The Young Pianist's Repertoire, Book Two: Piano Book

This book cuts straight to the point: intermediate pianists need pieces that sound like something, not etudes masquerading as music. Waterman's curation is distinctly ambitious for the level, pulling from Bach's inventions, Mozart's easier sonatas, and Schumann's lyrical writing rather than filling pages with pedagogically neutral filler. Students emerge from this book having actually studied real composers in their original voices.

Opening this book is like being handed the real thing. The Bach feels like thinking in counterpoint, the Mozart like conversing with elegance, the Schumann like stepping into intimate, lyrical storytelling. Each page carries the weight of serious musical culture without demanding heroic technical feats, leaving room for genuine musical understanding to develop.

Intermediate pianists, typically ages 9-14 or equivalent adult beginners, ready to move beyond simplified arrangements and engage with genuine art music. This book suits students in private study who need a varied, coherent repertoire collection and those preparing for competitions or formal recitals at the intermediate level.

• Approach the Bach pieces as keyboard studies in voice leading and independence of hands; resist the urge to rush these early compositional forms, which reward clarity and careful listening to inner lines.
• Use the Classical-era movements (Mozart, Schubert) to establish consistent phrasing and shape, thinking in full musical sentences rather than note-to-note progression.
• Let the Romantic pieces (Schumann, Tchaikovsky) breathe; these benefit from subtle rubato and expressive pedaling once the notes are secure.
• Test your ear against the Bartók selections, which introduce modern harmonic language; resist over-interpreting these pieces into romantic expression they don't ask for.

Build a recital entirely from this collection, moving chronologically from Bach through to Bartók to showcase the student's growing command of different musical languages. Alternatively, draw single pieces from this book as standalone recital selections; the variety means you can program something appropriate for nearly any concert context at the intermediate level.

• Reading and interpreting Baroque counterpoint and voice independence
• Classical-era phrase architecture and formal structure
• Romantic expressive techniques including rubato and pedal color
• Modern harmonic language and non-traditional tonal contexts
• Interpretation of composers' original intent across centuries of musical style
• Sight-reading and learning efficiency through exposure to diverse musical languages