Alfred's Basic Piano Library: Recital Book 6 Cover Image

Alfred's Basic Piano Library: Recital Book 6: Piano Book

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Alfred's Basic Piano Library: Recital Book 6 Cover Image

Alfred's Basic Piano Library: Recital Book 6: Piano Book

By Willard A. Palmer, Morton Manus, and Amanda Vick Lethco

Level: 6

Item: 00-2499

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Description
The Recital Books congratulate students for a job well done by providing correlated repertoire to their Lesson Books that are based on concepts they've already learned. As a result, the pieces are quickly mastered. Recital Book Level 6 contains mostly original pieces of standard literature by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Chopin Debussy and Rebikov. Also included is the first movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

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Additional Details
Series: Alfred's Basic Piano Library
Publisher: Alfred Music
Page Count: 48
ISBN10: 0-7390-1289-4
ISBN13: 978-0-7390-1289-5
UPC: 038081001043
SKU: 00-2499

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About the Authors

Willard A. Palmer
Dr. Willard Palmer stands as an internationally recognized musician, educator, and scholar whose prolific career spanned multiple instruments and musical disciplines. Beginning as a child prodigy who performed piano on radio at age 13, he built his musical foundation under the piano instruction of Mae Vardeman, who fostered his improvisational gifts alongside solid technique. His early studies in piano and accordion set the trajectory for a lifetime of musical contributions.

Palmer's compositional output totaled 789 published works, encompassing accordion and piano methods, a Hammond Chord Organ method, guitar instruction books, numerous solo pieces, and choral compositions. His publications reached global audiences, having been translated into German, Japanese, French, Dutch, and Spanish. At the University of Houston, where he served on the music faculty, he pioneered the first successful college-level accordion courses, teaching for 18 years. His scholarly expertise in Baroque music ornamentation earned him worldwide recognition and formed the foundation for the prestigious Alfred Masterworks publication series.

Beyond his teaching and composing, Palmer directed the choir at Memorial Lutheran Church in Houston for an extended period and served as director of the Riemenschneider Bach Institute. His distinguished contributions to musicological research were honored with a Doctor of Humanities degree in 1971 and a Doctor of Music degree in 1983. He maintained active membership in the American Federation of Musicians, American Accordionists' Association, and American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
Morton Manus
Morton Manus served as president of Alfred Music Publishing Co., Inc. for over six decades, starting in the early 1950s. He inherited the company from his father Sam, who founded Manus Music in 1922 during New York's Tin Pan Alley era and later merged it with Alfred & Company in 1930. A trained clarinetist and pianist with a business degree from City College of New York, Morty joined the family enterprise in the late 1940s.

Under Morty's leadership, Alfred Music transformed from a popular sheet music publisher into a major force in music education. He spearheaded the creation of instructional series for accordion, guitar, piano, and recorder, positioning the company as an educational leader. The company's rapid growth prompted a strategic relocation of the main office to Los Angeles in 1975, with distribution operations moving to upstate New York. By 2005, Alfred Music had expanded internationally with offices in Australia, Germany, Singapore, and the UK, and acquired Warner Bros. Publications along with the EMI Catalogue Partnership.

Morty's sons Ron and Steve continued the family legacy, joining the company in 1988 and 1992 respectively. Together they sustained Alfred Music's development of world-class instructional methods and performance music while building its global presence and strengthening partnerships with major music publishers.
Amanda Vick Lethco
Dr. Amanda Vick Lethco is best known as co-author of Alfred's Basic Piano Library, the internationally acclaimed piano method created alongside Dr. Willard Palmer and Morton Manus. She served as Professor Emeritus of Piano Pedagogy at the University of Texas at Austin and maintained a private teaching practice across New York City, San Antonio, Austin, and Houston.

Her educational credentials span multiple prestigious institutions. Northwestern University granted her a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance, a Bachelor of Music Education degree, and a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance. She also studied with renowned pedagogues including James Friskin at Juilliard, Rudolph Ganz at Chicago Musical College, Douglas Moore at Columbia University, and Ruth Barr in Houston. Whitworth College in Brookhaven, Mississippi honored her with an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree.

Beyond her foundational work on Alfred's Basic Piano Library, Dr. Lethco co-authored Creating Music at the Piano with Dr. Willard Palmer. She performed recitals throughout the United States and conducted clinics and workshops on college and university campuses nationwide. Her teaching influence extended globally through workshops and clinics across Europe, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Thailand, and Indonesia. She appears in both the International Who's Who of Musicians and the World Who's Who of Women.

Why we love this

Level 6 students encounter genuine repertoire by composers they've been reading about all year rather than generic "teaching pieces." The mix of Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Chopin, Debussy, and Rebikov alongside the first movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata rewards their progress with music that sounds like real concert work, not simplified exercises. Palmer's careful curation ensures each piece draws on techniques already mastered, so students feel capable and accomplished rather than overwhelmed.

What to expect

A celebration of progress. The repertoire spans from the orderly architecture of Baroque counterpoint to the impressionistic shimmer of Debussy, with Romantic elegance in between. Each piece feels like an earned milestone rather than busywork, allowing students to sense themselves becoming "real" pianists.

Who it's for

Students completing Level 6 of Alfred's Basic Piano Library who are ready to perform actual repertoire from the standard piano canon. These are pianists who have built solid technique and music-reading skills and now deserve to experience the satisfaction of learning pieces by composers they recognize and respect.

How to get the most out of it

  • Study the Moonlight Sonata excerpt first if your student finds it intimidating; breaking it into measures and playing hands separately removes much of the mystery and reveals its lyrical beauty.
  • Record yourself playing the Baroque pieces (Bach, Haydn) to check for uneven phrasing and articulation; the clarity required at this level often emerges only through playback review.
  • Approach the Romantic composers (Chopin, Debussy) by listening to professional recordings beforehand; students at this stage benefit from hearing how rubato and pedal color shape interpretation.

How to use it

Use these pieces for year-end recitals, local competitions, or informal studio performances where students' families want to hear recognizable masterworks rather than pedagogical exercises. Pair selections with Lesson Book 6 assignments throughout the year so repertoire and technique develop in tandem, creating natural performance opportunities at quarterly or semester showcases.

Skills your students will build

  • Interpreting Baroque ornamentation and articulation conventions
  • Sustaining longer musical phrases across multiple systems
  • Balancing melody and accompaniment in two-hand independence
  • Understanding pedal color and texture in Romantic and Impressionist styles
  • Reading and performing at a broader dynamic and tempo range
  • Transferring technique concepts from lessons directly into recital repertoire

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