Leander and Linseed piano pieces

Original title: Meserészletek zongorára, két és négy kézre

1. Kobold ének (Goblin song) – duration: 30 sec
2. Bogyó keringő (Bogyo’s waltz) – duration: 1 min
3. Lenszirom hiszti ( Linseed’s Tantrum) – duration: 30 sec
4. Csijjegés és csújjogás (Chirping and Whooping) – duration: 20 sec
5. Kerál keserv (King’s lament) – duration: 1 min 10 sec
6. Lenszirom bánat (Linseed’s sorrow) – duration: 1 min 30 sec
7. Kerálné öröm (Queen’s joy) – duration: 1 min 10 sec
8. Bögöl düh (Bögöl’s Fury) – duration: 2 min

Composer’s Note

This set of piano pieces was commissioned by piano teacher Emese Entzné Tőkés of the Weiner Leó Music School and Conservatory. It is based on my children’s opera Leander and Linseed, which premiered at the Hungarian State Opera in April 2015. That season saw seven performances; in 2016 the production returned for eight more, and has since remained in the repertoire. By now, an estimated 25,000 audience members have seen the opera, and many teachers and children have asked for playable excerpts.

Each movement in this piano cycle is an arrangement of a specific aria. However, since the opera is not built from standalone numbers but from continuous musical scenes, I created these piano pieces by drawing on recognisable thematic material, characteristic motifs, and dramatic turns from the original score.

The opera’s frequent use of complex and shifting metres would have posed challenges for young players, so I adapted the rhythmic texture into a simplified, accessible form.

The set contains eight pieces. Seven are suitable for students in their first to fourth years of piano study, while the final movement is a four-hand duet designed for more advanced children.