Stephan Beneking Books

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About Stephan Beneking

Stephan Beneking, award-winning composer, is based in Berlin, Germany. Beneking´s original compositions are in neoclassical, classical, romantic, melodic and contemporary modern classical style for piano solo. His repertoire comprises more than 350 piano works so far and his music is being played by hobby and professional pianists in many countries. All scores/sheet music can be downloaded for free on http: //www.beneking.com to make the music available to all interested pianists. The unique melodies and melancholy in his pieces attract listeners all over the world, even comparing him with the likes of Chopin, Schuman and Schubert. Pianists appreciate the sudden changes, little surprises and sparkling creativity, that make the pieces enjoyable to play. Beneking´s style of "pure piano" means literally "crafted" piano works, that concentrate on the pure melody aspect, while the omission of any tempo, dynamics and pedal markings gives every pianist the possiblity to develop his/her own understanding of the work, thus making every single interpretation an unique piece of art, joint product of composer and pianist. His most famous works so far are the 3 series with 34 Valses melancoliques, of which the "Valse melancolique No. VIII - le desir eternel" won the 1st Prize in the international Free-Scores Classical Piano contest in 2013. Many of his works are called "Rêves" (dreams) or "Petits Rêves" (dreamlets, little dreams) and refer to relatively short musical ideas, even miniatures, like a short musical "breath". Other works were inspired by Nature (Printemps, Little spring, The last flight of the Cranes, Dances on icy waters), Poetry and Myths (Melusine, Valkyries), the Death (Nocturnes from the Isle of Dead) or the dramatic events of the Shoah (Holocaust Remembrance Suite with Petr Ginz, Kristallnacht, The Kiss and other works). Beneking mainly composes in series of works with a certain theme or connection, often in combination with a compositional challenge (e.g. compositions for one hand alone, piano works on black or white keys only or "La grande Petitesse").