Attwood: Four Sonatinas.

Attwood: Four Sonatinas, by LeAnn House. Carl Fischer (65 Bleeker St., New York, NY 10012), 2005. 24pp. $7.95.

Attwood: Four Sonatinas are among the first classical-style sonatinas that young pianists usually study, so they easily can be found in numerous editions and anthologies. However, this publication from Carl Fischer's Basic Piano Literature series is unique because it is an Urtext edition with no editing whatsoever. Urtexts of advanced repertoire are common, but materials for the early-level student do not usually take this approach. When they do, editorial markings are sparse and sometimes are indicated in parentheses or lighter print. This particular collection has only the markings included in Attwood's original edition from the 1790s.

In addition to the scores of the Sonatinas in G, C, F and D, this attractive volume also includes excellent preparatory material by LeAnn House. The Foreword contains a brief biographical sketch of Attwood, followed by concise and lucid commentary on various aspects of the music: structure, articulation, pedaling, dynamics, ornamentation and fingering.

These compact essays could be ideal spring-boards for in-lesson discussions between teacher and student or for use in undergraduate piano pedagogy classes. The Appendix contains nine short rhythm and pattern exercises that Attwood provided in his original edition and they are well suited to the level of the music.

Using an Urtext edition with piano students at this relatively early-level offers opportunities and challenges for both the teacher and student. The biggest potential advantage is that the teacher and student together can (must) deduce what choices in articulations and dynamics are implied by the raw materials in the harmony, rhythm and melody. Even though this process can be time-consuming, it teaches a student what a performer really does when interpreting music from the inside out and can also lead to a more authentic understanding of style.

The deal-breaker for this teacher, however, is that the book retains the original edition's fingering cues--all zillion of them! Most notes have a fingering indicated, even if the hand plays within a five-finger position or a one-octave scalar passage. For early-intermediate students who are still refining their music-reading skills, which is true for most of mine, those myriad of fingerings are a distraction at best. I would have preferred an exception to the Urtext approach by the edition including only those fingering cues that facilitate the initial learning of shifts and extensions. If not for this issue, I would be most eager to use this edition with my students. Reviewed by Bruce Berr, Glenview, Illinois.