Best Collection for Adult Piano Students: 30 of the most important and beloved classical piano pieces

Why this collection?

These are the editions I created and use for myself and my adult piano students. They are not "arrangements" or simplifications in any way. They are better described as "clarifications" with clean page layouts and comprehensive fingering.

These editions enable students to encounter the composers "face to face" by stripping away antiquated publishing conventions. Traditional editions, especially the economical older ones, prevent students from being able to prepare and perform the beloved music, rather than enabling and supporting successful performance.

Traditional piano music publications suffer from two fatal flaws: (1) the economic need to "save paper" resulting in page layouts that are too dense, and which compound the problem by obfuscating the natural 2 and 4 bar structures of music, and (2) the absence of technical solutions (fingering).

The exception in this collection is the arrangement of the Pachelbel Canon in D, because it was not originally composed for keyboard.

Contents

1 Canon in D and#8195; and#8195; and#8195; and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195; and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;Johann Pachelbel

2 Prelude No. 1 in C Major, BWV 846 and#8195; and#8195; and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;Johann Sebastian Bach

3 Prelude No. 2 in C minor, BWV 847 and#8195; and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;Johann Sebastian Bach

4 Prelude No. 21 in Bb Major, BWV 866 and#8195; and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;Johann Sebastian Bach

5 Aria from the Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 and#8195;and#8195; and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;Johann Sebastian Bach

6 Invention No. 1 in C Major, BWV 772 and#8195; and#8195;and#8195; and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;Johann Sebastian Bach

7 Menuet No. 2 from French Suite No. 1, BWV 812 and#8195;and#8195;and#8195; Johann Sebastian Bach

8 Menuet No. 2 from English Suite No. 4, BWV 809 and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;Johann Sebastian Bach

9 Menuet from French Suite No. 2, BWV 813 and#8195; and#8195; and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;Johann Sebastian Bach

10 ?Jesu, Joy of Man?s Desiring?, from Cantata, BWV 147 and#8195;Johann Sebastian Bach

11 Sarabande from Suite in D minor, HWV 437 and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195; George Frideric Handel

Sonata in A, K. 331 ?Rondo alla Turca? and#8195; and#8195; and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

12and#8195;and#8195;III. Allegretto

Sonata in C, K. 545 and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

13and#8195;and#8195;I. Allegro

14 II. Andante

15 F�r Elise and#8195; and#8195; and#8195; and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195; Ludwig van Beethoven

Sonata No. 14 ?Moonlight? Sonata and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;Ludwig van Beethoven

16and#8195;and#8195;I. Adagio sostenuto (transposed to D minor)

and#8195;and#8195; I. Adagio sostenuto (original key C# minor)

Sonata Op. 13, No. 2 ?Pathetique? and#8195; and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195; Ludwig van Beethoven

17and#8195;and#8195;I. Grave/Allegro

18and#8195;and#8195;II. Adagio

19 Impromptu, Op. 90, No. 2 and#8195; and#8195; and#8195; and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195; Franz Schubert

20 Prelude in E minor, Op. 28 and#8195; and#8195; and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195; Fr�d�ric Chopin

21 Prelude in C minor, Op. 28 and#8195; and#8195; and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195; Fr�d�ric Chopin

22 Nocturne No. 20 in C# minor and#8195; and#8195; and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195; Fr�d�ric Chopin

23 Nocturne in Eb, Op. 9, No. 2 and#8195; and#8195; and#8195; and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195; Fr�d�ric Chopin

24 Tr�umerei Op. 15, No. 7 from ?Scenes from Childhood? Robert Schumann

25 St�ndchen (?Serenade?) D. 957/S. 560 and#8195; and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195; Franz Schubert/Franz Liszt

26 R�verie and#8195; and#8195; and#8195; and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;Claude Debussy

27 La fille aux cheveux de lin (?The Girl with the Flaxen Hair?) Claude Debussy

28 Arabesque No. 1 and#8195; and#8195; and#8195; and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;Claude Debussy

29 Clair de Lune and#8195; and#8195; and#8195; and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195; Claude Debussy

30 Gymnopedie and#8195; and#8195; and#8195; and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195;and#8195; Erik Satie

This collection of intermediate piano solos includes 20 arrangements of favorite classical pieces frequently used for weddings. All the songs in this collection are well-suited for processionals and recessionals of the ceremony participants (bride, groom, bridesmaids, groomsmen, parents/family, flower girl, Bible boy, ring bearer, etc.). Several of these songs can also be used as part of the prelude, as interludes during candle-lighting, or as background music for a reception.

These arrangements were created to make challenging classical music more accessible for the intermediate player or easier to sight-read by more advanced players (comes in handy when asked to perform on short notice). Another feature of these arrangements is they are consistent at the intermediate to advanced-intermediate skill level throughout each piece. Many have been simplified and only include excerpts from the longer original movements. Other simplified characteristics include easier key signatures, timings, and fingerings and some melodies were modified to create a more contemporary sound.

Each of the 20 arrangements is also available separately with accompanying preview pages and audio samples.

Titles in this collection include:
Air from ?The Water Music? (George Frideric Handel)
Arrival of the Queen of Sheba from ?Solomon? (George Frideric Handel)
Bridal Chorus from ?Lohengrin? (Richard Wagner)
Clair de Lune from ?Suite Bergamasque? (Claude Debussy)
Fanfare (Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens)
F�r Elise (Ludwig van Beethoven)
Grand Processional from ?Symphony No. 1? (Johannes Brahms)
Hornpipe with Bourr�e from ?The Water Music? (George Frideric Handel)
Jesu, Joy of Man?s Desiring (Johann Sebastian Bach)
Largo from ?Xerxes? (George Frideric Handel)
Lascia Ch?io Pianga from ?Rinaldo? (George Frideric Handel)
Prelude No. 1 in C Major (Johann Sebastian Bach)
Rondeau from ?Theme from Masterpiece Theater? (Jean Joseph Mouret)
Serenade from ?Swan Song? (Franz Schubert)
Sleepers, Awake from ?Cantata No. 140? (Johann Sebastian Bach)
Spring from ?The Four Seasons? (Antonio Vivaldi)
St. Anthony Chorale from ?Variations on a Theme of Haydn? (Johannes Brahms)
Trumpet Tune (Jeremiah Clarke)
Trumpet Voluntary (Jeremiah Clarke)
Wedding March from ?A Midsummer Night?s Dream? (Felix Mendelssohn)