Myklas Contest Winners, Book 3: 12 Original Piano Solos from the Myklas Music Press Library: Piano

Book 3 delivers exactly what you need for a mixed recital or festival program: a dozen pieces with distinct characters that let students showcase different skills without requiring a second book. The composers here understand the intermediate level deeply, which means you're getting genuine musical ideas, not watered-down versions of "real" pieces.

These pieces sparkle with personality. You'll find character sketches (Detective Belvedere), dance rhythms (Dancing Senorita, Mississippi River Rag), impressionistic textures (Desert by Night), and pure technical showcase moments (Dynamotion, Off to the Races). Each piece has its own voice rather than being a variation on a single template.

Intermediate pianists preparing for festivals, competitions, or solo recitals. This collection works well for students who've moved beyond early intermediate but aren't yet ready for upper-level Romantic and contemporary literature.

• Work pedal changes slowly in pieces like Danse Romantique and Toccatina in A Minor; mark exactly where the foot moves before worrying about tempo.
• Approach the rhythmic syncopation in Jazzy Moves and Mississippi River Rag as dance steps rather than mathematical subdivisions; this helps students internalize the phrasing naturally.
• Let students choose their own tempo for pieces like Desert by Night and Apparition; these character pieces benefit from individual interpretation and won't fit neatly into metronomic precision anyway.
• The finger crossings and position changes in Detective Belvedere and Off to the Races demand map-it-out preparation; have students circle every hand position shift in pencil before the first full run-through.

Use this collection to fill out your spring festival season or to program a student recital where you want variety without thematic strain. Pull individual pieces for students working at different paces, or build a multi-piece program around the contrasting characters here. Several pieces are light enough for concurrent ensemble or group lessons.

• Pedal technique and sustain pedal timing
• Intermediate harmonic vocabulary and voice leading
• Rhythmic precision in syncopated and jazz-inflected passages
• Hand position shifts and efficient finger crossings
• Interpretation and tempo flexibility within character pieces
• Confidence in contrasting musical styles across a single recital