Early Intermediate Repertoire

Prokofiev • Musiques d’enfants

Selected and reviewed by ANDREW EALES
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Over the last three decades, few music collections have been used in my teaching as regularly and consistently as Prokofiev’s Musiques d’enfants. The simple joy of these twelve intermediate level pieces (UK Grades 3-5) is that they so brilliantly combine genuine creative invention, immediacy of appeal, and immense pedagogic value.

Until now, the go-to edition has been the “Authentic Edition” from Boosey & Hawkes, who owned the distribution rights. Theirs is an attractively presented, reliable, and perfectly usable version, but not entirely without issues. Aside from a couple of tricky passages for which the composer added fingering, none is provided; nor are English translations for the French titles. The introduction and composer biography by Peter Donohoe are neither child-friendly, nor pedagogically insightful for teachers.

With Prokofiev’s music now out of copyright, others are quickly bringing editions to market. Edition Peters have reissued their own earlier version, which in common with the Boosey & Hawkes edition is accurate but rather basic, albeit English titles are added, and their edition benefits from being printed on cream paper.

Now a brand new edition has appeared in the Schott Student Edition series, edited and featuring superb fingering suggestions throughout by the ever-impressive Monika Twelsiek. With English and German translations for the piece titles, a useful Preface, and detailed Teaching Notes for each of the twelve pieces, I think that this is now the edition to go for…

The Willis Student Recital Collection

PIANODAO MUSIC LIBRARY

Selected and reviewed by ANDREW EALES
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My latest piano collection for Willis Music Company, distributed by Hal Leonard, is a bumper anthology which builds on the success of the Graded Gillock series and Naoko Ikeda Graded Collection, and features 40 pieces written by composers from across the publisher’s best-selling catalogue.

This collection especially focuses on performance pieces, suitable for studio recitals, school concerts, and festivals. With that in mind, I have particularly sought out music which is both inspiring for the learner to play, and enjoyable for audiences. The pieces are presented in progressive order from Elementary to Late Intermediate, UK Grades 1-6.

Those who already use the other piano collections I have edited will be pleased to hear that there are no overlaps: this unique selection consciously avoids duplication, and offers fresh, exciting pieces to enjoy alongside those in my previous publications.

My First Handel

PIANODAO MUSIC LIBRARY

Selected and reviewed by ANDREW EALES
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Schott Music’s My First Composers series, put together by Wilhelm Ohmen, have been with us for some time now, and I have previously reviewed several titles here.

The most recent to appear, My First Handel repeats the trick of several previous titles in the series, delivering a superbly curated and presented collection of intermediate pieces by a great keyboard composer whose contribution to the repertoire is often, and too easily overlooked.

And once again, this is a music compilation which doesn’t have an obvious rival in the piano education catalogue, so let’s take a serious look…

Chaminade • Album des enfants

PIANODAO MUSIC LIBRARY

Selected and reviewed by ANDREW EALES
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I have previously heaped praise on the Schott Student Edition, a set of tastefully produced and superbly edited publications presenting core and lesser-known pedagogic repertoire in an attractive, affordable and contemporary format for today’s learners.

Designed for use in instrumental teaching, with titles projected to range from easy beginner music to more advanced repertoire, this is a superb series, and you can browse my previous reviews here.

Schott Music have recently added several interesting new titles to the series, and I will be looking at each in turn over the coming weeks.

One of the undoubted highlights, and the subject of this review, the much-respected editor Monika Twelsiek has selected twelve delicious highlights from Cécile Chaminade’s Album des enfants to delight today’s learners…

The Gradebusters Mixtape

PIANODAO MUSIC LIBRARY

Selected and reviewed by ANDREW EALES
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Hal Leonard’s Gradebusters series has been one of the highlights of recent years, and the publications have proven popular with learners and players of all ages.

Reviewing the series, I described the five graded books of pop song arrangements for solo piano as offering,

“A hugely inviting and immediate mix of famous songs… this is top stuff!”

Offering “25 Awesome Solos from Taylor Swift to Einaudi”, the Gradebusters Piano Mixtape is the latest addition to the series, delivering a compendium of highlights from the five graded books, with six exclusive new pieces thrown in as an added bonus.

For those who want to dip into these quality arrangements without necessarily wanting to take the deep dive offered by the whole set of books, the Piano Mixtape collection represents great value, so let’s take a quick look…

Contemporary Piano Masters

PIANODAO MUSIC LIBRARY

Selected and reviewed by ANDREW EALES
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Hal Leonard’s bumper piano book Contemporary Piano Masters first appeared in 2019, together with an ‘easy piano’ version. Offering “40 pieces from the world’s leading piano composers”, the collection soon became a best-seller.

I gave that first edition a positive review, and have subsequently used the standard version with several students, right up until a couple of years ago it disappeared from view.

Now, having updated the licensing agreements involved, a revamped second edition has appeared, again with an ‘easy piano’ counterpart. But with many similar collections now on the market, how do these new volumes fare? Let’s find out…

Ghostly Piano Tales

PIANODAO MUSIC LIBRARY

Selected and reviewed by ANDREW EALES
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In addition to her superb Play it Again Piano series for adults returning to the piano (reviewed here ) and ground-breaking Women Composers: Graded Anthology series (reviewed here), Melanie Spanswick is a busy composer with a growing catalogue of titles to her name, including several from Schott Music.

For her latest, Spanswick delivers 24 Imaginative Piano Pieces for elementary to early intermediate players which dive headlong into the world of the macabre. Is there suddenly a chill in the air?

David Önaç • Spirituals

PIANODAO MUSIC LIBRARY

Selected and reviewed by ANDREW EALES
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When Elena Cobb invited me to be a publishing consultant for her EVC Music publishing venture, the project she specifically had in mind was a collection of Spirituals, arranged by David Önaç. Immediately excited, it was a pleasure to give some advice in the early stages of the project’s development.

Spirituals has now, after several months gestation, arrived, and as my early enthusiasm anticipated, it is a publication of some significance. I don’t think any piano teacher should be without it, and expect it to prove equally popular with learners across the elementary and intermediate range, from Initial to Grade 5.

Rooted in universally beloved melodies, nourished by the distinctive harmonies of the Gospel tradition, and expertly crafted to suit elementary to intermediate piano players of all ages, David Önaç has delivered a gem of a collection that is sure to be treasured by pianists throughout the early years of their playing.

With full disclosure of my creative developmental input, here is why I think this book deserves a place on the shelves of elementary to intermediate piano players everywhere…

“Simply Christmas”

The CHRISTMAS SHORTLIST

Selected and reviewed by ANDREW EALES
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With Autumn in full flow, a flurry of new Christmas releases inevitably arrive, prospective additions to the already well-stocked Pianodao Christmas Shortlist of sheet music suitable for all ages, levels, and playing styles.

Leading the way in 2024, Simply Christmas is a collection of 24 new arrangements of traditional favourites, billed as for Easy Piano Solo and suitable for late elementary to intermediate players (around UK Grades 2-5).

What makes this collection truly stand out from the crowd is the quality of the arrangements by Christos Tsitsaros, which are exceptional. Read on to find out more…

More Ballads Without Words

PIANODAO MUSIC LIBRARY

Selected and reviewed by ANDREW EALES
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Heather Hammond is well established as one of the most prolific and respected composers of educational piano music, and her publications for EVC Music (which include Grooves for Piano Dudes reviewed here and Ballads Without Words reviewed here) include much of her best work.

Of the latter, I wrote:

“Here is an album that will surely be a “quick win” with players at upper intermediate level who want to play music in a lighter style, but with emotive melodic content.”

It is neither a surprise that it has proved to be a popular success, not that Hammond’s latest publication is a much-anticipated sequel…