The Piano in Chamber Ensemble: An Annotated Guide by Maurice Hinson and Wesley Roberts

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Piano in Chamber Ensemble: An Annotated Guideby Maurice Hinson and Wesley Roberts David A. Day The Piano in Chamber Ensemble: An Annotated Guide. 3rded. By Maurice Hinson and Wesley Roberts. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2021. [xxxiv, 817 p. ISBN 9780253056733 (hardback), $85. Also available as e-book, ISBN and price vary.] Over the course of his fifty-eight-year career at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, pianist and musicologist Maurice Hinson (1930–2015) produced a remarkable legacy of repertory guides and bibliographies related to the piano. Highlights include his Keyboard Bibliography(Cincinnati: Music Teachers National Association, 1968), Guide to the Pianist's Repertoire(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1973, [End Page 385]1987, 1991, 1994, 2000, 2014), Piano Music in Nineteenth-Century America(Chapel Hill, NC: Hinshaw Music, 1975), The Piano in Chamber Ensemble: An Annotated Guide(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1978, 2006, 2021), The Piano Teacher's Source Book: An Annotated Bibliography of Books Related to the Piano and Piano Music(Melville, NY: Belwin-Mills, 1974, 1980), Music for Piano and Orchestra: An Annotated Guide(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1981, 1993), Music for More than One Piano: An Annotated Guide(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1983, 2001), The Pianist's Reference Guide: A Bibliographical Survey(Los Angeles: Alfred Publishing, 1987), The Pianist's Guide to Transcriptions, Arrangements and Paraphrases(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990, 2001), The Vienna Urtext Guide to Piano Literature(Valley Forge, PA: European American Music, 1995), The Pianist's Bookshelf: A Practical Guide to Books, Videos, and Other Resources(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998), and The Pianist's Dictionary(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2004, 2020). Many of these works were subsequently published in foreign languages, including Korean and Chinese. This third edition of The Piano in Chamber Ensemblewas produced by Wesley Roberts, who also collaborated with Hinson in releasing the second edition in 2006. Roberts also oversaw the fourth edition of Guide to the Pianist's Repertoire(2013) and the second edition of The Pianist's Dictionary(2020). The authors have consistently pointed to the attraction of chamber music: its special intimacy and depth of emotion. Promoting the love of chamber music is identified as their primary purpose. The publisher's description indicates the current edition encompasses more than 3,200 works by more than 1,600 composers. Otherwise, the entries are not numbered, and the size of the total repertory is not identified. The preface to the third edition states that more than 1,400 new compositions representing more than 300 additional composers have been added since the second edition. Roberts further notes that this enlargement embraces both new works from the first two decades of the twenty-first century and works from previous periods. The scope of the repertory is confined to "compositions requiring no more than eight instruments (including piano)" (p. ix). The period of coverage is mostly limited to 1700 forward (basically corresponding to the birth of the modern piano). Beginning with the first edition, however, select early trio sonatas with keyboard realizations were also included. By the compilers' own admission, the selection of works is somewhat subjective, and both Hinson and Roberts acknowledge the difficulty of identifying every worthy work. In theory, only works where the piano has an equal musical importance to the other instruments are included. But, given that the overwhelming majority of the repertory is duos, mostly in the form of sonatas for a solo instrument with piano accompaniment, this claim can and has been challenged by other reviewers. Across all three editions, the guide maintains a consistent organization and focus. Roberts reaffirms his intent to address Hinson's three foundational questions (p. ix): What is there? What is it like? Where can I obtain it? The contents are organized by size of ensemble, starting with duos and extending to octets. Within each of these categories, the specific instrumentation is organized following orchestral scoring—first strings, followed by winds and brass, then percussion. Headings at the top of each page make it reasonably easy to browse the contents. Within each instrumental category, works are organized alphabetically by the composer's last name. As stated somewhat vaguely in the opening remarks, [End Page 386]multiple...