Christmas Music – Early Intermediate

Calming Christmas Carols for Graded Piano

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

With so many Christmas-themed piano books on the market, and with yet more appearing to challenge our established favourites each year, it takes something quite special and distinctive to stand out from the crowd.

Calming Christmas Carols for Graded Piano, published by The Willis Music Company, is certainly unique, and may prove to be one of those ‘must-have classics’ that we didn’t realise we needed until it appeared.

Delivering “15 Peaceful Pieces for Piano Grades 1-5” freshly arranged by Alistair Watson, with three designated for each level from Grade 1 to Grade 5, the collection obviously has one eye on the education market, the other on appealing to the vogue for music with a relaxed vibe.

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. So let’s find out how well it lives up to its promise…

Simply Christmas

The Christmas Shortlist

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

With Autumn in full flow, a flurry of new Christmas releases inevitably arrive, prospective additions to the already well-stocked Pianodao Christmas Shortlist of sheet music suitable for all ages, levels, and playing styles.

Leading the way in 2024, Simply Christmas is a collection of 24 new arrangements of traditional favourites, billed as for Easy Piano Solo and suitable for late elementary to intermediate players (around UK Grades 2-5).

What makes this collection truly stand out from the crowd is the quality of the arrangements by Christos Tsitsaros, which are exceptional. Read on to find out more…

Piano Player • Christmas Time

The Christmas Shortlist

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

Regular readers will know that I am quite a fan of Faber Music’s Piano Player series, originally projected to include seven books, five of which are already available and reviewed here, with the final two anticipated for 2024.

With decorous covers sporting the artwork of Edward Bawden (1903-1989), a pull-out reproduction to keep and frame, and a mixed range of popular classics and tasteful arrangements geared towards adult intermediate players, the series has carved out a very particular and worthwhile niche.

Taking us unawares, Faber Music have just launched a new addition to the series. Not billed among the seven titles advertised so far, The Piano Player Christmas Time is more than just a welcome surprise…

The Pam Wedgwood Christmas Collection

The Christmas Shortlist

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

Earlier this year, Faber Music released a brilliant compilation of jazzy pieces selected by Pam Wedgwood from her back catalogue of bestsellers. In my review of the Jazzin’ About Anthology, I described it as,

“a superb publication which I can truly recommend without reservation.”

Now Faber have followed it up with The Pam Wedgwood Christmas Collection, and the same high praise is due. Producing this book is certainly a smart and welcome move.

Wedgwood has an impressive archive of Christmas-themed music to mine, having produced several books of traditional, jazzy and contemporary seasonal music in the After Hours, Jazzin’ About, and Up Grade! series, not forgetting the excellent It’s Never Too Late to Play… Christmas collection.

With such a wealth of material to choose from, let’s find out what Wedgwood and Faber Music have picked…

Christmas Around the World

The Christmas Shortlist

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

Earlier this year I introduced Hal Leonard’s Jennifer Linn Series in my review of the excellent Easy Elementary collection Rendezvous At The Zoo. Just in time for this year’s festivities, Christmas Around the World is a new addition to the series, this time suitable for Intermediate+ players, defined as:

“…advancing pianists who have progressed to the Piano Solo level and enjoy lush accompaniments and stylistic original compositions and arrangements.”

Whether adopted within the world of the Jennifer Linn Series or beyond it, this publication offers a very interesting and worthwhile addition to the seasonal music shelf of any player or teacher, so let’s investigate further…

Christmas Songs for Kids

The Christmas Shortlist

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

Joining the rather crowded market of elementary Christmas piano collections, Hal Leonard’s newly released Christmas Songs for Kids aims to deliver,

“25 Holiday Favourites arranged for Easy Piano, with practice tips for learning each song.”

This tastefully clothed collection is definitely tempting in its excellent presentation, so let’s peek within the covers to see what’s inside…

Piano Calm Christmas

The Christmas Shortlist

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

Philip Keveren is one of my favourite arrangers and composers whose music has a contemporary popular vibe. He is also clearly industrious: this year alone has seen the release of his clever Circles: Character Etudes in 24 keys (reviewed here) and the hugely appealing Piano Calm (reviewed here), both of which are quickly establishing themselves as firm favourites with my students.

Now Keveren brings us the sequel to the latter collection, Piano Calm Christmas. And if it lives up to its recent predecessors, we can look forward to something very special indeed. So let’s find out…