Pianodao

My First Schumann

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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Schott Music, the German publishers founded back in 1770, are maintaining an impressive commitment to new piano music publishing projects, including a wide range of resources and publications for players of all levels.

Of special interest to intermediate players will be their ongoing My First Composers series. The first two issues (Bach and Mozart) have recently been joined by My First Schumann, which I am delighted to review here.

Barbara Snow: Animal Jazz

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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Edition HH is a publishing house founded by Norwegian musician Per Hartmann, and based in Oxfordshire, UK. Their eclectic and ever-expanding catalogue embraces contemporary scores and scholarly performing editions of rarer items in the musical repertoire, from the Renaissance to the Romantic periods.

‘Animal Jazz’ is a recent addition, a selection of 15 brand new original short pieces for piano solo composed by London-based musician Barbara Snow.

Ben Crosland’s Magic Beans

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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‘Magic Beans’ is the latest collection of easy piano pieces by Ben Crosland, and will be published on Saturday 5th March 2016.

Having received an advance copy from publisher Editions Musica Ferrum, I am delighted to offer this first in-depth review of the book…

Barbara Arens: Piano Misterioso

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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In my review of Barbara Arens’ collection of ’21 Amazingly Easy Pieces’ last month I concluded:

“The partnership between composer and publisher has clearly worked brilliantly here, and the resulting book is quite simply a delight. Let’s hope for more to come!”

I’m therefore particularly happy to be reviewing the follow up ‘Piano Misterioso’, especially as all the praise offered in my previous review equally applies here.

Subtitled “28 Magically Easy Pieces”, the collection would suit early intermediate players at around UK Grade 3 level. And it is clear that publishers Breitkopf & Härtel have again given their full professional attention to editorial detail, beautifully presenting Barbara’s latest pieces with class and distinction.

Practice Starters – Pick a Card!

Educational Resources

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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Created by leading educator Paul Harris and brought to us by Faber Music, “Practice Starters” is an innovative pack of cards which aims to kick start and refresh your practice sessions. As we’ll see, it’s a great learning resource, and a lot of fun!..

Christopher Norton: Eastern Preludes

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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Christopher Norton is very deservedly one of the most famous and beloved educational composers alive today. Perhaps best known for his ground-breaking and million-selling ‘Microjazz’ series, Norton has added many other outstanding collections to his list of publications, with material for pianists at every level.

His piano “Preludes” series from Boosey & Hawkes has proved popular with players at an early advanced level (around UK Grades 7-8), with genre-based collections that include ‘Jazz Preludes’, ‘Rock Preludes’, ‘Latin Preludes’ and ‘Country Preludes’. To these, Norton has also added the more exotic ‘Eastern Preludes Collection’…

Let’s talk about our practice expectations

Pianodao Articles • Full Archive

Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Written by Andrew Eales

Lack of practice is an issue that most piano players grapple with at some point – and it is something that teachers don’t always handle graciously and with understanding…

21 Amazingly Easy Pieces

Pianodao Music Library

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

21 Amazingly Easy Pieces is an original collection of new pieces by Barbara Arens, published by Breitkopf & Härtel in 2014, which has recently come to my attention, and I am seriously impressed with it.

Composer Barbara Arens is a passionately dedicated piano teacher. She began her studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg at the age of 13. After a concert career performing primarily as harpsichordist and organist, she now puts her diverse abilities and experiences into composing for her piano
pupils. She presently lives near Würzburg, Germany, after living in Beirut, Dallas, San Francisco, Singapore, Salzburg, London and Munich.

Knowing that Barbara has such extensive experience – of performing, of teaching, and of the world – gave me high hopes for these books, and I was not disappointed.