The New Bell

György Orbán (born 1947) is among the most frequently performed contemporary Hungarian composers. His style incorporates a characteristic mix of classical, modern, cinematic, and jazz elements. In addition, he claims he "loves splashing about in tonality", which makes his works accessible to the wider public. Owing to his humor and imagination, he finds an easy path to children, as demonstrated by the popularity of his piano works specifically intended for beginners.

He composed close to 70 short children’s pieces for Ágnes Lakos’s four-volume Friendly Piano Tutor, later published separately as Enchanted Forest. The New Bell includes a further 19 piano pieces for beginners; among others, we encounter a baby elephant now and again (perhaps paying a visit from Debussy’s Children’s Corner?) and we hear the awful clamor of a most outgoing granny’s alarm clock as well as the solemn tolling of a new church-bell. The pieces are arranged in order of difficulty and even include a few items for three hands, which may be played by a pupil with the teacher or another student.