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Piano

Last Updated: 24-Jan-2013

Research Skills

Find printed music

Find recordings, printed music, books, and articles on playing and researching the piano.

Subject Librarians

Ray Heigemeir
Public Services Librarian, Music Library
Music Library
(650) 384-9985

Subjects

Music
Instrumental music
Musical instruments

Related guides

Organ

Recordings

Find circulating CDs in the SearchWorks catalog.

  • Narrow your search results to the music recordings format and the Music Library location.

Stream piano music from one of the streaming audio databases.

Research historical performances in the Archive of Recorded Sound.

See also the Piano Society website: stream over 5000 standard and lesser-known works recorded by society members.

Notable large recording sets:

Great pianists of the 20th century [sound recording].
[Netherlands?] : Philips Classics, p1999.
Music Library » Recordings » MCD 6672
200 CDs.
The Rubinstein collection [sound recording].
[S.l] : RCA Red Seal ; New York, N.Y. : Distributed by BMG Classics, p1999.
Music Library » Recordings » MCD 22201 BOOK
94 CDs.

New CD arrivals:

› See all 2105 results
  1. Bagatelles, op. 126

    Beethoven. Waldszenen / Robert Schumann. Four pieces for piano: nrs. 3 and 4 / Frederic Rzewski. 2013

    Music Library » Recordings » MCD 25436

  2. Musorgsky, Prokofiev [sound recording].

    Music Library » Recordings » MCD 25442

  3. Arabesques, dithyrambs, elegies [sound recording] : and other short piano works

    Medtner. 2012

    Music Library » Recordings » MCD 24641

New DVD arrivals:

› See all 248 results
  1. Nobuyuki Tsujii, live at Carnegie Hall [videorecording] : New York recital debut, November 10, 2011

    Music Library » Recordings » MDVD 1590

  2. Performing the score [videorecording]

    Malcolm Bilson & Elizabeth Field ; produced by Park Productions, Ithaca College ; director & director of photography, Karen Rodriguez ; producer, Carol Jennings. 2011

    Music Library » Recordings » MDVD 1543

  3. Thelonious Monk [videorecording] : live in France 1969

    executive producers, Michael Cuscuna & Fred Pustay for Mosaic Records ; producers, David Peck, Phillip Galloway & Tom Gulotta for Reelin' in the Years Productions. 2011

    Music Library » Recordings » MDVD 1586 DISC 3

Printed music

View printable online score collections here.

Find circulating piano music in the SearchWorks catalog.

For adult beginners, try the Adult All-In-One course.

Browse in the stacks:

M 20 Miscellaneous collections
M 21 Collections of original compositions, multiple composers
M 22 Collections of original compositions, single composers
M 23 Sonatas
M 24 Suites
M 25 Other pieces
M 26 Piano, 1 hand
M 27-30 Variations; marches; dances
M 32-39 Arrangements; transcriptions
M 200-204 Piano, 4 hands
M 214 2 pianos, 2 performers
M 1010 Piano concerto scores
M 1011 Piano concertos, with orchestra arranged for 2nd piano
M 1380 Easy pieces; works for children

Reference works

Read the article on the pianoforte in Gove Music Online
Piano : an encyclopedia / Robert Palmieri, editor ; Margaret W. Palmieri, associate editor.
2nd ed. New York : Routledge, 2003.
Music Library » Reference (non-circulating) » ML102 .P5 E53 2003
Focuses on the piano as an instrument, including construction, individual makers, and companies.

Lists of published music:

Guide to the pianist's repertoire / Maurice Hinson.
3rd ed. Bloomington : Indiana University Press, c2000.
Music Library » Reference (non-circulating) » ML128 .P3 H5 2000
Music for piano and orchestra : an annotated guide / Maurice Hinson.
Enl. ed., 1st Midland ed. Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 1993.
Music Library » Reference (non-circulating) » ML128 .P3 H66 M9 1993
The pianist's guide to transcriptions, arrangements, and paraphrases / Maurice Hinson.
Bloomington : Indiana University Press, c1990.
Music Library » Reference (non-circulating) » ML128.P3H66 P57 1990
One handed : a guide to piano music for one hand / compiled and annotated by Donald L. Patterson.
Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1999.
Music Library » Reference (non-circulating) » ML128 .P3 P38 1999
Piano duet repertoire : music originally written for one piano, four hands / Cameron McGraw.
Bloomington : Indiana University Press, c1981.
Music Library » Reference (non-circulating) » ML128.P3 M14
Music for more than one piano : an annotated guide / Maurice Hinson.
Bloomington : Indiana University Press, c1983.
Music Library » Reference (non-circulating) » ML128.P3 H66 M98 1983

See all piano reference books:

› See all 42 results
  1. Un incontro di culture : la tarantella per pianoforte

    Marcello Cofini. 1995

    Music Library » Reference (non-circulating) » ML128 .P3 C65 1995 ...

  2. Notnye izdanii͡a v fondakh Gosudarstvennoĭ biblioteki SSSR imeni V.I. Lenina : katalog : fortepiano, uchebno-pedagogicheskiĭ repertuar : sovetskie notnye izdanii͡a 1970-1980 gg.

    Gosudarstvennai͡a biblioteka SSSR imeni V.I. Lenina, Otdel notnykh izdaniĭ i zvukozapiseĭ ; [sostaviteli G.B. Koltypina, L.V. Li, E.N. Filippova ; redaktor G.B. Koltypina].. 1983

    Music Library » Reference (non-circulating) » ML128 .P3 G67 1983

  3. For the parlor and the concert stage : a guide to recent collections of American piano music from the classic and romantic eras

    by Keith C. Ward ; Michael J. Budds, editor. 2010

    Music Library » Reference (non-circulating) » ML128 .P3 W37 2010

  4. Piano pedagogy : a research and information guide

    Gilles Comeau ; contributors, Nisreen Jardaneh ... [et al.].. 2009

    Music Library » Reference (non-circulating) » ML128 .P3 C66 2009

  5. Harenberg Kulturführer Klaviermusik

    Music Library » Reference (non-circulating) » ML128 .P3 H27 2008

Books and articles

Browse in the stacks:

ML 417 Biographies of pianists
ML 649-747 Books about pianos, piano makers, piano music, and playing
MT 220-258 Teaching systems, methods, exercises

New books on the piano:

› See all 686 results
  1. Guida alla musica pianistica

    di Piero Rattalino. 2012

    Music Library » Reference (non-circulating) » ML102 .P5 R37 2012

  2. Hammerflügel bis ca. 1825 im Germanischen Nationalmuseum : beschreibender Katalog

    bearbeitet von Elfrid Gleim ; mit einem Beitrag von Michael Latcham. 2012

    Music Library » Stacks » ML462 .N9 G457 2012

  3. Natural fingering : a topographical approach to pianism

    Jon Verbalis. 2012

    Music Library » Stacks » MT232 .V47 2012

  4. Off the record [electronic resource] : performing practices in romantic piano playing

    Neal Peres da Costa. 2012

  5. The pianist's craft : mastering the works of great composers

    edited by Richard Paul Anderson. 2012

    Music Library » Stacks » ML700 .P53 2012

Articles

Find articles on piano playing, pianists, instrument makers and more, using the online music indexes here.

See a list of keyboard periodicals here.