(S4-5) PIANO PIECES by Otilie Suková Very little is known about the composer Otilie Suková (1878–1905), yet a great deal is known about her famous father, Antonín Dvorák. Nonetheless, Bärenreiter Urtext has presented pianists with a gem: a collection of four short piano pieces by this relatively unknown composer. The p...

Good teachers want to help students learn as efficiently and effectively as they can. Unfortunately, misconceptions about the brain and learning are rife in education (not to mention corporate training programs and late-night infomercials promising to unleash 90% more brain power), which can cause confusion, waste valuable time and financial resour...

Review by Ann DuHamel Debussy's Paris: Piano Portraits of the Belle Époque , by Catherine Kautsky.  The first time I heard Professor Catherine Kautsky speak at a conference, I was utterly entranced: she gave a captivating, lively, and energetic session that I still remember years later. Her enthusiasm for French music was palpable, and she pro...

( S2) Bastien New Traditions All In One Piano Course, 2B, 3A, 3B, by Lisa, Lori, and Jane Bastien. In a grand family tradition, these materials continue the recently published Bastien New Traditions All In One Piano Course by Lisa, Lori, and Jane Bastien. As with the first five levels in the new series (Primer A through 2A), Lessons, Theory, Techni...

What do you get when you combine an American folk tune with eighteenth century quintessential Classical style? "Yankee Doodle arranged as a Rondo" by American composer Benjamin Carr! Carr was British-born, but moved to the United States in 1793 and made his home in Philadelphia. Students often think of eighteenth-century Western music as something ...

  (S1-3) Imaginations Books 1 and 2, by Kevin Olson.   Kevin Olson has a knack for creating fresh and original sounds at every teaching level. While incorporating the reading, rhythmic, and technical skills needed to advance the piano student, Imaginations offers a wide variety of appealing pieces. With titles like "Android Attack," "Peng...