It’s time for a weekend competition. Faber Music publish some of the most innovative educational piano material on the market. And they offer a wide selection of piano anthologies, providing teachers and their students with the valuable opportunity to access a diverse and vibrant collection of music by numerous composers, all, as it were, ‘under one roof’. Their latest piano volume is a cleverly designed tome catering for those who enjoy their playlists.
Peaceful Piano Playlist is a generous compilation of 35 thoughtfully selected piano pieces from an interesting bevy of composers. As the title suggests, the emphasis is on ‘peaceful’, and it’s clear from the tasteful colour scheme on the front cover that Faber are continuing with their plight to encourage mindfulness: Mindfulness: The Piano Collection was published a few years ago to great success, and this new book represents a similar theme. It will no doubt strike a chord with teachers and students due to the current popularity of this subject, which seems especially significant in our often chaotic world.
Amongst the selected group of popular composers are J. S. Bach, W. A. Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Robert Schumann, Erica Satie and Ludovico Einaudi, who effortlessely rub shoulders with a lesser-known group of Contemporary writers; Max Richter, Chilly Gonzales, Alexis Ffrench, Poppy Ackroyd, Jessica Curry, George Winston, and Anne Lovett. Faber have also created a spotify playlist to accompany the book, enabling pianists to listen to each work.
I do like this concept, and I’m all for combining old favourites with Contemporary works. Having played through a few pieces in this collection, I particularly enjoyed Flora (by Henrik Lindstrand), Piano Piece, Imperfect Moments Pt. 4 (by Johannes Brecht), and Meeting Points at 2AM (by Ondrej Holý). Mainstream composers are represented by their most well-known, reflective pieces, such as Clair De Lune (Debussy), Prelude in C (J. S . Bach), and the second movement of the Pathétique Sonata Op. 13 (Beethoven).
I have one copy of this book to give away in my competition. To take part, leave your comment in the comment box at the end of this blog post, and I will announce the winner on Monday evening (British time). Good luck!
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 
This seems a lovely collection of pieces and would make a wonderful addition to my music library.
Thank you!
This collection is ideal for a relaxing meditative recital. But don’t mistake “peaceful” for “easy”! I find slow and relaxing music requires a good tone and well judged arm weight. Great for my students to study
I like the idea of combining current composers with composers of the past.
Thank you for opening our minds to peaceful meditation while playing.
What a neat compilation. Thanks for sharing.
In this day and age of meditation and yoga at the fore, learning beautiful peaceful pieces is extremely attractive to myself and my students.
What an intriguing collection! I must say, most of these are unfamiliar to me as someone who is much more versed in the world of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin etc than Einaudi, Richter etc. A quick listen on Spotify indicates there’s a wonderful world of contemporary repertoire I’ve been missing out on. Thanks for bringing this to our attention – Lots to explore and enjoy!
ah…wonderful…I need some peace. 3 teenagers at home GCSEs & A levels finally over and now the festival season with the angst for parents that that brings. Some peace before the results day would be much appreciated.
Ooh, sounds like a really interesting mix – hopefully no stressful key-signatures to upset the sightreading chill-out! 😉
I like this idea! Thank you for reviewing this book. 🙂
What an amazing compilation of beautiful pieces! Thank you for sharing us with your great concepts and spreading calmness with us through these beautiful pieces.
What an inspiring way to encourage students in mindful practice! An educational exploration of eclectic styles and interesting choice of composers.
Would like to experience the spectrum of tone colors by playing through these 35 compositions!
Many thanks to all who took part in this competition, which is now closed 🙂
A wonderful playlist to relax at the piano after a day of work.