I’m extremely honoured to have been invited to compile a new anthology for leading UK music publisher, Faber Music. This hefty volume is designed to be a gift book for anyone who enjoys playing, or who fancies exploring, a large and varied collection of piano works. A luxury hardback edition featuring high-quality premium paper, page finder ribbon and ‘The Concerto’ linocut cover image by Cyril Edward Power, this book would make a great Christmas gift for that ‘difficult to buy for’ amateur pianist relative! On a lighter note, it would also morph into a wonderful coffee table book.
Piano teachers and students requiring extra or alternative repertoire (post exams!), or sight-reading material, will enjoy the broad range on offer here, and many teachers have already remarked that they intend to use the book as part of the now famous 40 Piece Challenge devised by Australian composer and writer Elissa Milne.
The Faber Music Piano Anthology provides a musical journey through the history of piano music, starting with the late-Renaissance era, finishing in the mid to late Twentieth Century. It takes pianists from elementary (around Grade 2 ABRSM level) to advanced (Grade 8), and there are 78 original pieces in total, which I selected from Faber’s large catalogue of publications (containing around 400 works).
Well-known and favourite pieces rub shoulders with less familiar works, providing an interesting and eclectic mix. Here’s the content list – although the pieces don’t appear in this order in the book:
- Air (Water Music) (Handel)
- Alla Siciliana (Guilmant)
- Allegro (from Sonata in C major K545 – 1st movement) (Mozart)
- Andante (from Sonata in G K283) (Mozart)
- Arabesque (Op.100 No.2)(Burgmüller)
- Bagatelle (Diabelli)
- Berceuse (Op.13 No.7) (Ilyinsky)
- Chanson Triste (Tchaikovsky)
- Come With Us! (from On An Overgrown Path)(Janáĉek)
- Consolation (Op.30 No.3)(Mendelssohn)
- Consolations (S172 No.1, Andante)(Liszt)
- Danse Lente (Franck)
- The Fall of the Leafe (Peerson)
- Fantasia in D minor (K397) (Mozart)
- Fröhlicher Landmann (The Merry Peasant)(Schumann)
- Für Elise (Bagatelle in A minor, Wo059) (Beethoven)
- Gnossienne No. 1(Satie)
- Gymnopédie No.1 (Satie)
- Gypsy Dance (Haydn)
- Honey Humoresque (Dett)
- Interlude (Franck)
- Invocation à Schumann (Déodat de Séverac)
- La Fille aux cheveux de lin (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair)(Debussy)
- La Vision (Op.63 No.1) (Alkan)
- L’Avalanche (Heller)
- Le Petit Negre (Debussy)
- Lento (Op.16 No.4 from 5 Preludes) (Scriabin)
- Les pifferari (Gounod)
- L’harmonie des Anges (Op.100 No.21) (Burgmüller)
- Little Prelude in C (BWV 939) (Bach)
- Malagueña de España (Albéniz)
- Mazurka in C (Glinka)
- Mélodie (Op.10 No.5 (Massenet)
- Melody in F (Rubenstein)
- Minuet in G (Bach)
- Minuet in C (Scarlatti)
- ‘Moonlight’ Sonata (No.14 in C sharp minor) (Beethoven)
- Nocturne (from Sonata Romantica) (Britten)
- Old French Song (Tchaikovsky)
- Passepied (Delibes)
- ‘Pathétique’ Sonata (Op.13 No.8 – 2nd movement) (Beethoven)
- Piano Sonatina in G (Beethoven)
- Prayer (Op.43 No.2) (Glière)
- Prelude in C major (Bach)
- Prelude from Suite No.5 in C (Z666) (Purcell)
- Prelude in A major (Op.28 No.7) (Chopin)
- Prelude in B minor (Op.28 No.6) (Chopin)
- Prelude in B (Op.2 No.2) (Scriabin)
- Prelude in E minor (Op.28 No.4) (Chopin)
- Prelude (Op.36 No.3) (Lyadov)
- Rêverie (Borodin)
- Romance in G (Op.52 No.4) (Hummel)
- Romance sans Paroles (Op.17 No.3) (Fauré)
- Rondo alla Turca (from Sonata No.11 K331) (Mozart)
- Sarabande (from Suite in D minor) (Handel)
- Scherzo in B flat (D.593) (Schubert)
- Scherzo No. 2 (from Aquarelles Op.19) (Gade)
- Snuffbox Waltz (Dargomyzhsky)
- Soldatenmarsch (Soldier’s March) (Schumann)
- Solfeggietto (C.P.E. Bach)
- Sonatina No.3 (Clementi)
- Song (Reinecke)
- Study in A flat (Heller)
- Study in B minor (Op.139 No.98) (Czerny)
- Study in C (Op.17 No.6) (Le Couppey)
- Study in C (Op.63 No.1) (Köhler)
- Study in F (Op.65 No.25) (Loeschhorn)
- Sweet Dreams (Tchaikovsky)
- To A Wild Rose (MacDowell)
- To Alexis (Hummel)
- Toccatina in C major (Op.8 No.1) (Maykapar)
- The Top (from Humorous Bagatelles Op.11) (Nielsen)
- Träumerei (from Kinderszenen Op.15) (Schumann)
- Two-part invention No.8 in F major (Bach)
- Une Larme (A Tear) (Mussorgsky)
- Valse (Waltz) in A minor (B.150) (Chopin)
- Waltz in A flat major (Op.39 No.15) (Brahms)
- Waltz in A minor (from Lyric Pieces Op.12 No.2) (Grieg)
Reviews
‘Melanie Spanswick brings together a delicious collection of short pieces carefully chosen according to progressive level, variety and concision, but happily non-dependent on exam syllabuses. For those who need new choices for practising and sometimes feel a bit daunted by the quantity of options, and unsure of their difficulty, it helps to solve the problem in one easy package.’
Jessica Duchen’s Classical Music Blog (recommended as one of the Top 12 Books for Music Lovers 2016)
‘Melanie Spanswick is a pianist, teacher and composer well qualified to make this selection. Teachers will love having all these pieces in one book, young pianists will be inspired by it, and it could give returning adult players a renewed love for the instrument. ‘
Music Teacher Magazine (January 2017)
‘Overall, this is definitely a collection to cherish! The Faber Music Piano Anthology contains a fabulous variety of great music, beautifully presented. It not only represents a rather wonderful Christmas gift, but will surely stand the test of time to become a treasured source of pleasure and piano-playing enrichment. A truly outstanding publication!’
Pianodao blog (November 2016)
Publications
Melanie Spanswick has written and published a wide range of courses, anthologies, examination syllabuses, and text books, including Play it again: PIANO (published by Schott Music). This best-selling graded, progressive piano course contains a large selection of repertoire featuring a huge array of styles and genres, with copious practice tips and suggestions for every piece.
For more information, please visit the publications page, here.
Melanie Spanswick 
Looks like a beautiful book to have! Great selection !
I am hoping to acquire a new studio next year having travelled for two years – this would be absolutely perfect to display in the waiting room (and use, of course!) where it would inspire my students. The anthology appears to be beautifully laid out, and the fact that it features pieces that are accessible to such a wide range of age and experience levels is a real bonus.
Looks like a collection of my favourite pieces! This would make an amazing prize for a hard working student.
Great collection! As we say in my country, “may these books travel well”!!!
The piano came in time, we are a moment in that time and it is never too late to find yourself on the piano and playing your part in its rich History
Never to late to find yourself in Piano History
This is the kind of book that would be a true friend for life. Wonderful!
What a beautiful book! It would make a lovely gift for one of my students.
Such a beautiful book! Love that the selection includes pieces for pupils at all levels. I’d love to have this for my studio!
Lovely book – I think it’s a great selection of music.
Fantastic choices of repertoire and a lovely cover, it will be a great reference book for me and also for my students to play.
Hi Melanie, I just checked it out on Amazon. This is an amazing collection of works. What a great source for alternate repertoire and to explore music through the ages. They would be a great source for sight reading material too. I sure am interested in this anthology and would be very proud to have it in my music library.
This is super awesome. Great resource.
Great Collection
Great collection!!!
Faber books are fantastic, and this repertoire list looks like a must have.
Thanks Melanie! What a collection.
Looking forward to seeing this wonderful volume!
A great collection and perfect for an aspiring pianist.
What a gorgeous compilation with a fabulous collection! Great work!
Great Selections with some very interesting and not so well known composers and pieces ! Would be great to introduce to students in the pedagogy class. Congratulations !
You are very passionate and that shows in the beauty and quality of this publication. Congratulations!
My daughter just completed her Grade 8 this is the perfect music exploring companion. x
What a great collection.
This would be a lovely resource to have!!
This is beautiful!
I would love copy- for me and my students!
Looks like a wonderful book!
Entering another wonderful give-away. Thanks!
I would love to own this and use it with my 60 students! You did a great job with it!
A lovely book Melanie!
That would be an amazing resource book to pass onto one of my talented students.
She has been composing for a while , and loves getting her own copies of good scores.
Thank you
I have been looking forward to article about the new release and the content of the book. I would love to win a copy for myself.
Excellent anthology that would be nice to have on hand or to give as a gift.
Wishing you a very Happy Autumn…thankful for life and dedicTion to the art!
Dedication…😇
This is a lovely collection of pieces, Melanie. I would love to have it in my collection.
Thank you for offering the chance to win it.
I need a good companion book for my students. I think this is a good choice on my books library. I’m sure the book definitely could delight on my piano with the beautiful repertoire !
Awesome. My high school students have played many of these. Ready to introduce them to the younger ones.
What a lovely idea for an anthology. I agree that this collection would be a great gift for a student. It’s also handy having a wide range of pieces of varying levels in one publication.
Wonderfully compiled! A great resource for both teachers and students!
What a fabulous collection of music.
Great Collection!
Would love to introduce this to my piano students! It’s a great collection congratulations!
This looks like a collection to be very proud of. I’ll be ordering a copy for Christmas. (Unless I win the competition!)
What a stunning book with a fabulous collection of pieces! This would be a delight for me and my pupils.
Look forward to it!
A great collection of pieces spanning a wide ability range, beautifully presented. Thanks!
Looks very good!
this would be a ‘forever’ book for a student!
This anthology looks fantastic. It would be a great asset.
What a delicious and exciting collection of pieces! I would absolutely LOVE to receive a copy of your new Faber Music Piano Anthology! Though I have to admit I’m not sure whether I would should give it as a gift for my sister, use it in my teaching or just keep it for my own enjoyment?! Perhaps I’m going to need three copies!
I would love to own this – although I’m not sure the rather inadequate stand on my piano would cope!
What a great resource to have! Im in the second year of developing a proper program for an elementary and junior fine arts school. This volume would surely add to the small library we are building. Thanks so much for compiling this work.
Looks like a great anthology! Nice choice of repertoire.
What a beautiful book! It reminds me of “Music For The Home” a red hardback volume with gold lettering – it was found in every home that had a piano, and was a treasured possession. I learned the Moonlight Sonata and so many timeless works from it as a child. It would be brilliant if your new Anthology rekindled this, inspiring pianists young and old with the joy of beautiful music in a special edition, now with 21st century design. Of course, I would treasure my own copy too!
Oh I meant to say that the News Chronicle Musit for the Home was in every home in the 1950s !
What a collection of pieces!❤️ Would be fantastic to have it, though I might be late for the competition😬
What an absolutely stunning-looking book! This would make a great gift, for sure.
This fantastic collection would be a wonderful addition to my music library! Hope I’m not too late for the contest!
I’ve loved using all of the Faber music beginning with their first series of Adventure books and solo piano sheet music. This would be a lovely addition to my personal library and studio. Thank you for the opportunity.
What a beautiful collection of pieces. The books themselves are lovely too!
What a beautiful book!
Looks like a wonderful compilation!
My coffee table so needs this book. Thanks for making such a beautiful gift, Melanie.
Many thanks to all who took part in this competition which is now closed 🙂
Thank you.
A wonderful collection. Music worth playing and worth listening to. A rich selection for every piano lover!
Thank you. So glad you enjoyed the selection of pieces. 🙂