Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
The indomitable and much-loved Barbara Arens has recently added two new titles to her Breitkopf & Hārtel catalogue, which already includes One Hand Piano, 21 Amazingly Easy Pieces and Piano Misterioso.
I will look at the double-barrelled Piano Tranquillo/Vivace later in the review, but first let’s take a look at the latest edition to the series, the marvellous Piano Exotico…
Continue reading Exotico, Tranquillo, Vivace!Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
There is always room on the music shelf for easy piano arrangements of well-known and popular songs – players of all ages naturally find it encouraging and enjoyable to tackle tunes that are familiar to them, their family and friends.
It is no doubt with this in mind that Faber Music have just released two collections in The Easy Piano Series, one covering famous show tunes, the other film themes, all aimed at players who are at around Grades 1 to 2 level.
Let’s take a quick look …
Continue reading Easy Piano Series: “Film” and “Shows”Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Bartók’s monumental cycle of 153 educational piano pieces and 33 exercises, published in six volumes as the Mikrokosmos in 1940, is rightly regarded as a seminal work within the pedagogic literature. But it often strikes me that it is more important than it is popular.
Even in my own studio (and I am a self-confessed Bartók fanatic!) it emerges from the music cupboard far less frequently than the more obviously popular For Children, First Term at the Piano, Rumanian Folk Dances and Ten Easy Pieces.
For those wanting to explore this musical smorgasbord there has never been more opportunity to do so, however, with three excellent editions to choose from. Which, though, is the best?
In this review I will be looking at classic New Definitive Version from Boosey & Hawkes, and comparing the more recent Urtext editions from Henle Verlag and Wiener Urtext Edition. I should note in passing that there is also a budget all-in-one-volume edition from Chester Music, not submitted for review or included in this survey.
Continue reading Which Mikrokosmos?Pianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Graham Lynch is a composer whose works have been performed by (among others) the BBC Symphony Orchestra, The Hilliard Ensemble, and in venues as diverse and prestigious as London’s South Bank and the Wigmore Hall, the Paris Conservatoire and the Merkin Hall New York.
One of Lynch’s more recent projects was his series of progressive piano repertoire books called Sound Sketches.
When he self-published them back in 2011-12, Lynch explained to me:
“Sound Sketches is an exciting and innovative series of graded piano pieces that will appeal to pianists of all ages and abilities. These pieces are varied in character, and each one opens up an imaginative world of colours and textures for players to explore. These ‘sound images’ are evoked through strong melodic ideas which hide their technical challenges within a sense of the delight that can be had from conjuring music from the keyboard.”
Obtaining a set I quickly found students – both teenagers and adults – who were enchanted by the pieces.
I was therefore delighted to hear that the books are now being published and freshly promoted by EVC Music, with digital licenses available from the publisher and physical copies of the books available on the Musicroom website, and hope this will lead to these brilliant books receiving the attention they deserve.
Let me tell you why I think that these books merit a place on the already crowded shelves of piano teachers, students and players…
Continue reading Graham Lynch’s Sound SketchesPianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Mike Springer will be known to many readers (especially in the US) as a prolific educational composer, with many publications in print with Alfred Music. Lyrical Landscapes is his latest series, appearing as three collections of solo piano music composed for intermediate players.
Written in a variety of styles ranging from Romantic to contemporary, covering a variety of moods, these pieces are evocative and engaging to play, and would especially suit older and adult players at this level.
According to the composer:
“Lyrical Landscapes is a collection of expressive pieces … written to provide opportunities for late elementary to late intermediate students to develop skills in projecting lyrical, melodic lines…
From slow ballads to upbeat tempos, these pieces allow pianists the opportunity to develop a deeper musical awareness through the use of technical control, rubato, and subtle tempo changes. These pieces were composed so students not only enjoy performing the music, but grow musically along the way.”
Let’s take a closer look…
Continue reading Mike Springer: Lyrical LandscapesPianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
June Armstrong has proven not only to be one of our more imaginative contemporary educational composers, but also to have a keen eye for gaps in the existing pedagogic repertoire.
Her many excellent and innovative publications via her business Pianissimo Publishing (see my reviews) fill a wide range of such gaps, and between them comprise a genuinely important body of work. Every collection, too, is a joy to explore and a delight to own.
June’s latest collection is Six Little Preludes and Fugues, and looks set to continue this trend, living up to the high standards of previous publications.
Continue reading June Armstrong: Six Little Preludes & FuguesPianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Bartók’s seminal collection For Children is, in my view, one of the few absolute essential classics of the piano pedagogy repertoire: a work which has in equal measure both charmed and challenged generations of young pianists, and seems as popular with my students today as ever.
Two new versions of this milestone have appeared in recent months: a single-volume complete edition from Boosey & Hawkes, and a brand new urtext edition from Henle Verlag in partnership with Editio Musica Budapest.
In this review I’m going to present each, with some concluding thoughts on their relative merits, and recommendations of which edition will suit whom.
Continue reading Bartók: For ChildrenPianodao Music Library
Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
It’s a piano thing is a new publication from Boosey & Hawkes comprising two books of fresh original repertoire by Irish composer Ailbhe McDonagh.
McDonagh is well known in her country as an educational composer whose works have included commissioned pieces for school ensembles as well as educational piano pieces. She is also well known as a professional cellist who performs internationally and teaches at the Royal Irish Academy of Music.
McDonagh’s piece Anastasia, included in the second of these books, was first published while the young Alibhe was still at school, appearing as a Grade 4 piece in the RIAM exam syllabus.
The two collections here offer 36 piano solos presented in progressive order of difficulty, the first book being suitable for beginners and up to around UK Grade 3 (Late Elementary) level, while the second book includes pieces up to around Grade 5 (Intermediate). So let’s take a look…
Continue reading It’s a Piano Thing…
