Description
1) Sonata No. 16 in C Major/Mozart, 2) Liebestraum (Love Dream)/Liszt, 3) Canon in D Major/Pachelbel, 4) Melody in F/Rubinstein, 5) Scenes from Childhood/Schumann, 6) The Skater’s Waltz/Waldteufel, 7) Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C Major/J.S. Bach, 8) The Blue Danube Waltz/Strauss, 9) Piano Sonata No. 14 in C# Minor, first movement (Moonlight Sonata)/Beethoven, 10) Berceuse de Jocelyn/Godard, 11) The Merry Widow Waltz/Lehar, 12. Lullaby/Brahms, 13. Fantasie-Impromptu/Chopin, 14) Piano Sonata No. 8, 2nd movement (Sonata Pathétique)/Beethoven, 15) Serenade/Schubert*
*$60 if individual songs purchased separately
Songbook Review by MainlyPiano: “Re-Inventions: Classical Masterpieces Reimagined” is the companion sheet music book to Robin Spielberg’s 2020 album by the same name. Thirteen of the fifteen pieces are Robin’s arrangements of well-known classics and the other two were recorded from the original sheet music (JS Bach’s “Prelude in C” and the first movement of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata”). Three of the pieces are duets – one for piano and cello (“Liebestraum”) and two for piano and violin (“Melody in F” and “The Merry Widow Waltz”). I had to laugh at myself when I was playing through the book to review it because, as a longtime piano teacher, many of these pieces are so ingrained that it was hard to override the muscle memory to play them as arranged – an excellent sight-reading exercise! (The vast majority of the piano-playing population will NOT have this issue! I promise!)
The cover of the book is a creative take on the Schirmer classical sheet music covers (not a copy, but a “re-invention”!) and calls this collection “Robinizations of Musical Classics.” None of the pieces are overly advanced, and pianists at an upper-intermediate and early-advanced playing level should have little or no trouble mastering them. The scores are well-spaced and easy to read, and are printed on a creamy white paper. The binding is stapled. Metronome settings are included, as is phrasing and ample dynamics. It’s a beautiful collection and a lot of fun to play. The book also includes a two-page “About the Composer” with lots of interesting information about Robin’s life and career.
