Early Intermediate Repertoire – Page 6

The Jazzin’ About Anthology

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

When I began teaching in the 1990’s, Pam Wedgwood’s Jazzin’ About books were very much the rage, the latest thing that every student wanted to play. The series (as it then was) comprised just a handful of books, but over the years it has burgeoned and in the process clocked up more than half a million sales. Wedgwood’s pieces have become perennial favourites.

Latest addition, The Jazzin’ About Piano Anthology, brings together 41 of Pam’s favourite pieces from across the series, presented progressively in one volume from early elementary to intermediate level (UK Initial to Grade 5). Publishers Faber Music tell us that the book includes six new pieces specially composed for this edition, plus duets and online demonstration audio performed by the composer.

“So take a break from the classics and get into the groove as you cruise from blues, to rock, to jazz!”

Let’s dig in…

Discovering Burgmüller

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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Burgmüller’s three collections of piano etudes, Op.100, Op.105 and Op.109 have been cornerstones of the piano pedagogy literature for over a century and a half, and remain as popular today as ever.

In this short article I will look at each of the three, share my own recordings of Op.100, compare and recommend good editions for those wanting to study these brilliant pieces.

Piano Grades Are Go! 2-3

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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I was genuinely excited by the arrival of the first book in Victoria Producer’s Piano Grade Are GO! series from EVC Music, writing in my review that the collection was:

“that rarest of beasts: a genuinely stunning music book for elementary players.”

My enthusiasm for the book remains undiminished, and I suggest you read that review before progressing to this one: many of the points I wrote about the goals and content of the first book equally apply to the second…

So what about this second collection? Well, it offers 21 new pieces suitable for players at UK Grades 2 and 3 level. Read on to find out more…

Kassern • Candy Music Box

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and reviewed by Andrew Eales
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Music from Chopin’s Land
In 2020, I was commissioned by PWM Edition to record five films showcasing educational piano music by Polish composers. Captivated by my new musical discoveries, I have continued to independently explore and review the music of Chopin’s land…

PWM Edition continue to revive outstanding pedagogic piano music from their rich archives, most recently bringing us a colourful new edition of Kassern’s wonderful Słodki Kramik, or Candy Music Box.

Appearing in PWM’s superb CAT series and in landscape format, the book delivers 12 character pieces with a confectionary theme, suitable for early intermediate players, around UK Grades 3-4…

My Quirky & Lyrical Notebooks

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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It is always great to discover a new composer whose music makes an immediate and impressive mark. As reviewers, it’s perhaps these moments we look forward to the most.

In this review, I am happy to recommend two recently published music books by Angeline Bell, a Malaysian piano teacher based in the UK, who only honed her gift for composing in March 2022 when, having contracted Covid she was forced to take time away from her usual teaching schedule.

Encouraged by her friends, Bell approached Editions Musica Ferrum owner Nikolas Sideris, who agreed to publish her music. Further spurred on by his enthusiasm, Bell quickly composed 40 pieces which she and Sideris have divided into two contrasting piano collections (suitable for intermediate players at around UK Grades 3-6), the subject of this review…

Petits Morceaux pour piano

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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France has a rich heritage of keyboard music and a proud tradition of piano pedagogy, and yet for many players in the English-speaking world a first encounter with this superb legacy only occurs at early advanced level, with the introduction of favourite classics by Satie and Debussy.

Two rather wonderful new publications from Durand Edition present us with a fine opportunity to acquaint ourselves with the rewarding seam of music that elementary and intermediate players in France are no doubt already familiar with.

The books are introduced by their publisher as,

“A journey through the most iconic pieces found in the prestigious catalogues of Max Eschig, Durand and Salabert. The pieces are organised in order of playing difficulty. An indispensable edition for a voyage through the world of the piano through its didactic repertoire from the last century.”

The music within is predominantly but not exclusively composed by French composers, and includes a mixture of names that will be familiar to teachers in the English-speaking community alongside some who will be less recognised, but certainly no less deserving of discovery.

In this review I will be delving into each of these two fascinating volumes…

Journey Through the Classics

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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Amidst the understandable and deserved popularity of new contemporary music collections, I am happy to find that there is still a demand for more traditional pedagogic piano music.

Players and teachers often ask me for recommendations of piano collections devoted to the core classical and pedagogic repertoire, and there are many strong choices.

Here in the UK, these include the various graded collections produced by ABRSM, Faber Music and others. Meanwhile, publishers based in countries less influenced by our exam system have produced alternatives which can be rather freer in their content, looser in their boundaries and framework, a point which will particularly appeal to the growing number of teachers keen to eschew a curriculum that is essentially dictated by exam boards.

Among the best repertoire resources I have come across, take a look at Journey Through the Classics, a superb series compiled, edited (and with recordings) by the eminent American educator Jennifer Linn, published worldwide by Hal Leonard.

As I dig into (and colloquially “dig”) the series, why not come and join me for the Journey… I promise it’s a good one!

Grade 3 Piano Playalong

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
Find out more: About Pianodao Reviews

ABRSM’s excellent Pop Performer! books reviewed here were among the big winners of 2022, and hot on their heels we can welcome a new initiative from Faber Music. However, Faber’s new Graded Playalong Series takes a rather different approach.

Launching at the tail end of 2022 with collections for Grade 3 piano, flute, alto sax, clarinet and drums, the Graded Playalong Series offers fresh arrangements that incorporate the use of backing tracks as a core musical feature. Let’s take a look at the Grade 3 Piano version…