Burgmuller, Czerny and Hanon: 32 Piano Studies Selected for Technique and Musicality.

by Ingrid Jacobson Clarfield. Aljged Publishing Co., Inc. (16320 Roscoe Blvd., 17.0. Box 10003, Van Nuys, CA 91410-0003), 2001.

The importance and practicality of teaching etudes to develop the young musician cannot be stressed enough. In these pieces, the teacher can find exercises to address phrasing, voicing, pedaling and rhythmic issues. Although we are fortunate as pianists to have such a wealth of material to draw upon, it can be overwhelming to create a sequence of etudes that will allow the student to develop in a logical order. This publication, compiled and edited by Ingrid Jacobson Clarfield, uses this dilemma to create a useful and satisfying solution.

The pieces are selected from three of the most important compendiums dedicated to the piano etude--Burgmuller's 25 Progressive Pieces, Op. 100, Czerny's Practical Methods for Beginnners on the Piano, Op. 599, and Hanon's The Virtuoso Pianist. Organized by difficulty into units consisting of eight pieces, each unit also emphasizes different aspects of technique and musicianship as it pertains to melody and accompaniment playing in the following arrangements: Unit 1 deals with melodic shaping and projection, and accompaniments of solid, broken and repeated chords; Unit 2 works to develop clarity in right-hand and left-hand melodies with sixteenth notes and slurs, in addition to voicing of more complex accompaniments; Unit 3 focuses on voicing triplet and double-third melodies, as well as shaping and voicing single-note and broken-chord accompaniments; and Unit 4 develops clarity of right-hand and left-hand melodies in sixteenth notes, double thirds, sixths and chords, shaping and voicing accompaniments in varied patterns and articulations.

Incorporating Hanon ...