The first performance of the "Liebeslieder — or the "Love Song" Waltzes for piano four-hands by Johannes Brahms took place on today's date in 1869. The performers were two distinguished soloists: Clara Schumann, widow of composer Robert Schumann, and Hermann Levi, a famous conductor of his day. But in fact, the "Liebeslieder Waltzes" — like Brahms' "Hungarian Dances" — were intended for amateur musicians to play. These popular scores provided Brahms with some steady income, certainly more than he earned from performances of his symphonies, which some of his contemporaries considered difficult "new" music.

Concerning his "Liebeslieder Waltzes," Brahms wrote to his publisher: "I must admit that, for the first time, I grinned at the sight of a work of mine in print. Moreover, I gladly risk being called an ass if our 'Liebeslieder' don't give more than a few people pleasure."

Some contemporary piano music designed for students and amateur performers was collected into a volume titled "Carnegie Hall Millennium Piano Book." This volume was conceived by composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich and the artistic director of Carnegie Hall, Judith Arron. Both women were concerned about the lack of contemporary piano works that intermediate-level piano students could perform. They commissioned ten composers to write piano pieces for this special publication: Louis Andriessen, Milton Babbitt, Elliott Carter, Chen Yi, Hannibal, John Harbison, Wolfgang Rihm, Frederic Rzewski, Tan Dun, and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich.

"Carnegie Hall Millennium Piano Book" is available from Boosey and Hawkes (ISMN #M-051-24617-5) and comes with a companion CD of all the pieces played by Ursula Oppens. For more information and background on this collection, see Anthony Tommasini's March 2, 2000, review in the New York Times entitled "Oh Mom, I'm Sick of Für Elise."