suggestions for program for DipABRSM

[sjskb]

I am preparing a number of students for the DipABRSM recital next year. trouble is, I don't wish that all of them play the same repertoire for the exam. and also, I would get really bored if everybody plays the same pieces!!

can we have suggestions for a complete 35 min recital, please?? I assume that the examiners are looking at a variety of styles in the repertoire.

I will start the ball rolling..

Bach: WTC no.12 in F minor (5 min?)

Beethoven: Pathetique (15 min) complete

Brahms: Intermezzo in A op.118 no.2, ballade in G minor op.118 no.3 (8 min)

Debussy: Sarabande from Pour le Piano ()

PS: i am not very keen on 20th century pieces myself.

[sjskb]

no suggestions???

[princess_moose]

I presume you have looked at the syllabus?

The programme needs to be varied. Include different styles, so or example, time permitting, a Baroque piece, a Classical piece, a Romantic and a 20th century.

[stevehopwood]

no suggestions???

I think that the silence here is suggesting that helping your students prepare for their DipABRSM is your responsibility.

We do not know your students - their strengths and weaknesses. The responsibility for your students is entirely yours.

Steve 

[sjskb]

hi steve,

   oh, of course i am aware that it's my responsibility. I am just hoping you guys would throw out some programmes for reference. or rather, wat makes a good balanced programme? i'm sure it's not just one piece from each period.

of course thereafter, i would modify or substitute pieces that might suit individual students.

thanks in advance

[stevehopwood]

hi steve,

   oh, of course i am aware that it's my responsibility. I am just hoping you guys would throw out some programmes for reference. or rather, wat makes a good balanced programme? i'm sure it's not just one piece from each period.

of course thereafter, i would modify or substitute pieces that might suit individual students.

thanks in advance

Ehup sjskb

My reply was a little terse. Sorry about that - it wasn't my intention and I sometimes forget that writing cannot indicate the 'tone of voice' with which an idea is communicated.

I cannot suggest individual programmes for students I do not know. The only helpful suggestion I can offer is this.

'Balance' in the programme is most easily created by offering a Baroque\Classical piece plus something Romantic, then finishing with something 20th century. These may be 3 pieces of roughly equal length. Alternatively, if your students decide to make a Classical sonata the main part of the programme, then the other pieces will need to be quite short.

Steve 

[franzliszt2]

my teacher made me do:

Bach prelude and fugue 5 from book 2
Haydn F minor variations
Brahms op118 no.2
Debussy La catheldrale engloutie
Gerswin preludes.....(I think they have been taken off now, I'm sure it's 2 songs, I got rhythm and something else. )

I liked that program. I liked the composers, but I did do a lot of other stuff from the sylabuss. I had a Beethoven sonata ready, Rachmaninoff Prelude, Schumann Novellete. Give the student a range of repertoire, and let them decide. Give them a choice of Baroque Classical Romantic and 20th Century.  But suggest pieces whcih will help the student, my teacher gove me pieces with specific problems that would help my playing.

My teacher didn't even tell me I was workng towards a Dip! He just said...Well I think we have a program now, how about summer? haha

[pianowelsh]

I like the sound of your teacher franzliszt!!
The only thing I can say is that the syllabus listings for the dipABRSM do vary quite wildly in their technical difficulty so you can actually help or hinder your students chances by overloading the programme with technically challenging pieces. For example very good performances of Ravel's Sonatine and Beethoven Cmin variations etc require a very secure and well formed technique and very highly developed musicianship and could really be played at the LRSM level - in fact other diplomas often place these pieces at higher levels So be carefull compare boards - not jst ABRSM and get a feel for which are the tougher choices on the lists.

[sjskb]

thanks for the suggestion, franzliszt2! that's a decent program.
of course if you are a fast learner, you can afford to learn extra pieces. But i do feel that the majority of piano students will already struggle to put up a 35 min program.

and i do agree very much with pianowelsh about the wide range of standards for the DipABRSM repertoire. I find it a bit weird. The LRSM syllabus is slightly more balanced in standard, whether technical or musical.

One of my students tackling Beethoven C minor variations having trouble playing through the whole piece without stopping!!!

anyway, here's another program suggestion:

Bach: One of the what (6 min)
Beethoven C minor variations (10 min)
Brahms: rhapsody op79 no.2 (7 min)
Liszt: Sonetto 123 (6 min)
Gershwin???

could we have more suggestions, PLEASE?? 

by the way, could someone enlighten us about the 20th century pieces in the syllabus, for example, diana burrell constellations, Berkeley concert study, janacek, john mccabe??? how are these pieces, their standards and musicality??

[thorn]

I might be changing my program if the AB refuses to let me play the Chopin (not on the syllabus).. but at the moment, it's:

Bach- Prelude and Fugue nr 16 (Bk 1)
Mozart- Sonata in Bb K.570
Chopin- Nocturne in Cm Op 48 Nr 1
Berkeley- Concert Etude in Eb

[sjskb]

I might be changing my program if the AB refuses to let me play the Chopin (not on the syllabus).. but at the moment, it's:

Bach- Prelude and Fugue nr 16 (Bk 1)
Mozart- Sonata in Bb K.570
Chopin- Nocturne in Cm Op 48 Nr 1
Berkeley- Concert Etude in Eb

hi...refering to your other post, i think ABRSM allows up to 7 min of pieces outside the stipulated syllabus..however, i am not sure of the procedures. But most probably you have to write in way in advance......

any comments on the berkeley concert etude.... or any of the 'modern' pieces in particular??

[ako]

It is kind of tough to choose pieces for other people's students. I heard a program (not my students, they're only Grade 5) with Beethoven Pathetique, Bach Prelude and Fugue (forgot which one) and a modern piece by a Chinese composer. I think the program itself worked but the student was not up to par with the performance. You might find something that is not on the list that you think your student will enjoy/show his/her strength. That would be something different and the examiners like that.

Regarding 20th century pieces, I do not know that much except for Bartok. The Dances in Bulgarian rhythm should not be too hard. Hope that helps a little.

[desordre]

Hi there!
I took the Repertoire Lists of DipABRSM to make some brief comments over (most of) the 20th pieces and its composers. I know there are a lot of very personal insights, and my written english is poor, but maybe it can help a bit. I've made no comments on technique 'cause the pieces are very dissimilar and because it depends very much on the student and his/her musical skills, especially sight-seeing, harmony and perception. As a general rule, is by far more difficult to read any of these pieces than reading Classical or Romantic repertory of the same level, even more if the student is not acquainted with modern and contemporary music (not only piano, but orchestral and chamber works, opera, etc). Any further information needed, let me know: I'll be very glad to help if possible.

Bartok, Bela (1881-1945, Hungary) - Mikrokosmos 148 - 153 (late 1930's). A fabulous didactical work by the hungarian composer, and maybe one of the most musically accomplished attempts of that kind in any times. It goes from the absolutely begginer to intermediate-advanced pieces such as those. In my humble opinion, what makes it most difficult is the general unawareness of students about 20th century music, 'cause I can't figure another reason to it stands in a Dip program. Anyway, they're beautiful pieces. For more Bartok, I would suggest the 14 Bagatelles, the Out of Doors Suite or the Sonatina. His music near always deals with nationalistic inspirations.

Berkeley, Sir Lennox (1903-1989, England) - Concert Study (1955). One of the most melodious composers I've ever heard, some kind of Mozart or Chopin of the 20th century in this specific trend. His output of piano music is large as well as obscure, but plenty of surprises. His language in general is a very extended tonality, full of what I can just describe as "British flavor".

Copland, Aaron (1900-1990, USA) - Scherzo (1920). One of the genious of early 20th century north-american music, that have coined revolutions in musical language, particularly in harmony and rhythm, apart and distinct from the european developments. His masterpiece is his Sonata, although it's a bit hard for this exam. I just wonder why there is no Cowell music in the program...

Debussy, Claude (1862-1918, France) - La plus que lente (1910), Preludes (1910-13), Suite Pour le Piano (1901). Oh, well...what can I say about him? One of the pillars of 20th century music in general, and the composer of one of the most magnificent sets of all times, the Preludes. By the way, "La Cathedrale engloutie" is a very good idea for any one who is wondering about a major modern piece.

Faure, Gabriel (1845-1924, France) - Just a remark: despite the fact he have several pieces composed into the 20th century, the available pieces are all from the past one: 1881, 1883 & 1894.

Hindemith, Paul (1895-1963, Germany) - Ludus Tonalis (1942). It's very difficult to write about his music, 'cause anything you read about it is deceptive: you should hear to understand the tricks of Herr Paul. Sometimes seems tonal, and suddenly: no tonality at all. This particular piece is a masterwork of mid-century piano music, and it's unbelievable that is not very played and known. A possible parallel to Bach's WTC, despite the fact that finding parallels to the WTC is always  dangerous. Another very interesting work by him is the Suite 1922.

Janacek, Leos (1854-1928, former Czechoslovakia) - In the Mists (1912). Another masterpiece. Maybe I am wrong, but seems to happen a sort of "revival" of this composition: after years that I seldom heard to talk about it, there was in the last year at least three important concerts with this piece. Very closely related to Nationalism, but a very distinct approach compared to Bartok's.

McCabe, John (1939, England)- Five Bagatelles (1964). The first alive composer to be mentioned, and a wonderful pianist. The set is from a time when he was very tied to orthodox serialism.

Messiaen, Olivier (1908-1992, France)- Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jesus (1944). The father of french avant-garde, teacher of Boulez among others. The complete set is large, and deals with what the composer was more concerned about: Catholicism. The piano use is very original, and very tricky, sometimes highly virtuosistic. Let me do another comparison: Liszt after the war. However, the most astonishing piano work he composed is, in my humble opinion, the Quatuor pour la fin du temps (a chamber work with clarinet, violin and cello), one of the most dramatic and sensitive works I've ever heard.

Poulenc, Francis (1899-1963, France) - Toccata. Sorry, but this piece I actually don't know. It is in this list because I love his piano music, particularly the Improvisations. He was one of "Groupe des Six" (with Milhaud, Auric, Honegger, Tailleferre and Durey), the famous group of french composers inspired by Satie.

Prokofiev, Sergey (1891-1953, Ukraine) - Visions Fugitives (1917). Masterpiece among masterpieces (just remember the Sonatas, for instance). One of the scores that I would bring to the desert island. What more can I say?

Ravel, Maurice (1875-1937, France) - Sonatine (1905). This is a piece to make any audience very happy. A light approach to the sonata, with all that harmonies associated to him and to Debussy, and melodic finds that makes you cry. Furthermore, it's a very good introduction to Ravel's piano music, full of masterpieces such as: Miroirs, Valses nobles et sentimentales, Le tombeau de Couperin, and - last but not least - Gaspard de la nuit.

Schoenberg, Arnold (1874-1951, Austria) - Sechs kleine klavierstucke opus 19 (1911). A set made by the father of serialism well before his achievment, in a time he was an Expressionist artist. Every and all of the pieces are very short, but deep and full of meaning and emotions. Of course, not the same kind of feelings that you find in Chopin, for instance, but they are pure poetry anyway. Similar but far from the same are the Klavierstucke opus 11, from 1909. But if you want to hear some Schoenberg's dodecaphonic music, try the Suite (the first complete work to use his technique) or the Klavierstuck opus 33a. And if you want to dig deep, listen to (or even better: attend to a live performance) Pierrot Lunaire, a chamber work with piano that is very very strange, but very very cool.

Skryabin, Alexander (1871/76-1915, Russia) - As Faure, the available pieces by him are not composed in the 20th century.

Shostakovich, Dmitri (1906-1975, Russia) - Preludes opus 34 (1933). OK! One of my favorites sets of all piano repertory, where the composer explores all sort of moods. In my series of analogies  , the opus 28 of the 20th century. His musical language is probably one of the most straight forward to nineteentish ears, although he's full of harmonic surprises. The rest of his piano music output requires attention, especially Aphorisms and the astonishing 24 Preludes and Fugues (any Bach's resemblance it's not mere coincidence).

Stravinsky, Igor (1882-1971, Russia) - Tango (1940). Last but not least, the great russian composer. He's one of the most important composers of all times, and with Schoenberg and Debussy the fundamental stones of modern music. However, since life is not perfect, I dislike a bit this piece and haven't heard it in a long while, so sorry for no further comments.

[sjskb]

Dear desordre,

    Thanks so much for your commentaries on the 20th century pieces! they must have taken forever to type....anyway, there's nothing bad about your english!!!

     But maybe i didn't ask my question properly. I do know the various composers in the Diploma list, as well as the GENERAL style of their compositions, especially the more famous ones like Scriabin, Debussy and Prokofiev....what i really want to know is specifically to do with the pieces in the exam repertoire. I am in the midst of choosing a 20th century piece (that's not too hard, yet not too hurting for our ears) for my diploma students, but have no idea how to, since I do not know most of these pieces.

     maybe let's narrow down the selection to Berkeley's concert study, Janacek's ''in the mists'' and the Copland. are these pieces long or short? what are the difficulties for each piece?