Repeitoire suggestions - Beginner want to impress his teacher :)

[marcinpl]

Hi

I've been learning playing piano for almost 4 months, next week my teacher leaves for holiday and I got only one task (apart from usuall scales, arpeggios etc.): find something interesting and in three weeks present it during lesson.

I am currently after (you probably know all this, so I be brief):
Bach - some Minuets (BVW 114,115 i 116 I think), Musette (126) and Polonaise BVH 119 (all from Anna Book)
Khachaturian: Andantino from Children Album (Little Song different name)
Prokofiev: March from Children Pieces Op. 65 (used to hate this, but now I kind of like it ok
Tchaikovsky: In church from Album for the Young (Op. 39 nr 24).
Kabalewski D.: Błazny cyrkowe (it is Circus clowns I think) op. 39 nr 20
Greczaninoiu: A. Morning stroll op. 123 nr 1
Goedicke: A. Scherzo op. 6 nr 15
Some Sarabands/easy Minuets by Mozart  Grade 1/2 by Correlli/Haedel etc. (HVW 437 my favourite, unfortunately I can play it without variations) from my beginner book.
ca. 20 Etudes by Raube

So - pretty low level so far (definitely no-Liszt level .

I could of course choose something from book I have (I was thinking about Regrets from Prokofiev Children Pieces or something from Children Books by Tchaikovsky or Schumann) but I want to find something:
a) from romantic period, piece which is NICE and MELODIC (XX century is also an option)
b) this supposed to be piece, that my very experienced teacher won't have to listen for 1023th time (this time in my interpretation)
c) by fairly aclaimed composer (limits the possibility that choosen piece has low artistic value)
c) cannot be too easy, I don't want to listen to the complains that "holidays doesn't mean that your hands have holidays" or „I thought I had ambitious student”
d) hovever, should be suitable for beginner like me (plaing vivace at 180 is not an option at the moment, frankly playing allegro is big issue and accompanied by „I want to trash this piano” thoughts .  Pieces with chords excessively played also falls for „too difficult” category .
e) it cannot be Bach (I know, this is very import ant to play Bach but I feel that in short time I will be tortured by Inventions and look at point b). It cannot be Mozart (don’t like), no Chopin (I am humble enough not to touch it at the moment only to spoil it), obviously no A. Schonberg or his friends ( )).
f) last thing – I have only 3 weeks so cannot wait for packane from amazon.  If the piece is avaiable free in Internet this should be great.

Any suggestions?

Regards
Marcin

[chopinspride]

Hi,

Schumann's Album for the Young, Op.68 contains wonderful pieces which fit with your requirements.
I would recommend for you, "May, Sweet May" or "First Loss." These are not too easy, you should listen to a few of these pieces and see which ones are manageable, three weeks is not a long time! For a challenge try "Remembrance."

Beethoven wrote a couple of Sonatinas. The one in G is very nice. (They are anh.5)

I would most the imslp links, but I am afriad of being shot by the piano street police

[drkilroy]

How about the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven? The lot of sharps may be scary at the first time, but there is really nothing very hard in this piece. Sorry if it is too hard for you - I do not know any of the pieces you mentioned, apart from Tchaikovsky, but I do not remember it. Schumann is a good choice, too, but the pieces from Album for the Young are less famous than Moonlight Sonata.

Best regards, Dr

[healdie]

obviously no A. Schonberg or his friends ( )).

What do you mean Obviously? Schoenberg's stuff is delightful and some really tricky stuff there (albeit most is above beginner level)

and what's wrong with Schoenbergs friends? he was good friends with George Gershwin so does that mean he is out too?

and for suggestions I can't really help with Romantic stuff (I think most of it is garbage) but I did enjoy learning the Brahms waltzes there's a couple of them that you could play or maybe some of the Shostakovich Preludes (from the Preludes and Fugues) The fugues may be a bit much but you could pull off some of the Preludes and theres loads of Beginner stuff by Bartok as well (that would be my place to start) and I believe Harrison Birtwhistle wrote Berceuse De Jeanne which I remember my teacher made me play at my beginner stage or what about Feliks Rybicki the young modernist I think I played the Engine from this as well

[bleicher]

Here are a few suggestions of contemporary pieces from the Spectrum books published by ABRSM. I don't know where you live so don't know how long it would take to order the book if it's not in your music shop, but I'd recommend getting books 2 and 4 if you want something that isn't too difficult. Pieces I particularly like and are easy are:
Nyanyushka's Song by Jeremy Dale Roberts (book 2)
Somewhere near Cluj by Julian Anderson (book 2)
Arpeggio by Howard Skempton (book 2)
Recollection by Janet Davey (book 4)
Sonata no. 140 'The well-tempered cyclist' by John White (book 4)

[thompson_321]

Hi

I've been learning playing piano for almost 4 months, next week my teacher leaves for holiday and I got only one task (apart from usuall scales, arpeggios etc.): find something interesting and in three weeks present it during lesson.

Hi Marcin

I would like to ask you a question. I am also a beginner. Are these the pieces you have been learning from the beginning? I am at the very beginning. I would like to learn the pieces you have mentioned. Would this be good for me do you think? Many thanks.

[marcinpl]

Hi Marcin

I would like to ask you a question. I am also a beginner. Are these the pieces you have been learning from the beginning? I am at the very beginning. I would like to learn the pieces you have mentioned. Would this be good for me do you think? Many thanks.

Thanks for all suggestions (by Schonberg friends I ment Webern and Berg .

I have been learning pieces I mentioned from the beginning and can play them quite well (my teacher aproved all of them as "done" so I could move forward). My first pieces were some easy etiudes (for two hands) but after a month or so I was assigned some easy Bach menuets from Anna Notebook. I suggest you start from this book (if you like classical music). I never played any non-classical music (no Twinkle twinkle little star etc.) but those also can be good for the beginning although maybe some more experienced players gives you better ideas what to practice.

Last thing: my teacher says that there is no point playing pieces at you current level too long, you learn faster working always on the piece slightly above current abilities. I hope that "Madame" is right

Reg. Marcin