Christmas Piano Music

The Christmas Shortlist

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The Pianodao Music Library includes a wide range of seasonally-themed piano publications to suit all tastes and levels of playing. Keeping track of it all, especially as new publications appear from one year to the next, isn’t easy. Wouldn’t it be good to have a simple list of it all? Well, here it is…

The Christmas Shortlist opens the door to this wealth of wonderful music, bringing together links to all of this site’s reviews of seasonal repertoire in one place, guided by level.

Best of all, the list automatically updates whenever new titles are added, so you can come back year after year. Remember to bookmark this page for future reference!

And don’t forget that Pianodao Tea Room members receive a 20% discount from Musicroom for these and all sheet music publications.

FREE! More Festive Gifts

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Courtesy of COLLINS MUSIC

When Collins Music published Karen Marshall and David Blackwell’s excellent Get Set! Piano Christmas Crackers collection in 2018, they also brought out a few extra arrangements as downloads only, supporting the book.

I have picked my favourite three and with the permission of Collins Music, I am pleased to present them here with exclusive introductions by David Blackwell…

FREE! David Blackwell: Christmas Crackers

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Courtesy of COLLINS MUSIC

Here is a brand new composition by David Blackwell for Christmas 2021, published Pianodao as an exclusive preview and with the generous support of Collins Music!

Get Set for Christmas!

October is typically the month when musicians and teachers turn their attention to the imminent arrival of the festive Christmas season. It’s that time where we line up our resources, stock up on seasonal sheet music, and begin practising and teaching music with a holiday flair!

To support readers in their preparations, I am thrilled to be able to share an exclusive collection of seasonal downloads courtesy of Collins Music, Karen Marshall and David Blackwell.

The John Rutter Christmas Piano Album

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In my review here of the John Rutter Piano Album a few months ago, I noted in my conclusion:

“Having produced such sumptuous and elevating transcriptions of eight non-seasonal songs, is it too much to hope that Rutter will return soon with a collection of his most beloved seasonal favourites?”

Well, I’m thrilled to let you know that Rutter is indeed back with a volume of eight choice Christmas classics neatly transcribed for solo piano. So let’s jump straight in…

Easy Piano Series: Christmas

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Faber Music’s ‘Easy Piano Series’ has steadily been establishing itself as one of the brightest jewels in the publisher’s sparkling catalogue of educational piano music. New for 2019, this collection of seasonal favourites sets out to maintain the high standards of the series…

Let’s take a quick peek inside…

Christmas Carols with a Classical Flair

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Phillip Keveren has established a formidable reputation as an outstanding arranger with his Phillip Keveren Series, numbering nearly 100 titles published worldwide by Hal Leonard.

Ranging from Gospel music, hymns and worship songs to contemporary popular artists such as Coldplay, Queen and Billy Joel, and with plenty of music from films and stage thrown in, these beautifully presented “Piano Solo” collections offer arrangements suitable for the late intermediate player, while there’s also a selection of “Easy Piano” titles aimed at elementary players.

The Phillip Keveren Series already includes several Seasonal titles, such as A Celtic Christmas, Yuletide Jazz, and for “easy piano”, Santa Swings.

For 2019, Keveren brings us another seasonal newcomer to the series, Christmas Carols with a Classical Flair, so let’s see whether he has again struck gold…

Faber Christmas Piano Anthology

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Faber Music have brought us some fabulous anthologies of late. Last Autumn, I reviewed their Faber Music Piano Anthology, and more recently the Faber Music Classical Film Collection.

And now they’ve brought out the Faber Music Christmas Piano Anthology, which proves to be a massive and hugely impressive collection of the best and most popular seasonal tunes, expertly arranged for piano solo at intermediate to advanced level.

There’s been a gap in the market for something like this – it’s never easy to recommend a collection for all ages that covers the most wanted classic and contemporary festive songs. So is this it? Let’s find out …

Get Set! Piano Christmas Crackers

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Seasonal music has long-held a special place in peoples’ lives, enriching festivities, underpinning our devotion (both religious and to one another), and fostering community. So it’s no surprise that most piano method series add a Christmas book to their range sooner rather than later.

If Get Set! Piano Christmas Crackers has taken longer to arrive than might have been expected, it is because the authors have taken their time to create more than just another Christmas songbook. Christmas Crackers has ambitious pedagogic aims.

Flicking through the pages of Christmas Crackers, it is immediately apparent that this is a Christmas book with a real difference, including so much more than just the same seasonal classics.

Christmas Piano Music

RECORDINGS OF THE MONTH

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I simply must tell you about Peter Froundjian’s new release for SONY Classical, Christmas Piano Music. It is surely one of the most unusual, but fabulous recordings of the year!

Unusual, because there is hardly a single work on here that will be familiar (many are world premiere recordings). Fabulous because, from top to toe, these neglected works are wonderful and beautifully performed.

It really deserves to be heard in every household this Christmas season!