Piano Works (Florence Price) | Piano Sheet Music Review

This post is part of my Quick Takes series - short, focused reviews that highlight key publications for teachers and players.

---

Introduction

Once long-forgotten, Florence Price’s music has come quickly to the fore over the past few years as academics and musicians worldwide begin to appreciate more fully the significant contribution she made to 20th century music. Following my review of previous collection of her piano works, Rediscovered Gems for Piano Solo, it was a pleasure to receive this new volume from Edition Peters.

Another addition to their acclaimed urtext ‘Green Series’, Piano Works or Klavierwerke contains 28 preludes, waltzes, songs without words and other works for solo piano by Florence Price (1887-1953); they range in difficulty from intermediate to advanced level.

But with an ever-increasing number of books - including piano works by Florence Price - coming to the market, why should you buy this one?

Key Impressions

The first thing to say is that as we have come to expect from Edition Peters, the presentation is impeccable. The printing is of the highest quality on luxurious cream paper. There is a most interesting preface as well as several pages of editorial notes, and useful fingering suggestions. It’s easy to evangelise over the publication, but what about the music itself?

I think it’s fair to say that Rediscovered Gems for Piano Solo featured a selection of perhaps more lighter works. This new volume from Edition Peters brings to the market a selection of Price’s piano works in styles and forms we might consider more ‘standard’. The names will be familiar: impromptus, etudes, scherzos, tarantellas, songs without words and waltzes.

I particularly enjoyed the ‘Preludes’, notably No. 1 which shows Price’s jazz influences - Billy Mayerl sprang to mind as a comparison. I also enjoyed the ‘Valsette Mignon’ with its delicate, salon-style character.

The second half of the book is devoted to those pieces with more varied and characterful titles. I particularly enjoyed the exuberance of the ‘Whirlaway Waltz’ as well as the slightly more mellow ‘Rainbow Waltz’. In my previous review, I made a, possibly unfair, comparison to Edward MacDowell, and the inclusion in this book of Price’s Three Roses - ‘To a Yellow Rose’, ‘To a White Rose’ and ‘To a Red Rose’ - slightly reinforces that…in the best possible way.

Verdict

It is a joy to see such fabulous music finding an audience at last. So far as I can tell, there is no overlap with Rediscovered Gems, and if you enjoyed those, you will certainly enjoy these. Amidst moments of tenderness, they are nevertheless manageably virtuosic and satisfying to play. Pieces will suit players of around Grade 5 and above.

I was critical of the price of Rediscovered Gems for Piano Solo, but I’m pleased to say that given the quality and attention to detail, at an RRP of £19.95, Price: Piano Works offers excellent value for money. I could never hope to cover everything here, suffice to say this will be a very worthy addition to your shelves with much to be explored and enjoyed.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

---

Florence Price: Piano Works, was published in 2026 by Edition Peters ISBN 97905577025858, RRP £19.95.

I was sent a review copy of this book free of charge; however, this review is my honest opinion as a teacher. You can find my Reviews Policy here.

---

If this entry in The Notebook has encouraged or supported you, you are warmly invited to buy me a virtual coffee on Ko-Fi. Support starts from just £3 - whether as a simple one-off gift or a monthly subscription - helping this freely offered work to continue and quietly grow.

---

Star ratings reflect my personal opinion based on usefulness, creativity, presentation, and appeal for teachers and players. I only review publications I can genuinely recommend (3 stars and above):

• ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Worth exploring - A solid and dependable publication with moments of interest.

• ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Recommended - Thoughtful and well-presented; many teachers and players will enjoy using it.

• ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Highly recommended - Beautifully written, inspiring, and one I’ll return to often.

---

You might also enjoy…