The Virtuoso Pianist, Volume I: Piano Book

This Kalmus edition pairs Hanon's essential technical material with Alexander Lipsky's interpretive guidance and alternative fingerings, giving advanced students multiple pathways through the same exercises. The added foreword and refined fingering options make these 24 pages far more pedagogically flexible than a straightforward reprint, allowing teachers to address individual hand shapes and technical approaches without abandoning Hanon's core pedagogical intent.

Methodical and purposeful. These exercises strip away ornament to reveal the mechanics of clean, even finger work and rapid passagework. The Romantic-era language, though simplified from concert repertoire, carries musical intention; you are not merely drilling mechanics but training the hand to execute with musicianship.

Advanced pianists who need systematic reinforcement of finger independence, evenness, and technical control. This volume serves serious students preparing for conservatory-level study, as well as teachers building structured technical curricula for accomplished students beyond the early intermediate stage.

• Attend to finger curvature and weight distribution throughout each exercise; Hanon's patterns expose tension and positional habits that pure speed-work elsewhere might mask.
• Use Lipsky's alternative fingerings as diagnostic tools. If a student struggles with the original fingering but thrives with the alternative, that tells you something real about their hand development and technical readiness.
• Work through these exercises at multiple tempos across multiple sessions rather than racing to performance speed. The value lies in precision at manageable speeds first, then gradual acceleration.
• Connect the isolated technical work to repertoire the student is learning simultaneously; Hanon exercises should reinforce and support, not replace, engagement with actual compositions.

Assign these exercises as supplementary technical work alongside repertoire rather than as concert material. They function best as weekly studio assignments, 10-15 minutes at a time, supporting the technical demands of the pieces your students are actively preparing for performance.

• Finger independence and dexterity across all five digits
• Even tone production and consistent velocity across fast passagework
• Hand position control and curved finger technique
• Rapid scalar and arpeggio patterns with precision
• Recognition of technical patterns common to Romantic and early modern repertoire