Creme de la Creme: Piano Book

Sheftel's curation does what many collections claim but rarely achieve: it balances genuine artistic merit with genuine playability. Each piece here stands on its own as literature, not as a stepping stone, which means students engage with real Bach, real Beethoven, and real Schumann rather than simplified versions.

A curated window into the classical piano tradition without condescension. The pieces range from contemplative baroque counterpoint to playful classical miniatures to early romantic expression, creating a collection that feels substantial rather than supplementary.

Late-elementary and early-intermediate pianists ready to expand beyond method books into genuine classical literature. This collection works for students building their concert repertoire or simply discovering what happens when composers across three centuries wrote for young hands.

• Spend time with the baroque pieces (Bach, Rameau, Duncombe) addressing the articulation and voicing conventions of their era. Early keyboard music often benefits from a lighter touch and clearer voice independence than students initially assume.
• Let the classical composers (Beethoven, Diabelli) inform your approach to phrasing and formal structure. These pieces reward careful attention to how musical ideas develop across a phrase.
• Explore the romantic sensibility in Schumann's contributions. This book provides an early introduction to the expressive possibilities students will encounter in later repertoire.

Extract individual pieces for student recitals throughout the year, or use the entire book as a winter concert program with minimal additional arrangement. The range of composers and styles also makes it valuable for period studies or comparative repertoire assignments in a broader music education context.

• Reading baroque articulation and phrasing conventions
• Understanding classical phrase structure and symmetry
• Developing independence between hands across different textures and registers
• Interpreting romantic expression in early-intermediate context
• Historical listening skills across three centuries of keyboard composition