Choosing the Appropriate tempo (ABRSM)

[kghayesh]

Hi,
I have a problem in Grade 8's Scarlatti sonata in D K.535. I am playing it next week in the exam.

The tempo written on the ABRSM score is 96 per crotchet. I got another edition of this sonata and i was so surprised to see the tempo written as 132 per crotchet. When i listened to a recording of it, it was played somewhere near the 132 but not as slow as 96.

I can play it fairly well at about 115-120. I think it is even musically better to play it faster than 96. So, my musical interpretation to this piece will be to play it at a higher speed than 96/crotchet and if i will play it at a concert i will play it like this.

But the question IS, is it acceptable to play it at a faster tempo than what is indicated in the ABRSM score or i will penalized for this ??

[princess_moose]

The metronome marking would be editorial. I would say that as long as you played it musically, not too many marks would be deducted for playing it at your speed.

[allthumbs]

I agree with princess moose, (nice screen name BTW, we have quite a few here in Canada, but I digress ).

I played a Bach piece for my Grade 8 RCM exam somewhat slower than the indicated speed and nothing was said about tempo. 

In fact, the adjudicator commented that the piece was beautifully played musically and well under control.

Had I played it as fast as I had practiced it at home, I'm sure (due to the situation), I would probably have made a few more mistakes that would have detracted further from the overall performance.

Good luck in your exam and let us know how you did.


Cheers

allthumbs