Youth Album for Piano

Who wouldn’t draw a link between the “Youth Album” by Manfred Schmitz and similar titles of piano music compositions from the last centuries as the "Youth Album" by Peter Tchaikovsky, the "Children's Album" by Aram Khachaturian and especially the "Album for the Youth "by Robert Schumann? Those collections of pieces reflect not only the individual style of its composers, but also the musical language of their time. Manfred Schmitz’s “Youth Album for Piano” ranges in this sense and tradition as a collection of appealing pieces in currently popular music styles for pianists-to-be.

Manfred Schmitz (1939-2014), who was as a pianist, composer and arranger one of the most important representatives of the popular music of his time, was an extraordinarily prolific teacher and author of didactical music literature. As a lecturer at the conservatoire Franz Liszt in Weimar he already composed the JAZZ PARNASS, which is now a standard book which practically every pianist in Germany-speaking countries knows.

Extensive experiences with students of all ages are reflected in several works for piano and ensemble. Many of his teaching and playing books were published with AMA, just like his last book for piano with the meaningful title POP PARNASS. A central concern of his didactic work has always been to solidly mediate the craft of stylistic elements of Jazz, Blues and Pop while always having fun through all learning phases.

In this sense, the Youth Album with its 121 pieces in Jazz, Rock, Blues, Boogie-Woogie, Ragtime or Pop-Romance, ranging in difficulty from very easy to challenging, frames the perfect addition to Schmitz’s textbooks. This collection can be a longtime companion for learning or playing the piano and can complete the “classical” repertoire for piano class and or solo concerts.

Inspiration for one’s own interpretation can be found on a separate CD (AMA No. 626647) through recordings by the composer himself.

The “Youth Album for Piano” by Manfred Schmitz received the German Music Editions-Award 1999 in the category “school and teaching literature for children”.