Hans-Günter Heumann

Peter and the Wolf

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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Here’s a delight! Peter and the Wolf is one of a number of books that make up a colourful series from Schott Music, called ‘Get to Know Classical Masterpieces‘.

Featuring the whole of Prokofiev’s masterpiece of musical storytelling in a “simple arrangement for piano”, the book is the work of the ever-industrious Hans-Günter Heumann. The full story is presented in an English translation by Julia Rushworth, and with superb colour illustrations throughout by Brigitte Smith.

The book can comfortably be recommended, but the review that follows will assess the difficulty level of the piano writing and consider, as usual, who this publication is particularly suitable for. Read on for more details, and a list of other titles in the series…

8 Great Duet Books 2022

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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My review of 8 Great Piano Duet Books published back in 2016 has been a popular post with readers ever since, proving that there’s plenty of interest in piano duet books.

Since then I have reviewed a trickle of other duet books, but ground to a halt during the pandemic. Meanwhile, more duet books have been amassing in my review backlog, and in this new round up I’ve got my paws on another 8 Great Duet Books for 2022.

For ease, I will introduce them in approximate order of difficulty…

Schott Music’s Mini Maestros

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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Those looking for good anthologies of easy piano music are fairly spoilt for choice these days. Latest to arrive, Mini Maestro is a set of three books from Schott Music, compiled by the ever-prolific Hans-Günter Heumann.

With each of the three books containing 50 solo pieces and 3 bonus duets, Mini Maestro certainly offers great value and plenty to dig into, so let’s take a look…

Mystery Piano

Pianodao Music Library

Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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Of the many new piano collections reviewed here on Pianodao over the last couple of years, one of the smaller number to make a particular impact within my own teaching studio has been Hans-Günter Heumann’s Fantasy Piano (reviewed here) which has become a firm favourite with early-intermediate players.

Pieces such as Rainbow Fairy and The Sunken Island of Atlantis have started to appear in our regular student concerts, and clearly appeal to players and audiences alike.

Heumann has now produced a brand new collection: a sequel, again published by Schott Music, and called Mystery Piano. So let’s see how it compares…

Fantasy Piano: 20 Enchanting Easy Pieces

Pianodao Music Library

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

With the new term getting underway at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, now is surely a good time to mention Hans-Günter Heumann‘s magical collection ‘Fantasy Piano’, recently published by Schott Music.