Contemporary Piano Literature, Book 2: Piano Book

A window into a century of musical innovation filtered through composers' genuine interest in writing for young hands. The music ranges from lyrical and lyrical to rhythmically playful, but never loses sight of being pianistically sensible and emotionally clear.

Late elementary students ready to move beyond traditional pedagogical material and encounter real twentieth-century voices. Players at this level need repertoire that challenges their musicality without overwhelming their technical grasp, and this book delivers exactly that balance.

• Study the composer biographies before rehearsing each piece; understanding the historical moment and the composer's intent sharpens interpretive choices and makes practice sessions feel purposeful.
• Listen to at least one recording of pieces by Bartók, Prokofiev, or Shostakovich before performing them, as these styles often carry unfamiliar harmonic and rhythmic gestures that benefit from aural reference.
• Pay close attention to dynamic markings and articulation notations in twentieth-century repertoire; these composers use them architecturally to shape phrasing in ways that differ from Romantic-era conventions.

Thread individual pieces throughout the year as students gain confidence with twentieth-century harmony and texture; a Kabalevsky or Gretchaninov piece works beautifully in a spring recital, or group several contrasting selections into a thematic contemporary showcase. The modest page count makes it ideal for supplementing a larger curriculum without demanding extensive preparation time.

• Reading twentieth-century harmonic language and modality
• Executing rhythmic patterns beyond common time signatures
• Balancing non-traditional chord progressions with musical phrasing
• Understanding articulation and dynamics as primary expressive tools
• Developing independence between hands in contrapuntal textures