Reviews by Deborah Siepmann
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This collection is one of my all time great finds. It is clearly printed with notes that are a good size for comfortable reading, and is comb-bound which makes keeping the book open and turning the pages a stress-free experience! The ninety pieces are excellently chosen, with so many tried and tested favourites as well as a wonderful sprinkling of very attractive pieces that are less often played. If I were forced to recommend just one book for my pupils to spend their money on, it would be this, though I also love Quiet Classics, edited by Keith Snell and available at musicroom. Each of these collections includes pieces that the other doesn’t, but there is more of a selection with regards difficulty in Piano Classics, Ninety Timeless Pieces. And of course, there are 90 pieces as opposed to the 64 in Quiet Classics. And all for an unbeatable price!
This reviewers rating
I have always absolutely loved this beautifully chosen collection of pieces. Although if forced to recommend just one book for my pupils it would have to be Piano Classics, Ninety Timeless Pieces (also available at musicroom) Keith Snell’s Quiet Classics is very close to my heart and I would never want to be without it. It includes some gems that are not included in the other collection, such as the Andante from Beethoven’s Sonata op. 79 (a movement I have always thought of as Beethoven’s Venetian Boat Song) as well as the wonderful and less often played A minor waltz op post. by Chopin, the haunting Notturno by Grieg and Of Foreign Lands and People by Schumann. So many of my pupils have adored this book, and, like other collections edited by Keith Snell it has a very attractive cover which makes it a particularly nice present. The spiral binding is a great plus, the printing is clear and the notes are a comfortable-to-read size. A winner!
This reviewers rating
Frederick Stocken's Scale Shapes series, grades 1-5, is wonderful for giving reluctant scale practisers a boost. With the scale pattern and fingering clearly marked on a diagram of the piano keyboard, pupils are able to instantly play the most confusing of the scales perfectly, and with the greatest of ease. As the book description says, “This method is not designed to be a substitute for the acquisition of the ability to read staff notation, but the complications of staff notation are no longer linked to the physical complications of a given scale with this method” Stocken's method certainly makes learning and playing scales less daunting and much more fun. It also helps train eyes to watch the music, rather than the hands. And it's particularly valuable in teaching pupils who have Specific Learning Difficulties (dyslexia). This new edition is very welcome as it accomodates the new ABRSM exam requirements.