A book dealing with piano teaching methods in which the author attempts to give a comprehensive presentation of the main problems of piano playing and teaching is rare nowadays. This objective has certainly been met by E. M. Timakin, a long time professor at the “Central School of Music” in Moscow and the teacher of Mikhail Pletnev and Ivo Pogorelić. Following his broad teaching experience and in the tradition of the Russian pianistic school (being a student of K. N. Igumnov), Timakin has brought together knowledge gained over a period of more than 40 years of devoted work in teaching the piano through a systematic approach. In a clear and practical way, this system tackles every problem the teacher might face while teaching. Timakin is primarily interested in practical aspects and provides helpful hints for a student or a young teacher. This is why he illustrates all his theoretical statements with useful exercises, bringing together in this way theory and practice. Timakin’s basic guideline was to find exercises that produce concrete results. Therefore, these books do not abound in quotations, but rather in exercises to take the student from the very beginning to the highest level of piano playing. These Essential Piano Exercises are useful in preparing the students in a practical and imaginative manner for the most difficult pianistic tasks.