Sheet Music Reviews – Page 3

Kristina Arakelyan’s ‘Musical Vegetable Patch’

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

Armenian-British composer Kristina Arakelyan is rapidly gaining recognition as a leading voice in contemporary classical music, with works performed by top artists in concert halls worldwide. She is also an accomplished concert pianist, and in my view her 2025 album Dreamland, featuring her own solo works, confirms her as an important pianist-composer for our time.

Readers may recognise Arakelyan from the updated Piano Time method series reviewed here, and be familiar with her beautiful piece Daydream, which appeared in the ABRSM Grade 2 syllabus in 2023-24. In this review I will consider her latest foray into piano education, a slim publication from publishers Stainer & Bell.

The Musical Vegetable Patch bears the lofty subtitle ‘introducing the classical music periods to early-grade pianists’, and includes at its heart six elementary pieces suitable for players at around UK Grades 1-2. Each showcases a different musical style, and is blessed with a title that mixes the name of a famous composer with, erm, a vegetable.

This highly imaginative and educational collection aims to enthuse youngsters while gently introducing them to music periods, styles, and composers. And each page includes a quirky, hand-painted ink and watercolour illustration by Rosie Brooks (also of Piano Time fame). Let’s find out how this distinctive and nutritious concept plays out…

John Rutter • Complete Piano Album

Pianodao Music Library

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

One of the most extraordinarily popular and successful British composers of his generation, John Rutter’s choral works, anthems, hymns and carols are beloved the world over for their distinctive mix of French choral, English pastoral, and American popular influences.

John Rutter has enjoyed a long career at the pinnacle of the English choral world, from his appearance as a chorister in the 1963 recording of Britten’s War Requiem conducted by the composer, through his time at Cambridge and his numerous prestigious appointments and accomplishments up to the present day.

As he enjoys his 80th birthday year, Rutter is rightly considered a national treasure, and his publishers OUP Music are celebrating with a fresh compilation of his two recent solo piano albums in one superb book of 16 pieces, as well as the publication of his piano concerto, Reflections.

The Complete John Rutter Piano Album brings together his transcriptions first published as Piano Collection: A Flower Remembered in 2020, along with those that make up the subsequent John Rutter Christmas Piano Album.

For fans of his music, the Complete John Rutter Piano Album is an obvious and more cost-effective choice, so the review that follows draws from and replaces my earlier reviews of the initial, separate publications.

Bluey: First Ever Piano Book

Educational Resources

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

Since its launch in 2018, the Australian animated series Bluey has conquered the pre-school world, while winning multiple awards, critical acclaim, and praise for its positive messages, wholesome family values, and focus on playful childhood learning.

Created and written by Joe Brumm, Bluey has spawned a stage show, video game, upcoming feature length movie, and an avalanche of merchandising that includes toys, books, an album of music from the show, and now the Bluey First Ever Piano Book, written by the show’s music supervisor and composer Joff Bush, and published by Faber Music.

Bluey front cover and sample pages NEW with logos — Bluey First Ever Piano Book

The Bluey First Ever Piano Book is, like the television show, aimed at pre-school children, designed for early informal learning without an instructor, and for shared enjoyment by children with their parents. As Faber put it,

“This book is for beginners to play with their favourite grown-up. No musical know-how is required. You’ll be helped along the way by Busker (AKA Bluey composer, Joff Bush). Have fun making Bluey music magic together!”

Bluey First Ever Piano Book is unlike anything I have previously reviewed, so I began by watching a few episodes of the show (purely for research purposes, of course). But as a piano educator, what’s my opinion of the book?

Winter Piano Anthology

Pianodao Music Library

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

The Faber Music Piano Anthology series of deluxe bumper books have proven one of the popular publishing successes of recent years, and certainly these robust collections combine excellent value for money with a compelling mix of piano music for late intermediate to advanced players.

With more than a dozen titles now in the series, the anthologies cover a wide range of musical styles and tastes. Some home in on specific genres, such as pop ballads, jazz standards, and piano duets, while others mix core and lesser-known classics, piano arrangements, and relaxed contemporary solos.

For a look at previous titles, you can explore the series here, but let’s now turn to the latest addition, a seasonal chilled Winter Piano Anthology…