I just can´t find "my" repertoire, and although this questions popped up here already plenty of times, I would appreciate your help on finding once more some good repertoire literature for somebody/me!
So, please let me specify as much as possible in detail what I am looking for:
I aim to beautifully play piano at a certain level (level 6 or 7 on a scale from 0 to 10). I am now playing level 4, and hope to have in 1 year a good grasp of level 5. Levels 6 might then be another 2 years, and level 7, who knows if I will ever reach it. I for sure will not have time to train hard enough to reach any higher level.
Thus, I on the long run will build up my personal library with pieces of level 4 to level 7, and therefore ask you for proper literature recommendations:

- I rank myself at the moment to play "SMP level 4 to 5" (according to preview pages of sheet music sold at sheetmusicplus.com); I am practicing at the moment Burgmüller´s "Arabesque", Beethoven´s "Für Elise" (complete), Schumann´s "Träumerei", Beethoven´s "Mondscheinsonate" ("Moonlight Sonate") (1. movement only), and will for sure be busy at this level for the next 6 month.

- I search for repertoire series/collections/books covering melodic and dreamy music from classic, romantic and impressionism.

- Original piano pieces shall only appear in their original version, but not as simplified arrangements.

- Arrangements of beautiful or famous pieces, which have NOT been originally written for piano are very welcome as well, but those books should then NOT mix much original piano music in, but clearly stay focused on original none-piano pieces.

- I much prefer editions which inform for each piece about the technical skills the pianist is recommended to especially keep an eye on: I am very satisfied with the book "Romantic Piano Anthology Vol. 1 Grades 1-2" by Nils Franke, which is organized in a graded way, provide short but beautifully melodic and short pieces: I for sure will follow this series, and also go for the other anthologies of this series. But I still search for much(!) more pieces!

What can you recommend me?

Look at the alfred collections....imho.


All you have mentioned is in my current bag of piano acheivments... though i often wonder just how well i play them... i think i am more judgmental of my playing than before.... a few years ago i thought i could play certain pieces.... now i know i am better bt still can improve...

Ignorance is bliss!

I spent already far too much time reading review comments on the web sites of the sheet selling online shops about different products, and I also checked the pages of some publishers (KJOS, ALFRED, etc.). I tried for days(!) to filter and to select some graded sheet literature, which is at my level and presents only original piano versions, but no arrangements. But I failed to find what I am searching for, because all the online published previews of candidate publications did not give me all the infromation I would need to make a decision.

I would need to visit a shop and hold some candidates in my hand, and things would be done. But travelling to some really good shop would cost more than the money I saved up for buying new sheets this year. Here is no shop around I would be aware of, which would offer a wider range of products. Actually, besides the local city´s music school library, which has some few, old (and almost rotten) sheets, I do not know about any shop around here offering more than a method book for 6 year old kids and maybe a book with piano transcriptions of some Beatles songs.

Could you specify me, which book or series of the "alfred collections" you are recommending? There are so many!

Its a little difficult without knowing what your personnel preferences are.... just about to have a session so ill have a root around my collection..

Alfred publications show the original publications with editorial suggestions in a lighter print.

Just read your post again and you have indicated...

I have a bumper book of classical works that has many of the well known pieces in... and is ring bound so good for being on the music stand... maybe something like that will be suitable... more than enough for a lifetime... its at the house though so will get the info later...

Check out Bastien. They have graded books. I have one I like but it is far away.

Thanks, Paul,
any recommendation is welcome!
I also placed my question as a same called thread in the Teacher´s forum. Let´s see what answers are coming in also from there.
Then I will next weekend again go to the online shops, hopefully with a decision in mind, and spend some first money of my 100 EUR budget which I in total allow me for this in this year!

Get youself a copy of Denes Agay's "Music for Millions" if you want a bunch of mostly classical pieces. You should also be able to handle more modern stuff like Yann Tiersen's *Amelie* soundtrack pieces or composers like Ludovico Einaudi.

In addition to anthologies, you might look at single-composer collections like Mendelssohn's Song Without Words and Grieg's Lyric Pieces. Each of these are collections of short character pieces at varying levels of difficulty, and many of them are accessible to intermediate players. If you like Traumerei, you might look at Schumann's complete Scenes from Childhood (Op. 15) from which it comes. Along with his Album for the Young (Op. 68), these two Schumann collections include other intermediate short pieces in a similar style.

You should also try Prokovief, his Music for Children (op. 65) is in your range of ability and contains some very nice pieces.
Here you can listen some of them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHXvpv2M09w

" the library of piano classics" published by amsco.... covers most stuff.... 350 pages so a big book, order no 66895 and $19.95 though my copy is ten years old... still for sale today...


Alfreds "chopin- an introduction to his piano works" is good, comes with a cd and very well presented, however the pieces arent the most populer.... its about the right level though... i am leaving it a year or so as i did start the waltz in a minor but hit a road block as so much more im doing right now.... silly really, think ill persue it as was pretty much all together...


'Great piano solos' by wise publications is all intermediate, theres a couple of different volumes and each has a selection of classical, film tunes, great standards, jazz, blues and show tunes.... good books.


Hope some of it helps you :-)

jawhitti: after last weekend narrowing down my search to "only" about 20 candidates I have "Music for Millions" in that list of mine! Can you confirm, what somebody commented elsewhere about that book series, that there are original versions in that book, and not simplifying arrangments for fitting pieces into a difficulty classification level "intermediate"?

Paul: can you confirm the same for "The library of piano classics"? And is this really early intermediate to intermediate level, or is it frequently requesting advanced skills? These books to me appeared like having also a lot of advanced stuff inside?

packa and torquenale: Thanks for your recommendations! I will keep them seriously in mind. Some of these composer books might even be available in the IMSLP, so that I can spend the money for multi-composer editions, where somebody still living put his efforts into and should earn something for it! I thank you for guiding me already in detail to some works of interest!

CHAS: Could you go more into detail? Bastien also has so much to offer, that I found myself unable to decide for something from their range of publications.

Marco, I have one of the Music for Millions books (Easy classics to moderns, red cover); in the foreword they say that all selections are in original form, not re-arranged or simplified. I think the same applies to the intermediate books.

Hi, dont think any of it is simplified.... the scope of the book is

90 pieces ranging from

Relatively simple notation ie 4 pieces from the little notebook (bach)

to fantasie impromptu (chopin) which is diploma level i believe.....

43 different composers....

All looks acurate though obviously there are different versions of pieces, however it isnt a book aimed at a level of pianist... its a library that any level pianist can pick and chose from.

:-)

This might be a place to start with individual scores.
Most of the scores should be available via IMSLP.

approx. grade 4-6 abrsm

easy but showy grades 3-5

The Essential Keyboard Repertoire series from Alfred isn't a bad place to start, either. Vol. 1 you should be able to handle now. Vol. 2 and 3 contain more difficult pieces. The series goes up to Vol. 6.

Hope you find something that works for you!

I used "Music for Millions" in college. I can attest that they are not altered or simplified one bit. The longest piece in the first volume is Clementi's Sonatina in C. Most pieces are about a page in size. I've never seen the intermediate volume.

Marco

For something different that also meets all your requirements you might try Puccini for piano solo: 38 inspired selections

These are beautiful arrangements of Puccini's highly melodic arias from 13 different operas.

I second the suggestion for the Library of Piano Classics. There's some easier and harder pieces in there as well, but they are not simplified arrangements. I really enjoy this book.

An unmentioned suggestion I have is "Essential Keyboard Repertoire: Vol. 1: 100 Early Intermediate Selections in Their Original Form Baroque to Modern," edited by Lynn Freeman Olson and published by Alfred. They are all short, unedited pieces. My teacher and I are just finishing this one up. I don't feel it will meet your criteria for "melodic and dreamy music from classic, romantic and impressionism" criteria, but it's a good technique builder, and will help with your reading. It won't explain what it is teaching however. I believe there are 3 volumes, the last consisting of 16 early-to-late intermediate sonatinas.

Happy hunting!