Complete Preludes, Books 1 and 2 [Paperback] Review

This is one of those sets that I think, if I were stranded on a desert island with a Steinway (and a good piano tuner), I could delve into for years with little other music.
These short pieces are excellent for sight-reading difficult passages with many key changes and unexpected accidentals, for intricate harmony and for expression of mood. The names are evocative of feelings and sights, such as an underwater cathedral, bells in the evening air, wind through heather and the like.

Though short pieces of a few pages, each provides a particular challenge to the piano student, as well as being appropriate for concert encores or intimate playing.

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Product Description:
Here, in one volume, are two bodies of work that, perhaps more than any others, reveal the essence of Claude Debussy's extraordinary expressiveness and his innovative gifts for musical imagery. Each book contains 12 preludes for the piano, many of them well known to today's musical audiences because of their great popularity with pianists worldwide.

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Impromptus, Op. 90 (Alfred Masterwork Edition) [Paperback] Review

I was quite disappointed in this product. I'm not sure if it's just the copy I got, but the printing/stapling went awry and one side of the music did not print on page 20. I would ask for a refund of this product if I hadn't gotten it online. Save yourself the trouble and get a copy of this music that doesn't look like the printer was having an off day.

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Product Description:
This concise edition contains four expressive and lively impromptus that will challenge advanced pianists. To clarify the composer's original notations on tempo, dynamics, fingering, pedaling and ornamentation, Dr. Baylor has included notes on performing each piece and provided footnotes for difficult passages. These editorial suggestions make preparing for a performance both enjoyable and educational.

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Burgmuller: 25 Progressive Pieces, opus 100 (Book & CD) (Alfred Masterwork Edition: CD Edition) [Paperback] Review

Wow, this book is a treasure. I am taking lesson for 3 years and as an adult, my fall back is speed as I don't have flexible fingers like young kids.I have been doing Hanon trying to strengthen and to keep my fingers flexible, but I get so bored with the monotone.I still am at a beginner/intermediate level (4) and this book is just perfect to learn and practice. This book is definitely great until advanced level, as it will be so enjoyable to play and you will never get bored. All 25 pieces have beautiful melodies and so enjoyable to learn and most importantly...the speed.I listened to the CD and it helps so much to feel the speed; and with such lovely melodies, I could not get bored.This book is sooo worth it to have in your collection.I'm so glad I have it in my collection.
Play on :)

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Product Description:
Burgmuller's most famous work, the 25 Progressive Pieces, are short compositions with descriptive titles. Easier than his Opp. 105 and 109, each selection exposes students to a different technical challenge with the main emphasis on the phrasing, articulation, and dynamics often found in Romantic piano music. The collection includes "Arabesque" and "Ballade," both popular with many early-intermediate pianists.

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Czerny Art of Finger Dexterity, Op. 740, Complete" (Kalmus Edition) [Paperback] Review

I haven't gone much further in the book, but, based on the few exercises I have gone throu, I feel a great improvement in the security of my fingers to play.

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Product Description:
An intermediate/advanced piano study by Karl Czerny.

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Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, Opus 43" (Belwin Edition) [Paperback] Review

Many people are familiar with the 18th variation of "Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini" from the movie "Somewhere in Time."It's a very romantic piece.If you familiar with the 18th variation only, youshould treat yourself to listening to all the variations played back toback in the "Rhapsody."
This book has those variations whichhave been reduced by Rachmaninoff for two pianos/four hands.I wish, ofcourse, it had been a piano solo, because I would probably get a lot moreuse out of it.
"Rhapsody" is strictly for the advanced pianist. This edition has no fingering notations which would have been helpful forall except the most advanced players.And, those players may findRachmaninoff's "Rhapsody" not as challenging or rewarding becauseof the repetition involved in its themes.However, I find"Rhapsody" very rewarding to play largely due to its romanticthemes and its capacity for expressive interpretations.The 18th variationplayed by itself is an enjoyable recital piece.I give this book myhighest recommendation.

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Product Description:
Sergei Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, for advanced piano duet.

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Songs without Words (Complete) (Alfred Masterwork Edition) [Plastic Comb] Review

I always like the layout and look of the Schirmer editions, but I ended up returning this one in favor of an urtext edition because it was so heavily edited.It seemed that nearly every measure had some editorital addition, and while I don't mind a little bit of commentary to clear up a phrasing or dynamic issue, this was really over the top.

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Product Description:
These 48 pieces were composed over a period of two decades, beginning in 1832, and published in eight groups of six each. Many of these songs were dedicated to the women in Mendelssohn's life and reflect the sunniest qualities of his melodiousness, spontaneity and invention. Maurice Hinson has skillfully researched and edited these works back to their original form and provides a very informative introduction, which includes many detailed suggestions for a stylistic interpretation and performance, as well as biographical information on the composer's life.

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Meet the Great Composers: Book 2 (Learning Link) [Paperback] Review

Granted, if you paid for the book and CD, you should get them both. However, this is a valuable resource and interesting workbook for all ages just by itself. It contains many pictures, short histories of the composers and a puzzle or game about each one. Children and adults like this and I have used this for teaching for years.

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Product Description:
Each unit on a famous composer takes approximately 20 minutes to complete and can be used in group teaching, home school or as an assignment for individual upper elementary or middle school students. The Classroom Kit contains the book and CD combo and reproducible activity sheets. The companion repertoire book contains simplified arrangements of famous themes.

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Mozart 21 of His Most Popular Pieces: Alfred Masterwork Edition [Paperback] Review

The Alfred Masterworks Editions are my favorite piano music books. I've been playing the piano for about 20 years, and these are the best series of books I've used. They have very good, clear notations, the arrangements are really well presented and put together, the fingering recommendations are the best I've seen (with the little numbers by the notes), and the biographical information and performance recommendations are a nice touch.

I only wish they had more books in the series.

This Mozart book is a good starter for someone who hasn't played Mozart before, and is looking to get better acquainted with his music.

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Product Description:
Some of Mozart's most popular works are contained in this volume, including the "Fantasia in D Minor," the "Sonata in C Major" (first movement) and the "Turkish March" from the Sonata in A Major. Other selections include intermediate-level transcriptions from operas and orchestral works. Arranged in the order of difficulty, each piece is prefaced by a short description. A biographical sketch of the composer is also provided.

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Carmina Burana: Vocal Score (Schott) [Paperback] Review

This book has the full vocal score, well-printed, well laid-out.If you're doing Carmina, you want this score!Clear type, adequate size, good binding, and you can see what the other parts are doing, which really helps most choral singers.

Expensive, but worth it.Particularly if you're going to do Carmina maybe 5-10 times in your career.

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Product Description:

Piano reduction of the score with vocal parts.

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Complete Lyric Pieces for Piano [Paperback] Review

I have enjoyed flipping through the book and playing pieces at random. The pieces are so beautiful and unique. Some of them are easier to play than others, but most of them could be played at first sight. It's a great addition to my classical sheet music collection.

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Product Description:
All 66 works from the ten sets of little mood pictures created for piano by the Norwegian composer from 1867 to 1901, reprinted from the authoritative C. F. Peters edition. Technically uncomplicated and reasonably easy to master, these popular works have been favorites of generations of pianists, both amateur and professional.


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Piano Repertoire / Level 1 (David Carr Glover Piano Library) [Paperback] Review

I got what I wanted in a very timely manner.I could not ask for more.

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Product Description:
The REPERTOIRE books are written to supplement and reinforce the music fundamentals that the student is learning at this level of advancement. They may be used with any Piano Course or Library. The books of the Primer Level and Levels 1 and 2 present familiar folk songs and original solos. Level 1 of 6.

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Sonatina Album for the Piano (Book & CD) (Alfred CD Edition) [Plastic Comb] Review

I have the same Sonatina album , but a different edition without the ring binding. It is really difficult to open flat.The ring binding is really useful. The CD recording is not too clear though. The sound is a little fuzzy.

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Product Description:
Originally compiled and edited by Louis Köhler, this edition contains some of the most popular keyboard sonatinas, rondos and other works (including symphonic transcriptions) of Beethoven, Clementi, Haydn, Kuhlau and Mozart, among others. In clarifying this edition, editor Allan Small has removed impractical fingerings and unnecessary accidentals found in other editions.

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Etudes For the Piano: Complete (Alfred Masterwork Edition) [Plastic Comb] Review

This edition is awesome. It has a plastic spiral that lets the book open and lay flat, and in comparison to books without it this feature is definitely better.

The measures are numbered and they are spaced evenly throughout the pages. There is no crowding of notes and footnotes are kept at the bottom. The font and note color is big and black too.

Overall this takes the cake because Chopin's Etudes are so difficult the edition must be as clear to understand as possible.

I only wish that Alfred publishing would make more complete editions like this of other artists such as Beethoven and Debussy. In any case this edition is superior to the Schirmer editons.

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Product Description:
Although each study emphasizes an aspect of virtuoso piano technique, the etudes are some of the most effectively moving of all the concert works in piano literature. This 144-page volume includes the 24 Etudes, Opp. 10 and 25 as well as the three etudes without opus numbers composed in 1839 for Moscheles and Fetis's Method of Methods. Pedaling is taken from the original manuscripts and first editions, and fingering is editorial.

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Pianist's Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature [Paperback] Review

This book would be particularly useful for piano teachers or for adult students of piano who are trying to expand their repertoire.It would be less useful for an advanced pianist (which I am not), as the rating scale is too simplistic and many well-known, but very difficult, works are not included.
There is a great selection of pieces from both well-known and very obscure composers, and includes virtually every significant teaching piece that one might think of.Each piece is graded in difficulty from 1-10.The grading is not as detailed as that used by Wolters, where each piece is given a separate grade for both technical and musical difficulty, but the grading is quite accurate and helpful in selecting pieces that you can actually play, if you're not a top-notch pianist.The biggest advantage of this book over other piano repertoire books is the very extensive coverage of twentieth-century music, including even some pieces for prepared piano, so it's a good place to look for some new stuff to play to annoy your friends and neighbors.
A minor weakness of the book is the lack of headings at the top of each page, which makes it sometimes irritating to use as a reference, since you may have to page forward or backwards several pages to figure out where you are in the alphabetical listing of composers.The typesetting and page layout make it look a bit amateurish, although it is carefully edited and doesn't contain a lot of typographical errors.

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Product Description:
This reference book is an invaluable resource for teachers, students and performers for evaluating and selecting piano solo literature. Concise and thoroughly researched, thousands of works, from the Baroque through the Contemporary periods, have been graded and evaluated in detail. Includes an alphabetical list of composers, explanations of works and much more.

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Everlasting Praise (Alfred's Sacred Performer) [Paperback] Review

I have not played classical music in many years, but I have really enjoyed the blend of these well known classical pieces used in conjunction with hymns.

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Product Description:
In her collection, Everlasting Praise, Cindy Berry provides us with delightful arrangements for the late intermediate to early-advanced pianist of some of her favorite hymns. The pieces are both uplifting and inspiring, conveying the true spirit of praise.

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The Well-Tempered Clavier: 48 Preludes and Fugues, Vol. 2 [Paperback] Review

I appreciate what the Kalmus press has done to give helpful footnotes for the ornamentation and the score layout is very clean and spaced well. A good "easy" read, that is relatively easy...if you know the pieces in this book you'll know what I'm talking about!

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Product Description:
A newly engraved edition of the 48 preludes and fugues, Volume II for piano was edited by the noted Bach expert Dr. Hans Bischoff. It includes a table of embellishments and a preface from Dr. Bischoff. KALMUS EDITIONS are primarily reprints of Urtext Editions, reasonably priced and readily available. They are a 'must' for students, teachers, and performers.

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Daily Technical Studies for Piano (Kalmus Edition) [Paperback] Review

This classic is one of the best piano exercise books you can buy. It covers all the major techical problems of the piano. To name a few: finger independence, chord and scale passages, hands crossing, extensions, wrist vs finger action, etc.

Please note, however, this is not an easy book. That happens very much because (but that is one of the book's great advantages) the exercises are made to be practised in all the scales, contrary to a book like "Hanon", so I would recomend it to any pianist who has a two-three years experience and has made the first part of "Hanon" exercises.

Many exercises are the most boring you can get, but belive me, it is worth the effort. Just try this book for a week and you will certantly see a difference.

This is also a great work for correcting hand problems like bent fingers or streched out ones, bad wrist position, etc.

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Product Description:
This new Kalmus Edition offers pianists a complete set of technical exercises, from simple warm-ups through more advanced studies. Also includes a compendium of scales in various forms, a modulatory section, and a glossary of musical terms.

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Johann Sebastian Bach: Six Partitas and Overture in French Style (Kalmus Edition) [Paperback] Review

The book was a good condition and delivery time was
reasonably quick.
I'd order more if delivery charge wasn't so high.
If I purchase several books at a time, will I be able to save on delivery fee?

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Product Description:
Newly engraved edition of the Six Partitas and French Overture for piano.

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Canon in d Plus 12 Masterpieces [Paperback] Review

There's plenty for an intermediate piano student to master here: as approachabe as Fur Elise or considerably more difficult.Quality paper and sharp print.

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Product Description:
Robert Schultz provides a collection of 13 world-famous pieces for piano. These upper-intermediate original pieces and transcriptions will delight every advancing pianist. Included are such favorites as Canon in D * Nessum Dorma * O Mio Babbino Caro * Moonlight Sonata * Clair de Lune * Fur Elise and seven others.

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Nocturnes and Barcarolles for Solo Piano [Paperback] Review

Of course pianists should have this wonderful book, just don't assume it's complete.Fauré actually wrote a thirteenth Nocturne (in B minor) and a thirteenth Barcarolle (in C major), neither of which is included here.Both of these are characteristic late Fauré, but the Nocturne #13 is particularly not to be missed.I was just playing it over tonight and was amazed by the dark drama of the music.It's as Fauré's biographer Jessica Duchen said, that it seems to stare death in the face.
Both the Nocturne #13 and the suave, tranquil Barcarolle #13 are available individually from Masters Music Publications, and I would suggest that pianists supplement this book with both of those works to make a complete set of Fauré's nocturnes and barcarolles.

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Product Description:
The music of Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) is an important link between the innovations of late Romanticism and the experimentation of the early 20th century. A student of Saint-Saëns, he, in turn, taught Ravel and was a mentor to the young modernists of Les Six. These 12 nocturnes and 12 barcarolles, composed over a span of 40 years, document his move from Romanticism to the frontiers of 20th-century music. Reprinted from authoritative French editions.


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