Andrew Eales

Falla • Serenata andaluza

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Since its founding in 1948, G. Henle Verlag has established an enviable reputation, its iconic dusty-blue Urtext editions a familiar and esteemed presence in homes, teaching studios, conservatoires, and concert halls around the world.

If Henle’s reputation for meticulous scholarship and exceptional engraving is well established, its openness to innovation is equally commendable. The Henle Library digital initiative, in particular, demonstrates how technology can enhance access to music while remaining true to the publisher’s commitment to quality and aesthetic values.

Over the years, Henle has forged relationships with distinguished musicians, from Claudio Arrau, Arthur Rubinstein and Yehudi Menuhin to more recent collaborators such as András Schiff and Murray Perahia, whose fingerings feature in the publisher’s Bach and Beethoven piano editions respectively.

Today, their print library has expanded to include some 1500 urtext scores, including complete composer editions through to performer-friendly scores of the great core repertoire, in many cases unsurpassed. We might wonder where they might go next.

Enter Henle Horizons, a new imprint that promises to deliver “Discoveries, Arrangements, Studies”, and arrives with burnt orange covers replacing the established dusty blue livery. For pianists, the first two volumes in this new series are Hummel’s Piano Sonata in F# minor Op,81 (which I will review separately) and Manuel de Falla’s delicious Serenata andaluza, the subject of this review.

After introducing the piece itself, this review will focus on the advent of the Henle Horizons series more broadly, exploring how it is distinct from the Henle Urtext editions we know and love…

The Mindful Piano Anthology

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

The Faber Music Piano Anthology series now extends to more than a dozen titles, many of which I have positively reviewed here.

The books have many strengths (not least their formidable spines, which, as I have previously noted, seem built to withstand the force needed to keep them open in use!). But perhaps the series’ greatest strength is Faber’s knack of combining the familiar with the new, ensuring that each successive title offers something for everyone.

The latest addition to this popular series is The Faber Music Mindful Piano Anthology, which as the book’s subtitle suggests, offers:

“A selection of peaceful and relaxing pieces for intermediate piano solo.”

As usual, the book contains many surprises…

Piano Music of the Black Renaissance

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Nearly two decades have passed since Oxford University Press (OUP) Music published William Chapman Nyaho’s pioneering landmark series, Piano Music of Africa and the African Diaspora (reviewed here), and in the intervening years our collective interest in this rich seam of repertoire has only increased.

I recently reviewed Samantha Ege’s superb scholarly performing edition of Florence Price’s Fantasie Nègre: Four Fantasies for Piano, also from OUP, and now hot on its heels, they bring us her new anthology of music by composers of the ‘Black Renaissance’ in the twentieth century.

Featuring solo piano pieces by eight composers, Piano Music of the Black Renaissance ranges in level from Early Intermediate to Advanced, and offers a fascinating and useful sourcebook of music that deserves much greater recognition within the classical piano repertoire.

My review offers a reflection on the special value of this publication, which I can strongly recommend as an important one that is unlikely to disappoint.

Garreth Brooke • A Piano Journey

The Pianodao Guest Book
Interviews • Opinions • Guest Posts

GARRETH BROOKE is a British/German musician whose original music has been released on several labels and has received millions of streams. He has performed live all over Europe, and his compositions have been published by Breitkopf & Härtel, Faber Music, and Editions Musica Ferrum.

Garreth’s exclusive UK live date for 2026 will be his upcoming appearance at the Milton Keynes Piano Celebration (Book Tickets here).

In this moving and inspiring interview, we discuss how Garreth’s musical journey has been shaped by love, loss, healing, and the pathway that has ultimately led to his music touching listeners around the world…

Disney • Graded Pieces for Piano

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Last year at around this time I reviewed the very-specifically-named Calming Christmas Carols for Graded Piano (read the review) and noted,

“Cleverly, and rather uniquely positioned as the progressive collection to which learners can reliably return each year throughout their Elementary to Intermediate piano journey, and thus maximising the book’s continuing value to teachers, learners, and parents, the concept is certainly attractive.”

At the time I wondered whether publisher Hal Leonard might extend the graded concept to other popular collections, and sure enough, earlier this year they launched the excellent Beatles Graded Pieces for Piano (reviewed here), and hot on its heels a Disney collection, again for Grades 1-5, and the subject of the review.

In common with the Beatles Graded Pieces for Piano collection, this new release includes new arrangements by Christopher Hussey, along with appropriate introductory exercises suitable for learning the pieces at each grade level. Read on to find out more…

Edition Peters Graded Anthologies 2027-28

Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales

Looking back, 2026 has been a year of graded anthologies, with new syllabus publications from LCME (reviewed here), from ABRSM (reviewed here), and the latter’s recent Encore Plus series (reviewed here).

Whether one is committed to exam preparation or not, these are useful collections of music which (one hopes) will be suitably levelled, offering diversity and variety for players and, for those taking grades, alternative repertoire selections and ‘own choice’ pieces.

Reviewing the 2027-28 ABRSM syllabus and Piano Exam Pieces books (with some disappointment). I noted:

“I think that few will argue with the point that, across every grade, the alternative selections offer several easier and more appealing options. I suspect these lists may therefore prove a more attractive repertoire focus for teachers wishing to maximise motivation and confidence.”

Right on time, Edition Peters have now published their own Grade Piano Anthology collections based on the ABRSM 2027-28 syllabus, further swelling our options. In common with their previous series reviewed here, they offer books for each of Grades 5, 6, 7, and 8.

So do they offer a more tempting and balanced selection of music than the rather lacklustre ABRSM 2027-28 books, and might these collections have wider appeal? Here’s my review…

The Natural Musician

Fermata • The Pianodao Blog
Short Reflections by Andrew Eales

I really believe that it’s imperative for us all to reawaken to the natural world around us, and to rediscover our place within it. Recognising and following the changing seasons, and making adjustments which bring our inner journey into harmony with the natural world is fundamental to our true wellbeing.

Throughout history, the Daoist philosophers and teachers emphasised this point. Alongside that, they were keen musicians and artists who demonstrated in their works that far from adding to our sense of separation from the natural world, our artistic expression can provide an avenue by which we can come much closer to it.

Let’s explore this idea of becoming a more natural musician, in tune with the seasons and the living world around us…

The Piano Stool: a safe harbour

The Pianodao Guest Book
Interviews • Opinions • Guest Posts

In this new guest post for Pianodao, best-selling author KAREN MARSHALL points to the importance of helping students feel welcome, seen, and ready to learn…

Years ago, my late teacher Eric Leveridge told me,

“Karen, remember that a piano teacher can actually be providing a service to the community. Supporting parents and young people as they make their way in life.”

I have never forgotten those words. Instrumental educators enjoy the rare privilege of spending years of consistent, one-to-one time with a child. Sometimes for up to twelve years, or more. We are not just teaching an instrument; we form part of that child’s long-term developmental support team.

Attachment theory offers a helpful lens through which we can understand this connection. Borrowing John Bowlby’s concept of a “secure base”, we can see how music teachers can create a predictable, encouraging environment where children feel safe enough to take creative risks.

This is not to suggest we replace parents or act as therapists, but rather to recognise the meaningful difference a trusted, consistent adult can make.

Many of us notice students arriving at lessons with limited attention, heightened anxiety, or low resilience. Modern stressors, disrupted routines, and educational pressures profoundly impact confidence. The piano stool can become a reassuring space, a place to rebuild resilience and rediscover potential.