[Piano Recital] Carefully Selected Classical Pieces Recommended for Upper Elementary School Students

Midnight Fire FestivalHirayoshi Takeshu

[Recommended for Piano Recitals] Midnight Fire Festival ♫ Takeshi Hiraishi / The Midnight Fire Festival, Takekuni Hirayoshi

With its unique rhythm driving it forward and a cool, passionate atmosphere, “Midnight Fire Festival” is included in Japanese composer Tokuhide Hirasawa’s piano collection for children, “Niji no Rhythm” (Rainbow Rhythm).

Highly popular—so much so that it’s often selected as a competition set piece—this piece brims with intensity and power, making it perfect for energetic elementary and middle school students! It mixes passages that feel like duple meter with others that feel like triple meter, features complex rests in the left hand, and contains many elements that make it rewarding to practice.

To play it impressively at a recital, start by firmly grasping the rhythms with one hand at a time.

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Piano Sonata K. 545, 1st MovementWolfgang Amadeus Mozart

36th Prizewinners’ Commemorative Concert / Rikuto Wakabayashi — Mozart: Piano Sonata K. 545, 1st movement

Among Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s piano works, this piece is especially famous.

Even those who aren’t well-versed in classical music might say, “I know this melody!” Composed in June 1788 with piano learners in mind, it captivates with its bright and light character.

However, despite its familiarity, playing it beautifully is by no means easy.

It’s filled with essential techniques, such as maintaining balance with the left-hand accompaniment while keeping the right-hand melody even and well-articulated.

Performing such a renowned piece at a recital is sure to boost your confidence—and the sense of accomplishment when you master it is exceptional.

Fantaisie-ImpromptuFrederic Chopin

Fantaisie-Impromptu – Chopin – 13-year-old recital / Chopin Fantaisie-Impromptu

This is a work by Frédéric Chopin that shifts from a stormy, passionate passage to a dreamily sweet and beautiful melody.

Its dramatic development is sure to resonate with elementary and middle school children who admire a more mature world.

Composed around 1834, it is also known for its luscious middle section, which was used as a principal theme in the film Impromptu.

The passages where the right and left hands play different rhythms simultaneously require practice, but the sense of accomplishment when mastered is exceptional.

It’s a rewarding piece for children who want to enrich their expressiveness and aim for a higher level of performance.

If played with rich emotion at a recital, it will surely capture the audience’s hearts.

Sonatina Op. 55 No. 1, First MovementFriedrich Kuhlau

All Japan Piano Competition 2023 – Prizewinners’ Concert – Elementary School Lower Grades Division – Sakurako Tan: Sonatina Op. 55 No. 1, 1st movement (Kuhlau) / Gentle Waltz Op. 58 No. 12 (Gedike)

Among sonatinas, Friedrich Kuhlau’s Sonatina Op.

55, No.

1 is especially popular.

It opens with a sparkling, powerful sound that immediately grabs the listener’s heart.

What follows is a gentle, mesmerizingly beautiful melody, like the murmuring of a brook.

The fun of performing this piece lies in how you express these two contrasting sides.

Elementary and middle school students who want to tackle both an energetic character and a wide expressive range with singing lines should definitely give it a try.

Arabesque of WavesMiyoshi Akira

Akira Miyoshi: Arabesque of Waves / Shunya Yada (43rd Prizewinner Commemorative Concert, A1 Division [Gold Prize])

This is a work by Japanese composer Akira Miyoshi, featuring an elegant melody that evokes a shimmering water surface.

Included in the 1987 piano miniatures collection “Umi no Nikkichō” (A Sea Diary), the piece—true to its title, which refers to Arabic-style ornamental patterns—conjures scenes of delicate, unceasing motion in sound.

Its deft shifts between G-sharp minor and B major create sonorities that suggest a grown-up, bittersweet poignancy, like a fleeting shadow passing through brightness.

Also selected as a PTNA Competition set piece, it demands restrained pedaling and rich expressiveness, making it a guaranteed showpiece.

It is especially suited for elementary and middle school students who aspire to perform their dream piece with heartfelt expression.

Fountain of Stars from ‘Constellations of Sound’Yuyama Akira

36th Prize Winners' Commemorative Concert / ANRI Inoue Akira Yuyama: Fountain of Stars

“Fountain of Stars,” one of the pieces from Japanese composer Akira Yuyama’s piano collection Constellations of Sound, is a beautiful work that captivates children with a melody that tickles the dreaming heart.

Blending a sense of longing with playful spirit, it perfectly embodies the ‘slightly grown-up world’ that elementary and middle school students often seek in piano music.

With its distinctive rhythms and clear, interweaving melodies, performers can fully express their own sensibilities.

Like starlight shimmering, the music will add a radiant touch to any recital stage.

Album for the Young, Op. 68, No. 8 “The Brave Horseman”Robert Schumann

Natsuki Osaki (piano) Schumann / The Bold Rider (41st All Japan Junior Classical Music Competition National Finals)

A lively piece! This work is included in the piano collection Album for the Young, which the classical composer Robert Schumann created in 1848 for his beloved daughter.

The staccato-driven rhythm resembles the sprightly hoofbeats of a horse, giving it a very valiant feel.

While the minor-key melody shows a touch of poignancy, be careful not to let it become dark or heavy.

In the middle section, where it shifts to a bright F major, make the most of that beautiful contrast and try playing as if you were weaving a story.