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Topic: Beethoven: Sonata No. 17  (Read 3323 times)

Offline mike5710

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Beethoven: Sonata No. 17
on: May 08, 2017, 12:54:29 AM

Hi everyone!
This is my first post on this site, but I am finding it(the site) very promising so far.
I recently heard this piece (not for the first time), and enjoyed it a lot more than before. I have been considering learning it, Beethoven's 15th "Pastorale", or his 12th "Funeral March", although those have just been backups if I figure out I can't learn the "Tempest", seeing that my teacher wanted me to play a Beethoven sonata, and out of the ones that aren't notorious for being difficult, these are my favourites.
The problem is, I don't know if I can learn it in a designated amount of time (not rushing, I just get bored after around 8-9 months), or if it is just too much for me to handle right now. My current repertoire is:
Chopin: Polonaise in A Major and C Minor, op. 40
Bach: French Suite No. 1
Beethoven: Sonata op. 49 No. 1, and op. 10 no. 1
Chopin: Nocturne in B-Flat Minor, op. 9 no. 1, and op. 72 no. 1
Handel: Suite in D Minor, HWV 437
Beethoven: Rondo in C Major, op. 51 no. 1

My teacher has me learning the first 3 pages of the 3rd movement, but I don't know if I can manage the entire movement without getting tired, or just annoyed, as I have a short attention span when it comes to learning pieces. Finally, when I say "learning", I mean just playing the notes, as when I have those down, it suddenly becomes much more interesting to me, to get the "emotion" down. I am not questioning my teacher's intentions, or teaching qualifications, but just trying to get an estimate of the technical difficulties and the time it would take to learn (the chromatic scales in op. 72 no. 1 almost made me quit, because I could play the rest, but not that part). RCM puts the Tempest and Funeral March in the ARCT (Associate Diploma) list, whereas the Pastorale's 1st and 2nd movements can satisfy a level 10 requirement, as can the 3rd and 4th. I would appreciate it if you could reply. Thanks in advance!

     mike5710
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Offline mike_lang

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Re: Beethoven: Sonata No. 17
Reply #1 on: May 18, 2017, 10:17:14 PM
I'd say go with what your teacher says. Assuming you played the rep you listed above with any degree of fluency, there's no reason you should have a hard time dealing with "Tempest." It sounds more like a motivation issue than an ability thing, frankly.
 

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