Reviewed by annieb123 on
A First Book of Mozart Expanded Edition: For The Beginning Pianist with Downloadable MP3s is precisely as described; a collection of 39 famous Mozart pieces, arranged for piano in order of difficulty and curated by David Dutkanicz. Originally published in 2005, this reformat and re-release (with downloadable MP3 content) was released 15th Dec 2021 by Dover. It's 64 pages and is available in paperback format.
These are perennial pieces and standard repertoire for students of music. Eine Kleine Nachtmusik is naturally represented with two pieces (the allegro and romanze), and there are other expected selections, but there are some delightful surprises as well: Ave Verum Corpus and the Piano Concerto No. 23 in A (allegro/introduction only). The arrangements are accessible and sensible and are not so overly simplified as to render them unrecognizable.
The text and printing are high quality and contrast, rendering them easy to see and understand. Notations are standard. The MP3 downloadable content comes standard with the book and can be accessed by QR code and link. The music files are recorded precisely as arranged, allowing students to hear what they should be playing as written.
Five stars. Classic music. It would be a good selection for public or school library acquisition, self-paced learning, or formal piano instruction.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 8 March, 2022: Finished reading
- 8 March, 2022: Reviewed