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25 Jan 2016

Vladimir Sterzer: Music of the Soul

Vladimir Sterzer was born in Siberia, Russia but has been living in Germany since the age of 14 when he moved there with the family. Already as a young boy, he showed great interest in music. Moreover, that interest was backed by exceptional talent that got disclosed during the first piano lessons at the music school. Soon piano contests and first prizes followed, next – the studies at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, and today Vladimir is fully submerged in music.

Vladimir Sterzer

Vladimir Sterzer, Russia-born composer, arranger, pianist, guitarist, teacher and music producer living in Germany

Very often musicians start composing after a certain period of being an active performer. Vladimir’s composing career began at the age of 17:

“I composed my first rock ballad for guitar at the age of 17. At that time I played guitar and sang to it. This was the way I started composing.”

He studied Classical, Jazz and Pop music, which certainly reflects in his own music. However, the range of styles expanded over the years and today, besides the above mentioned genres, Vladimir Sterzer also composes New Age, Contemporary Pop, Ambient and Electronica. Music for commercials, films, games and podcasts is part of the composer’s portfolio.

“My music is my life, it is what I feel, what I see, what I experience. I developed my music style myself, it is the expression of my soul. I studied music, majoring in piano and minoring in guitar and jazz & pop music. Nevertheless, I have never compared myself to anybody, nor have I ever copied anyone. I play what is in me and what shall be revealed.”

Vladimir Sterzer has released a few solo albums; those are “MUNDUS MEUS”, “PHANTASIA MEA” and “CHRISTMAS IN” that consist of piano pieces mainly in a mix of Classical and Contemporary Pop styles. He also performs in two bands: the pop-rock band Stressed Out and jazz band Rising Moon Quintet. Besides composing and playing, Vladimir teaches piano, guitar and keyboard. But it’s not all that cloudless in today’s music world, according to the artist:

“I certainly want to achieve a lot with my music. And God knows, I try everything to offer something to mankind. And I have a lot of ideas on how to do it. Unfortunately, today the large production companies have ruined music and only make money out of it. And I am really sorry to say that they don’t know what the soul is.”

We asked Vladimir whether he listens to his own music and if there are any works that stand out in his music collection for one reason or another:

“Yes, of course I listen to my own music from time to time. And yes, I have a few favorites. I can name you one of them: "Remote Light in the Darkness". The reason I sometimes listen to this piece is that I heal my soul with it when I feel bad deep inside. A distant light that I see reaches me and I feel much better. I have received a lot of letters from people who thank me and say they cried and then felt much better.”

As a person of art, Vladimir does not stop where he’s at on his creative music way. He keeps experimenting with style, keeps making plans for his music to be heard by more and more people. We sincerely hope that all of Vladimir’s ideas will be successful in time and that his soul, so beautifully expressed through music, will be open to more listeners.

“I do have plans, I try to find people or organizations that will arrange my concerts, and I want my music to be featured in films as it is very emotional. I want to achieve something great and honestly I have a whole lot of ideas here. I try everything to make my music public and I hope that I will achieve something truly wonderful one day.”

MusicaNeo stores a big sheet music collection of the most popular compositions by Vladimir Sterzer and invites you to discover the emotional music of this artist.

18 Jan 2016

Michael Silverman and His Piano

Michael has already been featured in our Spotlight before as one of the most noticeable composers of MusicaNeo community. But today we would like to introduce you better to his creative work and explain why he is among world’s most downloaded pianists, with at least a million of streams and downloads daily.

Michael Silverman

Michael Silverman, American composer, arranger,
pianist and keyboard player, as well as teacher
and specialist in music therapy.

Taking into account the highly competitive sphere music industry has always been, it is always curious why people still choose to professionally connect their life with music. The question is even more pending when it comes to a composer’s career. So we asked Michael about the very start of his musical life path:

“I always played piano for as long as I can remember, but like most kids, it was just for fun and I never imagined it would be my profession. I began teaching piano at 17, mainly because it paid better than flipping burgers like my friends. But musical opportunities just kept coming, and no other line of work called to me like music, and here I am!”

Michael’s music varies in style, but the four main genres are Classical, Jazz, New Age and World Music. The band “Bach to the Future” where Michael is both composer and performer has already toured across the Unites States, performing the popular classical pieces, fugues and symphonies – by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven – in a curious mix of styles from jazz to rock, with folk motives admixed. The unique rendition of the famous classics paired with Michael’s original pieces and distinctive delivery style made this music attractive to a wide audience, to everyone, in fact.


Video: Bach to the Future: Minuet/Little Fugue

Where might this mix come from? What inspired the birth of such a music style? We are addressing Michael again:

“I grew up as the son of two classical musicians, and my father listened almost exclusively to orchestral music and chamber music, but my mother liked everything. She loved George Winston's album "December" when I was about 12 years old, and I never got that sound out of my head. I discovered the music of Chick Corea when I was about 17, and I still think of those two pianists as my pillars of piano playing, and reflect two very different sides of this versatile instrument.”

Michael’s also known for composing music for TV, films and radio. His music appears in “The Good Wife”, “Two and a Half Men”, “American Horror Story” and hundreds of other productions of the kind. But there are always difficulties in any activity, even in the one that makes one’s life passion. Michael speaks of the obstacles on his way as composer:

“My main obstacle to enjoying composing in the past was as a jingle writer. I enjoyed writing any style of music for TV commercials and films, but never liked the revision process that inevitably followed. The creative part was always a much smaller portion of the project, as producers and clients required so many changes. These days, when my music is included in a film or TV show, they place it as it is, so I never have to worry about revisions. It's much better this way!”

Every composer has a piece or a few that are especially important in his or her career for one reason or another. For Michael, that ‘special’ music work is “The Rain Variations” that was released by his own record label “Autumn Hill Records” (Michael is the co-founder) in 2015:

The Rain Variations

“I'm particularly happy with my latest collection of pieces, called "The Rain Variations". It is some of the simplest music I've ever written, but I think it has a timeless quality. I have been striving to find the simplest essence of what the piano can do, and this is the closest I've come to that goal.”

And of course, Michael Silverman is full of plans and ideas. Currently he lives in St. Louis, Missouri and works on a number of projects. We asked him to shade some light on the on-going work:

“Strange is this might sound, I'm working on a version of Franz Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2" which will be arranged for my group "Bach to the Future." The album will feature a lot of great artists, including Dweezil Zappa, Jennifer Batten (Michael Jackson), John Patitucci, Steve Smith (Journey), Jeff Lobber, David Benoit, Eric Marienthal and many others. It will be a really exciting album!”

We are thankful to Michael for sharing some of his thoughts with us. MusicaNeo wishes him best of luck in all the endeavors and endless inspiration for bringing great music into this world!


Video: Bella’s Lullaby by Michael Silverman, solo piano

23 Nov 2015

Christmas Sheet Music: Special Selection 2015

For many people the time of preparation for Christmas is enveloped by a special family atmosphere. The streets and houses are beautifully transformed, the lights and garlands shine everywhere. Here and there, one may hear “Jingle Bells” and “Silent Night”, the melodies cherished since childhood.

Musicians enter into a rush season of numerous concerts. Orchestras and choirs prepare holiday programs. Students and teachers at music schools and universities demonstrate their best music works. Popular groups and famous artists take part in the preparation of special Christmas concerts.

As for composers, they are one of those for whom the shift of time does not exist. Yes! We can tell it for sure. Throughout the entire year, composers at MusicaNeo keep creating and publishing new music dedicated to Christmas, hoping that their compositions will sound at Christmas concerts in various countries of the world.

MusicaNeo catalogue stores over 1450 Christmas compositions. It would be impossible to enumerate all of them in this article. But we hope that this little overview will trigger in the reader the craving of a treasure seeker. And the music treasures in our catalogue have become so numerous during these years!

Choral Christmas music by contemporary composers is widely represented in our catalogue. It includes David Solomons’ “Ding Dong Merrily on High” for male choir, Colin Bayliss’ “Christmas Lullaby” for SATB, Philip Martin’s “Christmas Carol” for piano and SATB, music compositions by Joan Yakkey, Santino Cara and many other modern composers.

“Julen är här” translated from Swedish means “Christmas is here”. The joy of the holiday celebrated within a circle of friends is in every note of this piece for mixed choir or vocal group. Just listen to it performed by The Real Group (directed by the author Anders Edenroth), and also have a look at the creative weekdays of the famous group.

Another Anders Edenroth’s composition “The World For Christmas” delivers a special message in defense of the beauty and ecology of our planet. There is no doubt that these and other compositions by Anders Edenroth will sound more and more often at the best concert venues of the world.

Those who prefer mixed genres would love Christmas musicals by Stephen DeCesare. A lot of his music scores, including sheet music to his musical “A Christmas Carol” after the same-named novella by Dickens, are published at MusicaNeo together with a backing track.

From olden times greatest composers dedicated their creative work to Virgin Mary. Bach, Schubert, Caccini, Gounod, Liszt, Brahms, Massenet, Mozart, Palestrina, Fauré, Franck, Demersseman, Cherubini, Bruckner, Verdi, Saint-Saëns – this is only a part of the list of those who wrote their own song for the Blessed Virgin. Over 420 music versions of “Ave Maria” by various composers available in our catalogue provide an opportunity to choose a version for any taste, instrumentation and choir. Contemporary composers – Bill Monaghan, Michael Cooney, Alexey Kurbanov, Nikolaus Pfefferkorn, Joan Yakkey, Cody Weinmann, Andrew Moore, Giedrius Kuprevičius, Hirwa Florent, Bruno Vlahek, Bernd Gehring and others – offer to look at this well-known composition from a different perspective.

A lot of Christmas compositions have been written for wind instruments. For the opening of the holiday, Annie Helman’s “Christmas Fanfare” would be a good choice. Victor Dick’s arrangement of “Oh How Joyfully, O How Blessedly” and “Joy to The World” for various instruments, including winds – flute, tuba, trombone, saxophone, clarinet and organ – would become a lovely ornament of a Christmas concert. For those who are looking for sheet music to Christmas pieces for organ solo, we recommend to visit the sites of Roman Jungegger and Paul Weckhoven.

“A Christmas Acronym” is the title of the set of original music pieces for voice and piano by Joy Slade. At the heart of each of the ten little songs there is some bright Christmas image or situation – Santa with a bag of gifts, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Christmas tree, dances, snowflakes. The customers have an opportunity to get an instrumental backing track by contacting the author. Thanks to the performing simplicity in combination with the bright imagery, these compositions would be loved by the beginning musicians. Another song cycle by Joy Slade that adds to the Christmas theme is called “Rock Nativity (2nd edition)”.

In conclusion of our review, just a few words about Christmas music for piano solo. Among this year’s novelties, we’d like to highlight the “Sounds Of Years Gone By” by Vladimir Sterzer and “The Wexford Carol” by Jeremiah Oliver. Other interesting Christmas compositions that were published earlier in the catalogue – Andrian Webster’s “This Is The Life” and Eugen Doga’s “Christmas Song” – are also available at MusicaNeo.

In order to proceed to the music scores of the original pieces and arrangements of popular Christmas sheet music mentioned in this overview, type the title of the needed composition or composer’s name in the search field at the top of the page.

16 Nov 2015

Hello, Adele!

When in 2012 Adele announced she would temporarily leave the music stage to dedicate herself to the family and the birth of son, the army of music fans worldwide did not conceal the utmost dismay and frustration. The long-awaited comeback of Britain’s most beloved singer took place a few weeks ago and was marked by the release of a fantastic single “Hello” that beat all possible records within the first hours of going public.

The ‘Hello’ we see in the title does not at all come from the ‘hello-I’m-back’ context. Nothing to do with that. In a narrow context, it is a hello in a telephone conversation (as we can see from the video). As for the more global meaning, it’s a hello from the ‘grown-up Adele’ to the previous version of herself, the Adele she used to be, as well as to the circle of people who used to surround her at various stages of her life.

People have always loved Adele for the huge amount of personal involvement in each song of hers. She always said that the rush for commercial success was not her purpose, the true aspiration was to create a strongly personal music work that most people could relate to. Without that, she couldn’t compose. Here’s why it took her so long to get back to songwriting.

Adele’s perfect vocals are soaring as high as ever and the lyrics of are simple and heart-wrenching at the same time. We all have our ‘ex’-es, things and people that played a certain role in our lives but are now gone for one reason or another. According to Adele, the ballad “Hello” marks that transition from one stage of life to the next one; it accents the necessity of making changes in life, dealing with it and moving on despite everything.

By the way, Adele played drums herself, besides songwriting she’s credited on the song for that too.

“Hello” is actually a powerful teaser song: it is the lead single from the 3rd studio album that Adele prepared for release in a few days (November, 20) . Traditionally, looking back at the “19” and the “21”, the album will be titled “25”. To say that the “25” is very much anticipated is to say too little.

 
   
 
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