Kabalevsky brought together his piano music for the young in the twelve-volume collection published under the title Piano Music for Children and Young People. This collection was published in Moscow by Sovetsky Kompozitor between 1971 and 1987 under the composer’s supervision. 

Table 1: Piano Music for Children and Young People

Kabalevsky assembled the Piano Music for Children and Young People from his total published output for piano; spanning a period of 45 years from 1927 to 1972. Placed in chronological order the identified Piano Music for Children and Young People can be seen against the larger concert works, as demonstrated in the following table. The Piano Music for Children and Young People has been indented.

Table 2: Piano Music for Children in the Context of Kabalevsky’s Total Piano Output

Prelude Op. 1 (1925)

In the Pioneer Camp Op. 3/86 (1927/1968)

Four Preludes Op. 5 (1927-28)

Sonata No. 1 Op. 6 (1927)

Piano Concerto No. 1 Op. 9 (1928)

Two Sonatinas Op. 13 No. 1(1930), No. 2 (1933)

From Pioneer Life Op. 14 (1931)

Four Preludes Op. 20 (1933-34)

Piano Concerto No. 2 Op. 23 (1935)

Comedians Galop Op. 26 (1940)

Thirty Children’s Pieces Op. 27 (1937-38)

Three Rondos from the opera “Colas Breugnon” Op. 30 (1939/1969)

Twenty-Four Preludes Op. 38 (1943-46)

Twenty-Four Easy Pieces Op. 39 (1944)

Easy Variations Op. 40 (1944)

Sonata No. 2 Op. 45 (1945)

Sonata No. 3 Op. 46 (1946)

Piano Concerto No. 3 “Youth” in D Op. 50 (1952)

Easy Variations on Folk Themes Op. 51 (1952)

Rondo Op. 59 (1958)

Four Rondos Op. 60 (1958)

Preludes and Fugues Op. 61 (1958-59)

Rhapsody on the theme of the song “School Years” for piano and orchestra Op. 75 (1964)

Spring Games and Dances Op. 81 (1964)

Recitative and Rondo Op. 84 (1967)

Variations on Folk Themes Op. 87 (1966, 1968, 1969)

Children’s Dreams Op. 88 (1971)

Thirty-Five Easy Pieces Op. 89 (1972)

Lyric Tunes Op. 91 (1971)

Piano Concerto “Prague” Op. 99 (1977-78)

The works for children and young people should be seen alongside the other compositions by Kabalevsky and not as an isolated group of works. From the above table it is clear that the works for younger performers were written alongside the larger works. It is interesting to note that after the Rondo Op. 59 (1958) (which he wrote for the First Tchaikovsky Piano Competition) his remaining compositional output was for children and young people.