More Incredibly Beautiful Art Songs for Solo Piano

Among the most appealing western music ever written are many art songs — music set to poetry, a genre also known by the German word lieder (songs). In this wonderful collection, arranger Lee Evans has made this beautiful music available in the form of piano solos, judiciously combining the vocal and piano parts into a score playable by a single pianist. In the tradition of songs by Cole Porter and George Gershwin, these works may now be performed purely instrumentally.

Among the most appealing western music ever written are many art songs – music set to poetry, a genre also known by the German word lieder (songs)– composed by such historically great composers as Schubert, Schumann, Wagner, Debussy, Ravel, de Falla, Rachmaninoff, and several others. It occurred to me that this fantastic music ideally should be accessible as solo piano pieces to those who may desire to play these songs without having to have them sung, in the same manner that any Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin or Harold Arlen song may be performed purely instrumentally. Consequently, I have created this volume of famous beautiful art songs as a judicious combination of the vocal and piano parts, but for piano solo alone, in the hope that your musical life will be immeasurably enriched, just as this incomparable music has enriched mine.

Born in the Bronx, Lee Evans graduated from NYC's High School of Music & Art, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University, as well as Master of Arts and Doctor of Education degrees from Columbia University Teachers College. (He is also the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Five Towns College in Dix Hills, NY.) Dr. Evans is a well-known author of numerous music magazine articles, pianist, lecturer and clinician, as well as author, composer and arranger of slightly more than 100 music books in the United States for the Hal Leonard Corporation (including his critically acclaimed recent book Crash Course In Chords); plus several recent books for The FJH Music Company (including the late beginner/early intermediate levels Color Me Jazz, Books 1 and 2, the intermediate/late intermediate levels ¡Olé! Original Latin-American Dance Music and ¡Fiesta! Original Latin-American Piano Solos.) Additionally, Dr. Evans is a co-author of Keyboard Fundamentals, 7th Edition (Stipes Publishing), a one-volume beginning piano method for the older beginner (of junior high and high school age and older.) Thirty-eight of his books have as well been published in Japan and two in the former Soviet Union. In the area of professional performance, Lee Evans concertized for ten consecutive seasons on the Community Concert circuit as The Lee Evans Trio and The Lee Evans Orchestra & Voices. Over the years he has recorded seven albums for Capitol Records, Command Records and MGM Records. Dr. Evans has also served as pianist, music director and/or music coordinator for such show business luminaries as Carol Channing, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, Cat Stevens, Gilbert O'Sullivan and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Dr. Evans was also bandleader and music director for almost seven years at the Royal Box night club in NYC's Americana Hotel. Former chairperson of the Theater & Fine Arts Department, Dr. Evans is currently Professor of Music in the Performing Arts Department at Pace University.