A large collection of twentieth-century piano music is available from myriad publishers, but not a lot of it is suitable for young or inexperienced pianists, and where the occasional piece does occur, it is usually part of a larger collection by a single composer. Despite the number of times that pieces of a more contemporary style occur in exam syllabuses, relatively few anthologies of such music are available, or for that matter, suitable for early years' study.

To an extent, Boosey and Hawkes' 20th-Century Easy Piano Collection redresses the balance. Containing 28 pieces in a variety of twentieth-century styles, it contains a wealth of material that should be of use to most teachers. However, I am somewhat perturbed by the reference to 'easy' in the title, since quite a few of the works seem to be suitable mainly for grades 4 - 6, and, although not particularly difficult, it would be good to see a few pieces for even lower grades.

One thing that is quite striking is the way in which pieces have been chosen. Hardly any fail to introduce new or taxing techniques, or develop those that should already be present. Espinoff's Slumber Song, for example, requires a cantabile approach to melody playing; Prokofieff's seventeenth Vision Fugitive requires a lightness of touch and stamina throughout its perpetuum mobile figuration.

Not all the pieces are modernistic: these appear towards the end of the volume and introduce music that veers away from predominantly diatonic harmonies and melodies in favour of more complex counterpoints and textures. There, pupils have to use their imagination in preparing works such as Emma Lou Diemer's Infinity (from Sound Pictures for Piano) or James MacMillan's Lumen Christi, need a clarity of touch for Webern's Kinderst

Alison Ruddock