I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the celebrated pianist Nicolas Horvath for enthusiastically
bringing my Debussy works to public attention in their solo piano formats, both through his recent
recitals across France and through this Naxos Grand Piano release (GP822). In some cases these are
true piano pieces (like Toomai des �l�phants), in others they are piano reductions of orchestral scores
(like F�tes galantes), while in others they are piano solos in their own right that also exist in orchestral
versions (as in the incidental music for Le Roi Lear). Needless to say, most of these tracks are world
premi�re recordings, and this is certainly true of A Night in the House of Usher and its companion piece Un Jour affreux avec Le Diable dans le beffroi (?A Dreadful Day with the Devil in the Belfry?) which I arranged specially for Nicolas in November 2018 as a virtuosic, almost Lisztian paraphrase-fantasy. To remind us of the plot as the dramatic scenes unfold, Un Jour affreux avec le Diable dans le beffroi, like the start of No-ja-li) has a narrator (spoken in French by Florient Azoulay on the Grand Piano recording):

[After an overture rising from the underworld, with a polka and a citation of a chldren?s folksong Savez vous plantez les choux?, a carillon rings out]: Hearing it, the Dutch villagers start to count, with the bells of the belfry / 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 8, 9, 11, and 12 / Perfect! / 13!?!/ The bell rang 13 times / 13! / The Devil is here where the clock should be! / Damn! / The bells are cracked. / The Devil laughs fit to burst / He pulls from the pocket of his coat, a small dancing master?s violin / ?My God!? says the devil ? and he tunes his violin slowly / The Devil leads the villagers in a fantastic and relentless jig [making jokes at the expense of concertos by Beethoven, Brahms and Tchaikovsky] / The Devil directs the villagers towards the canal ? where he jumps to the other side, laughing all the time / The villagers try to imitate him, but they fall into the water. / [In Part 2] the villagers are transported to a hedonistic and lively Italian village. They are similarly transformed: the men have crooked hats ? the women have wide open bodices! They dance a mad Tarantella / 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 13 / shouting ?Hey there! (Hola?) / Jean, the young hero, makes a fervent prayer to God against the Devil / The prayer is answered and the bell again rings normally! / The expression of the Devil changes: he shudders! / Everything goes black / The devil disappears in a brief red glow ? / And the carillon and the bells chime as usual / 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 / Perfect! / But the Devil?s grinning face ap-
pears once again where the clock should be ? briefly

"More Easy Classical Favorites" is a collection of 12 famous classical works arranged for late elementary piano. These top-requested familiar classics have been carefully arranged for students in levels 2-3 of most piano method books. The accompanying video contains a sheet music and audio sample of each piece.

Included in this collection: Rondeau (Mouret), Trumpet Voluntary (Clarke), Musette (J.S. Bach), Morning Theme (Grieg), William Tell Overture (Rossini), Adagio Cantabile (Beethoven), The Blue Danube Waltz (Strauss), Prelude in E Minor (Chopin), Waltz of the Flowers (Tchaikovsky), Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (Tchaikovsky), Clair de Lune (Debussy), and Maple Leaf Rag (Joplin).

Like this collection but need a different level? Check out my "Easy Classical Favorites" (elementary piano) or "Intermediate Classical Favorites" (intermediate piano) collections here at Sheet Music Plus by clicking on my publisher name above!

About the arranger: Chrissy Ricker is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM) with a Master's degree in piano performance and pedagogy. Chrissy enjoys composing and arranging music to motivate and challenge students of all ages. In addition to the works she publishes through SMP Press, Chrissy's piano music is also published by Kjos Music Company and Piano Pronto Publishing. Her music has appeared on the piano contest lists of many state and national teaching associations, including the National Federation of Music Clubs. Visit Chrissy's website at www.chrissyricker.com.

The books in this series present study guides for masterworks, beginning at the early intermediate level, that the editors believe developing pianists should study and perform. Each book contains 20 study guides to pieces selected from the four main style periods. Book 5 contains selections for advanced pianists. Titles: Prelude from English Suite No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 808 (Bach) * Sinfonia from Partita No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 826 (Bach) * Air and Variations (?The Harmonious Blacksmith?) (Handel) * Sonata in E Major, K.380; L.23 (Scarlatti) * Sonata in C Minor (?Path�tique?), Op.13 (Beethoven) * Sonata in C Major, Hob.XVI/50; L.60 (I) (Haydn) * Sonata in C Major, K.330 (I) (Mozart) * Intermezzo in A Major, Op.118, No.2 (Brahms) * Fantaisie-Impromptu, Op.66 (Chopin) * Consolation No. 3 in D-flat Major, S.172 (Liszt) * Prelude in C-sharp Minor, Op.3, No.2 (Rachmaninoff) * Impromptu in A-flat Major, Op.142, No.2, Posth.; D.935 (Schubert) * Aufschwung (Soaring), Op.12, No.2 (Schumann) Sonatina, Sz.55 I. (Bart�k) * Ritual Fire Dance (De Falla) * Clair de lune (Debussy) * La fille aux cheveux de lin (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair) (Debussy) * Maple Leaf Rag (Joplin)