Smelkov A. Album fur die Kinder und die Jugend

The dear old tradition of creating the special learn repertory was introduced by J.S. Bach himself with his “Anna Magdalena notebook” having aimed this incomparable work at children’s education and learning of different genres and playing skills. Later on Schumann wrote his “Album for Youth”, pieces for children by Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Prokofiev, “Microcosmos” by Bartok, also albums by Kabalevsky and Gavrilin — all those pieces are vastly enjoyed by both performers and listeners of all ages having gone beyond limitations of its educational purposes. 

Alexandr Smelkov follows this tradition, his Album for Children and Youth’ is an ingenious suite that with wide range of emotional images and breathtaking melodies, bearing the stamp of the author charisma. Smelkov’s pieces are excellent material for learning piano skills at the same time being superb insrtument for esthetical development of the pupil.

Contents:

Tittle-Piggy (Music text example)
Autumn picture
Granny and cats
Dew drop
What if wolves?!..Scherzo
Gingerbread boy. Humorous study
Your Christmas
Vitoslablitzy (wooden architecture museum near Novgorod) 
“Peter’s feast”. Ode to the victory by Poltava
Dark alleys. Elegie
Malthcish-Kibaltchish (after A. Gaidar)
Above the Eternal Peace (by I. Levitan’s picture)
Jesus, the Son of God, is risen! Easter song
Angel
Goldilocks
Orlando the Furious (after Ariosto)
Escorial. Passacaglia
Little miss Storey
Of young Duke Arthur (after Shakespeare’s ‘Life and Death of the King John’)
Robert and Clara. Novelette (Music text example)
Variations on Beethoven’s theme
Toccata
Prelude
Etude-Tableau (Spring, Saint Petersburg)