Audition Repertoire for the Intermediate Pianist, Book 2: Piano Book

This collection recognizes that intermediate pianists preparing for auditions or recitals need more than just a scattered pile of pieces. Two complete programs here mean your students have road maps for programming themselves. Magrath draws from genuinely substantial literature across centuries without asking students to play music that sounds thin or transitional.

These eight pieces span from the Baroque clarity of Pachelbel through Romantic character pieces to early 20th-century folk idioms. The overall arc moves from structural discipline through intimate expression and back to rhythmic energy, creating programs that feel both thoughtfully ordered and musically alive.

This book serves intermediate pianists preparing for auditions, competitions, or formal recitals. Teachers assembling repertoire for students ready to take on longer programs with genuine musical substance will find two complete recital sets that work as self-contained units.

• Approach the Baroque works (Intrada, Fugue, Pachelbel) with clarity of line and rhythmic precision. These pieces expose everything about hand independence and voice leading.
• Use the Romantic miniatures (Schubert and Chopin waltzes) to explore rubato and pedal voicing. Record yourself to hear whether you're sustaining the melodic line while keeping accompaniment textures clean.
• The programmatic pieces (The Storm, Folk Dance) gain power when you commit to their character. Don't hold back the drama in Burgmüller or the rhythmic vitality in Bartók.
• Build the Sonatina's first movement by understanding its two-part structure. Shape the opening theme with confidence, then let the development section show growth before the recapitulation lands with authority.

Present either program as a complete 30-minute student recital, or mix pieces from both programs to highlight different historical periods in a longer concert. Both selections work equally well for competition auditions where a diverse stylistic range is expected.

• Reading and performing Baroque counterpoint with clarity (two-voice and fugal writing)
• Executing period-appropriate rubato in Romantic miniatures
• Sustaining long melodic lines while managing independent accompaniment textures
• Interpreting programmatic and folk-inspired titles through musical character
• Managing hands-together coordination and voice independence across contrasting textures
• Building formal structures in single-movement sonata forms