Rubato
- No. 19 Slowly
- No. 20 Fast
- No. 21 Medium
- No. 22 Medium slow
- No. 23 Moderato
- No. 24 Medium tempo
- No. 25 Moderato
- No. 1 Medium tempo
- No. 2 Presto
- No. 3 Moderato
- No. 4 Con moto
- No. 5 Sostenuto
- No. 6 Medium bossanova
- No. 7 Allegro
- No. 8 Moderato
- No. 9 No tempo indication
- No. 10 Allegro
- No. 11 Vivo
- No. 12 Slowly with beat
- No. 13 Allegro
- No. 14 Blues
- No. 15 Con moto
- No. 16 Medium tempo
- No. 17 Allegro
- No. 18 Medium tempo
- No. 19 Swingy
- No. 20 Medium tempo
Volume Two:
Gerald Fenech :
“The first transcriptions were published in 1963 to general acclaim and by 1971 the composer was able to unveil the first series of jazz piano etudes with great success. The second series was born in 1985, and again they were welcomed with huge enthusiasm. This latter set offer a much broader variety of styles and genres, extending also to rock and pop apart from jazz. Dvořák’s intentions were always to allow these miniatures to be played by pianists who only occasionally perform jazz music, and even more, for interpreters to appreciate their melody, harmonic structure and rhythmic elements. … I found these little miniatures truly great fun, and if you are in the right mood, they do uplift the spirit with their warmth and swagger. Dvořák’s compatriot Milan Franěk gives wonderfully lighthearted interpretations full of zestfully swinging sounds that highlight the composer’s penchant for creating music that is appealing to all kinds of tastes. Highly enjoyable stuff that should entertain both jazz andclassical music lovers alike in first rate sound and presentation.” —Music and Vision, January 2016