Emilie Lin has arranged five traditional melodies in her publication Hearts of Asia: Chinese Folk Songs, published by FJH. The first four pieces have lovely, cantabile melodies which are divided between the hands. They also have simple, beautifully written duet parts which could be played by a teacher, parent, or student at the early-intermediate l...

In her second recording of Haydn sonatas, American pianist Anne-Marie McDermott presents a dazzling display of scintillating articulation. The clarity of her tone is aptly suited for Haydn's humorous style, which dances to life in the finale movements of both the Sonata in G Major, Hob. XVI:39, and the Sonata in A-flat Major, Hob. XVI:46. Equally i...

New Music Reviews Editor's note Ho, ho, ho! The holidays are on the horizon. We know how it is for piano teachers (we're teachers ourselves). We frantically run to the music store, hoping to snag our favorites before the teacher with 120 students cleans out the inventory. Clavier Companion is here to help. This issue's holiday reviews will help you...

Six Progressive Sonatinas for the Piano Forte, Op. 36, by Muzio Clementi. Authentic Revised Edition ("With Considerable Improvements"), edited by Arthur Houle. This volume presents Clementi's ubiquitous Op. 36 Sonatinas in "the first and only definitive critical edition based on all the primary sources, with extensive notes on performance practice ...

(S3) From Sight to Sound: 6 Original PIano Solos, by Randall Hartsell.  Randall Hartsell composed From Sight to Sound to express the "interconnectedness of nature and our lives," and this collection contains six reflective pieces characterized by melodic simplicity and harmonic richness. The collection capitalizes on the piano's capacity for c...

Happy Holidays! (S1-4) We Three Kings, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, and Deck the Hall Hoedown, arranged by Wendy Stevens. For teachers wanting some fun and creative options to spice up their holiday recitals, three new arrangements by Wendy Stevens are fantastic choices. "We Three Kings" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" even invite the audienc...

First published in 1981, Cameron McGraw's useful Piano Duet Repertoire is an invaluable resource for teachers and ensemble pianists. In this second edition, duo-pianists Christopher and Katherine Fisher have updated and enlarged McGraw's volume to a book almost twice its original size. As in the first edition, the volume contains two appendices—"Co...

(S3) Preludes to Mastery, Books 1 and 2, by Chrissy Ricker. Chrissy Ricker's two books of preludes provide a fresh and varied assortment of pieces in Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Contemporary styles. There are twenty preludes in the two volumes; each is in a different key, thus offering students exposure to keys they might not visit often. Boo...

Sharing the stage with a duet partner can be an invigorating and exciting experience. Making music together is rewarding and provides our students with an opportunity to multiply the musical energy created on stage, creating bigger sounds and thicker textures. The process of working with a partner allows our students to deepen their musical skills ...

"Teaching is not what you say or do. Teaching is what you have the STUDENT experience in your presence." –Sam Holland  What do we want the student to EXPERIENCE in the lesson? I don't have to think about it very long to come to the conclusion that what I want my students to experience through their lesson is good music. Regardless of where the...

It's probably safe to say that most piano students have most of their ensemble experience playing duets with their teacher. This is a logical introduction into the art of collaborative performance and is both fun and worthwhile musically. However, in this format the teacher continues to "call the shots," so-to-speak, setting the tempo, and mak...