Exploring the Masterwork Classics Piano Repertoire Series

The Masterwork Classics is a piano repertoire series complied by Dr. Jane Magrath that offers students a sampling of historical repertoire across multiple stylistic periods.

The books range from elementary material up to the early advanced level. Each book contains an average of 25 pieces for a grand total of around 230 pieces. 

Piano Repertoire from Beginner to Advanced

The Masterwork Classics series ranges from beginner (Level 1-2) to advanced (Level 10) using the same sort of repertoire grading found in The Pianists Guide to Standard Teaching and Performance Literature, also written by Dr. Jane Magrath.

Throughout this series, especially early on, you will find selections from the Anna Magdalena Notebook, Burgmuller op. 100, and other similar sorts of pieces. One thing I particularly appreciate is that you don't encounter all these pieces all at the same time. 

Instead, you'll find some of them at Level 3 or 4, and some of them at level 5 or 6, and so on. These pieces are most certainly not all on the same level, and the Masterworks series makes it much easier to find them at the appropriate time in a student's study. 

Even more difficult works like Bach Inventions or pieces by Chopin are split up across the higher levels. These pieces vary significantly in their difficulty, and so it makes sense for a student working out of the Level 7 book to be playing a different Bach Invention compared to one that is working out of the Level 9 book. 

Compared to many other collections of repertoire out there, the Masterworks series starts lower and ends higher. While professional level repertoire is beyond the scope of these books, you will still find challenging advanced pieces at the highest level. 

What Masterworks Level Should You Choose?

If you are not a new pianist, there is no need to start at the beginning of the Masterworks. However, it might not be obvious as to what level would be most appropriate for your abilities. In my experience, pianists often over estimate their abilities and pick too high of a level.

To remedy this issue, I created a Piano Repertoire Placement Guide which contains a sample of public domain versions of the scores found in each level of the Masterworks series. While the public domain versions aren't nearly as nice as the Masterwork editions, you can still use them to figure out which book would be most comfortable to start with.

When Should You Start Masterwork Classics?

The first book from this series, Masterwork Classics: Level 1-2, is absolutely amazing for beginners. It is one of the only books that I can think of that features such a wealth of material at the lowest possible level. This is excellent for students who don't enjoy method books and just want to move on to classical material as soon as they can. 

If you are a beginner, you should know that the Masterwork Classics series is immediately applicable to you once you understand the following musical concepts:

• All notes on the grand staff

• Accidentals and basic key signatures

• Whole, half, quarter, and eighth notes

• Triads and pentascales in common positions

You will arrive at this point musically after finishing the first level of pretty much any well-known method book. If you are one of those students who would prefer to go straight to Masterworks as soon as possible, without a method book, you will be delighted to know that I created a freecourse specifically for this purpose. You can find this course by clicking here.

Masterwork Classics vs RCM / ABRSM

The Masterwork Classics repertoire series is somewhat similar to RCM and ABRSM in that it features graded repertoire from beginner to advanced.  However, these organizations consist of many more components outside of using graded repertoire. 

The RCM and ABRSM are internationally recognized institutions that use graded repertoire as part of a larger curriculum, complete with examinations and skill training in other areas. While I totally support the efforts of these institutions, I do believe the expense and structure might be a bit much for many students and teachers.

One thing that I appreciate about the Masterwork Classics repertoire series is that provides students with a simple means of progression through a persistent collection of repertoire in a modest and inexpensive format...just purchase the books and find a teacher that teaches out of them! 

These books were published many years ago and there have been no updates as far as I am aware. As a piano instructor myself, I appreciate this because I don't have to worry about keeping up with updates and changes to the pieces...it's one consistent body of work. If I want to teach more pieces, I just find ones that exist outside the series and offer it to students at the appropriate time. 

Additionally, since I do prefer to have structure in my studio, I created my own curriculum based off of the Masterwork Classics...sort of like my own internal RCM or ABRSM regimen. I very much appreciate this simplicity.

How to Use the Masterwork Classics Series

Here are a few helpful things to keep in mind while you work your way through this repertoire series:

1. Choose the right level for your study. You should choose a level that is difficult enough to challenge you but low enough that you can complete each piece in 3-4 weeks and work through most or all of the pieces in each book. My Piano Repertoire Placement Guide makes this much easier to figure out!

2. Always be working on at least two pieces at a time. Each book has a page near the front that contains the suggested order of study along with two lists of included repertoire. One of the lists focuses on Baroque and Classical material while the other focuses on Romantic and Contemporary selections. You should work on at least one piece from each list in each practice session. When you finish a piece, replace it from another piece from that list. This way, you always have contrasting material to be working on. 

3. Learn the pieces in the suggested order of difficulty. The intended order of progression does not follow the actual page layout in the book. This means that you will be jumping around alot. You may wish to use sticky tabs to reference what you are working on. 

4. You don't need to work on every piece. Feel free to pick your favorites but also allow each book to help you explore new level-appropriate repertoire. While you don't have to finish every piece, you should still work on a majority of pieces at each level. You never know when a seemingly uninteresting piece is going to help you improve an important skill. 

5. Reference the CD that comes with the Masterwork Classics book. If you don't have a CD player, feel free to load the music into your computer or on your phone for easy reference. These are professional recordings on a quality instrument in a nice acoustical space. They are the best representation of where the maximum bar is for any given piece, and you need to know where this bar is. 

6. The last pieces of a book are often more difficult than the first pieces of the next book. This is something that I observed after I started using this series. Students seemed to encounter the most difficulty as they were attempting to finish a book at a particular level. When they finally moved on, the first set of pieces were usually a bit less involved.

Where to Buy Masterwork Classics

You can purchase these books directly from Alfred or some other online retailer such as Sheetmusicplus or Amazon. For your convenience, I have linked to the books individually on Amazon below.

• Masterwork Classics: Level 1-2

• Masterwork Classics: Level 3

• Masterwork Classics: Level 4

• Masterwork Classics: Level 5

• Masterwork Classics: Level 6

• Masterwork Classics: Level 7

• Masterwork Classics: Level 8

• Masterwork Classics: Level 9

• Masterwork Classics: Level 10

Piano Courses that Use Music Similar to Masterwork Classics

I highly recommend working with a piano teacher when using a series like this. A qualified piano teacher will surely help you maximize your experience of this repertoire, especially at the higher levels.

If you weren't already aware, Flex Lessons is my course-based piano curriculum which was inspired partly by the Masterwork Classics series. If you don't have a teacher, know that you can study with me through this unique program.