A guide to contemporary piano repertoire for the developing student: Interpretive suggestions for selected works by Robert Starer and Seymour Bernstein

Today's audiences, as well as many professional musicians and students, continue to compare rather than appreciate the nature and merits of both old and new music. A possible solution to this situation is to incorporate contemporary music into the teaching curriculum of younger players. As young musicians are introduced to the richness of contemporary music in the early stages of their musical training, they are more likely to integrate it into their performing and listening repertoire.; The purpose of this paper is to give insight into one possible method of examining piano works of the latter part of the twentieth century by providing a detailed practice and performance guide to a selection of easily accessible, yet interesting newer piano works for intermediate to early advanced level pianists. The examples of works discussed include excerpts from the well-respected contemporary compositions Sketches in Color by Robert Starer, as well as Birds and Insects by Seymour Bernstein. These piano pieces are not only valuable pedagogical contributions addressing basic musical concepts and techniques often found in contemporary music, but also hold great artistic merits as imaginative concert pieces for developing pianists.