Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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When Hal Leonard’s Peaceful Piano Solos first appeared a few years back, the publisher’s intention seemed to be to create a tasteful but inexpensive collection of 30 popular ambient contemporary pieces from the collective pens of Ludovico Einaudi, Yann Tiersen, Max Richter, et al, tapping into the significant popularity of the genre.
The series subsequently grew to include several volumes, and become a staple found in music shops everywhere. So far we’ve enjoyed Easy, Soundtracks, Classical, Christmas, Jazz, and Pop variations on the theme, and while the cover image has remained consistent, presented in a lovely range of pastel hues, the music within has somewhat branched away from that original concept.
For the latest addition, Peaceful Piano Solos: Musicals, the pastel colours have been replaced with a vivid red cover, and the 30 pieces within include a fair number of climactic curtain-call rousers.
This collection may not be entirely “peaceful”, but I suspect it will nevertheless, and deservedly, be popular…
30 Showstoppers
Let’s begin by listing the included songs:
- All I Ask of You from The Phantom of the Opera
- Anthem from Chess: The Musical
- Can You Feel the Love Tonight from The Lion King
- Do You Want to Build a Snowman? from Frozen
- Edelweiss from The Sound of Music
- Goodnight, My Someone from The Music Man
- I don’t know how to love him from Jesus Christ Superstar
- I Dreamed A Dream from Les Misérables
- If I Loved You from Carousel
- I’ll Cover You (Reprise) from Rent
- I’m Not That Girl from Wicked
- Itzik’s Lullaby from The Band’s Visit
- I’Ve Never Been In Love Before from Guys and Dolls
- Maybe from Annie
- Memory from Cats
- My House from Matilda
- No One Is Alone from Into the Woods
- Not While I’m Around from Sweeney Todd
- Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin’ from Oklahoma!
- Over the Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz
- Send In The Clowns from A Little Night Music
- She Used To Be Mine from Waitress
- Slipping Through My Fingers from Mamma Mia!
- Some Enchanted Evening from South Pacific
- Somewhere from West Side Story
- Somewhere That’s Green from Little Shop of Horrors
- Sunrise, Sunset from Fiddler on the Roof
- What I Did For Love from A Chorus Line
- Where Is Love? from Oliver!
- A Whole New World from Aladdin
That Hal Leonard can issue a compilation of thirty showstopper hits, each of which is drawn from a different musical without duplication, is an impressive reminder of their status as the world’s leading and largest rights-owner. And I think you would struggle to find a comparable collection elsewhere.
The collection has evergreen classics from the iconic musicals of Rogers & Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, and the Andrew Lloyd Webber catalogue, rubbing shoulders with more recent favourites from Disney, Matilda, and Wicked. I doubt that fans of the genre will be disappointed by the selection, but what of the publication itself, and the arrangements within?
Peaceful Piano Arrangements
As per my previous reviews, this series tends to suit players at early advanced level, from around UK Grades 6-8. You can explore the other titles here:
Peaceful Pop Piano Solos
‘Peaceful Pop Piano Solos’ is an unpretentious publication which perfectly hits its bullseye, delivering an excellent collection of satisfying piano arrangements.
Peaceful Jazz Piano Solos
The popular and keenly-priced ‘Peaceful Piano Solos’ series has only become more compelling with the arrival of this collection of 30 standards arranged for late intermediate players.
Peaceful Piano Solos • The Series
The Peaceful Piano Solo series from Hal Leonard is an easy recommendation, delivering a brilliant selection of contemporary favourites in a tastefully presented set of anthologies, with nicely playable editions.
Peaceful Christmas Piano Solos
Housed within a subtle, understated cover, “Peaceful Christmas Piano Solos” succeeds in looking very sophisticated from the outset… I can’t imagine anyone being disappointed in this excellent collection.
The book itself follows the design of others in the series, the tasteful cover opening to 104 pages printed on bright white paper. The review copy is certainly well bound, and should withstand consistent use over time.
The notation is cleanly engraved, well-spaced, and clearly printed, but the lack of supportive fingering suggestions may be frustrating for some players. Also note that the song lyrics are not included.
The arranger isn’t credited, but my guess is that most scores have been sourced from the existing catalogue of officially approved versions. In other words, the songs have not been reworked for this series to have a peaceful, chillout vibe.
An easy example that I checked, Somewhere is the same version that appears in the intermediate piano selection from West Side Story which I have previously reviewed here. One of the easier arrangements in Peaceful Piano Solos: Musicals, I have taught it to players around Grade 5.
Rather more difficult, but representative of the collection, the arrangement of Memory is notably harder than those found in intermediate songbooks, with a climactic G flat major section, and the melody line appearing fortissimo in RH legato octaves.
Curtain Call
Peaceful Piano Solos: Musicals offers detailed, pianistically developed song arrangements that are true to the originals and likely to prove rewarding for any advanced player, and is a must-have for those who enjoy showtunes from these popular stage hits.
I can’t help feeling that the Peaceful Piano Solos series is rapidly becoming a branding tactic rather than a distinctive musical concept, and hope this won’t inadvertently cause confusion. Frequently rousing, this new addition to the series is essentially an excellent anthology of slow narrative ballads and emotive torch songs, and as such it will delight many.
Pianists at early advanced level who are keen to explore the riches of the West End and Broadway songbooks will find this collection a superb and cost-effective addition to their piano playing library.
Highly recommended!
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