The success story of Diabelli's 'Melodic Exercises' Op. 149 for piano duet has lasted now for almost 200 years. They are beautiful melodies covering a range of only five tones, perfectly suitable for beginners, with refined and brilliantly designed accompanying settings in the Secondo part. To this day, the pieces are very popular among pupils, teachers and music lovers. Diabelli, born in 1781, was not only a respected piano teacher and composer in Vienna, but also a busy music publisher and friend of Ludwig van Beethoven who jokingly called him 'my diabolus' from time to time. Sometimes he sent themes composed by himself to the then famous composers, asking them to write and return to him some variations on these themes. This led to the creation of the famous Diabelli Variations by Beethoven, a demanding piano work which is performed in the concert halls all over the world still today.
Hopefully, Mr Diabelli .would not mind some of his wonderful five-tone melodies .being transported into the world of swing, samba and other forms of expression, as has been .done .in this volume. Apart from some arranged melodies from Opus 149, this volume also contains a few newly arranged pieces, all of them inspired by Diabelli's idea to make music with five fingers as varied as possible. The .original arrangement of the keys has been maintained. New .inspiration for piano lessons and four-handed piano playing!

It is with the 'Slavonic Dances' Op. 46 that Antonin Dvorak won international breakthrough in 1878. Apart from Symphony No. 9, 'From the New World', and Cello Concerto Op. 104, they are among the best-known works by Dvorak.
Unlike Brahms in his 'Hungarian Dances', Dvorak did not use any original melodies but incorporated characteristic elements of Slavonic dance music in his own melodic invention.

This exciting new teaching method, by the renowned piano pedagogue Hans-Gunter Heumann is ideal for adults and young people looking to learn the piano from scratch, or for those returning to the piano after a break from playing. Using classical music as a basis for learning, this method introduces interesting, varied and well-known pieces right from the outset. The two method books have been carefully designed to progress in small manageable steps, beginning with simple fingering patterns and exercises, onto some of the most beautiful melodies and pieces from the baroque, classical and romantic eras, such as the Ode to Joy, Fur Elise and the Blue Danube Waltz. Leading the student through a range of exercises, repertoire pieces, theory checks, tips on practicing, playing and technique, and composer biographies, the process of learning is made interesting, informed and fun.
The four supplementary volumes present further material to help learning at each stage of the students' development, as well as offering up a wider range of beautiful pieces, for the solo pianist, or piano duet.

Christmas Carol Variations for Piano Duet, Book 2 is a second collection of fun variations based on 10 well-known Christmas carols that I originally wrote for 2 pianos, 4 hands. These are all available individually, but buying all 10 together gives you nearly 70 pages of music to enjoy at a price that means you are basically getting 10 pieces for the price of 6.
(Also available as a printed book through www.simonpeberdymusic.com)

The mp3 is of "Wassail Hiccup and Trip up"

NB The Youtube clips below are of the versions for 2 pianos, 4 hands, but I have put them here to give an idea of the pieces (until I get sent video clips of some kind pianists who record these for me!)
1. Lullay Lullay (https://youtu.be/yfXnmCyfXxI)
2. Little Town of Bethlehem Charleston;
3. The First Noel Gymnopedie (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUlHWQ1zpsU)
4. Hark, the Herald Bluegrass Angels;
5. In the Bleak Midwinter;
6. Joy to the World - Funky! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAUaDHI7VBo or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHTcGZ0ZLiM)
7. O Little Town of Bethlehem;
8. Wassail Hiccup and Trip up (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PABjdC_O7pg);
9. While Shepherds Boogie Woogie;
10. Quem Pastores.

The mp3 is of In the Bleak Midwinter.

(Book 1 is also available with another 10 pieces)
The original a arrangements for 2 pianos, 4 hands are also available.

For more information, to view or listen to the pieces, or to discover more new music that may be of interest, please visit: www.simonpeberdymusic.com