Pianoworks: A Night at the Theatre

Alan Bullard is a pianist and composer, whose choral and educational compositions are performed widely. He has contributed many pieces to Piano Time and works as an ABRSM examiner.Janet Bullard has a busy and thriving piano teaching practice and more than 25 years' experience of teaching adults and children.

I love the Bullards' Pianoworks series and this is a collection that my pupils will wrench out of my hands! It includes the Toreadors' Song from Carmen and Don't Dilly Dally on the Way, beautifully arranged, clearly laid out and with background information on each piece. The book reinforces techniques introduced in Pianoworks 1 and 2 but can also be used by anyone. I have found these books particularly enjoyable for pupils who need to play tunes they know between the grades, music to play over the holidays when they are out of my grasp, or they make enoyable sight-reading practice and are fabulous pieces for concerts.

• One fine day (Un bel di vedremo) (Madam Butterfly) ; Dance of the Hours (Gioconda) ; Fairest Isle (King Arthur) ; Where is Love? (Oliver) ; Can love be controlled by advice? (The Beggar's Opera) ; Barcarolle (The Tales of Hoffman) ; Sunrise, sunset (Fiddler on the Roof) ; L'Automne (Ballet des saisons) ; Willow, tit-willow (The Mikado) ; Allegro un peu loure (Giselle) ; I could be happy with you (The Boy Friend) ; Moresca (Orfeo) ; The Bird-catcher's Song (The Magic Flute) ; Mack the Knife (The Threepenny Opera) ; Che faro senza Euridice (Orfeo ed Euridice) ; Dances (The Little Shepherd) ; Ombra mai fu (Xerxes) ; On the street where you live (My Fair Lady) ; The Flight of the Swans (Swan Lake) ; Soldier's Chorus (Faust) ; Waltz (Die Fledermaus) ; Don't dilly dally on the way (My old man) (British Music-Hall Song) ; Polka (The Bartered Bride) ; Toreador's Song (Carmen) ; Cabaret (Cabaret) ; Largo al factotum (Figaro's Aria) (The Barber of Seville) ; Ceremonial March (Die Meistersinger) ; Evening Prayer (Hansel and Gretel)