Piano suggestions (muso-ish)

[Kishi the Bad Lampshade]

I'm taking on Grade 8 piano. The list of pieces to choose from for the exam is here (as cribbed from the ABRSM website):
LIST A
1 Cimarosa Sonata in D minor: No. 25 from Raccolta di varie sonate, Book 2 Selected Piano Exam Pieces
2 Handel Fugue No. 6 in C minor, HWV 610 2009–2010, Grade 8
3 Hindemith Interludium (Pastorale) and Fuga secunda in G: from Ludus tonalis (ABRSM Publishing)
4 J. S. Bach Prelude and Fugue in F minor, BWV 881: No. 12 from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Part 2 (ABRSM
Publishing)
5 J. S. Bach Sinfonia: 1st movt from Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826. J. S. Bach Partitas Nos 1–3 (ABRSM
Publishing)
6 D. Scarlatti Fugue in G minor ('The Cat Fugue'), Kp. 30 (L. 499). Scarlatti The Five Fugues (ABRSM Publishing)
7 D. Scarlatti Sonata in B, Kp. 262 (L. 446). No. 82 from Scarlatti 200 Sonatas, Vol. 2 (Editio Musica Budapest
Z.8268/FM Distribution) or (separately: Ricordi/UMP)
8 Shostakovich Prelude and Fugue in G, Op. 87 No. 3. Shostakovich 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87, Vol. 1 (Boosey
& Hawkes/MDS or Peters EP 4716a)

LIST B
1 Beethoven Finale: 3rd movt from Sonata in C minor, Op. 10 No. 1 Selected Piano Exam Pieces
2 Clementi Allegro con brio: 1st movt from Sonata in Bb, Op. 24 No. 2 2009–2010, Grade 8
3 Mendelssohn Allegretto con espressione: 1st movt from Sonata in E, Op. 6 (ABRSM Publishing)
4 Beethoven Allegro: 1st movt from Sonata in E, Op. 14 No. 1 (ABRSM Publishing: ed. Cooper or Craxton/Tovey)
5 Haydn Rondo (Presto): 3rd movt from Sonata in Ab, Hob. XVI/43. No. 4 from Haydn Selected Keyboard
Sonatas, Book 2 (ABRSM Publishing)
6 J. N. Hummel Rondo in Eb, Op. 11 (Peters EP 7045)
7 Mozart Allegro assai: 3rd movt from Sonata in F, K. 332/300k (ABRSM Publishing)
8 Mozart Molto allegro: 1st movt from Sonata in C minor, K. 457 (ABRSM Publishing)

LIST C
1 Y. Bowen Prelude in E minor: No. 10 from 24 Preludes, Op. 102
2 Brahms Intermezzo in B minor: No. 1 from Clavierstücke, Op. 119
3 Brian Elias Moto Perpetuo
4 Piazzolla Retrato de Alfredo Gobbi
5 Prokofiev March, Op. 33 No. 1: from The Love for Three Oranges, trans. Prokofiev
6 Thomas 'Fats'Waller Alligator Crawl
7 Chopin Prelude in C# minor, Op. 45. No. 25 from Chopin Preludes (ABRSM Publishing)
8 Copland No. 2: from Four Piano Blues (Boosey & Hawkes/MDS)
9 Debussy Arabesque No. 2 in G. Debussy Deux Arabesques (Wiener Urtext/MDS or Bärenreiter BA 8768)
10 Gershwin The Man I Love. Meet George Gershwin at the Keyboard (Faber)
11 Ireland Month's Mind. Ireland The Collected Piano Works, Vol. 4 (Stainer & Bell)
12 Liszt Consolation No. 3 in Db, S. 172/3. Liszt 21 Short Piano Pieces (ABRSM Publishing)
13 Musorgsky Gopak (from Sorochintsï Fair), arr. Thümer (Schott ED 07028/MDS)
14 Rachmaninov Moment musical in B minor: No. 3 from Six Moments musicaux, Op. 16 (Simrock/MDS)
15 Skryabin Poème in F#: No. 1 from Deux poèmes, Op. 32 (Belaieff BEL 160/MDS)
16 Errollyn Wallen I Wouldn't Normally Say. Salsa nueva (Boosey & Hawkes/MDS)

In case you don't know, you choose one piece each from List A, B and C.
So do any of you classically-trained musos know/recommend any of these pieces? I'm going to try a few out and see if I can find some of them on Youtube, because I don't know any of them (at least not by name) except the Fats Waller song. I'm willing to have a go at any of them (except for Scarlatti, he can fuck off. I failed one of his on my Grade 5).

Also any tips generally for passing this exam would be appreciated.

[Ginyard]

Can't your teacher give you some guidance?. He/she's in the best position to know what you're going to pull off. Short of saying 'hey, that's a good piece', its difficult to give advice without knowing just how good you are. I mean, are you able to handle cross-rhythms and ornaments fluently?. Are you good at bringing the inner voices out in contrapuntal works?. If not then steer clear of the Baroque and Shostakovich pieces in section A and aim for the Cimarosa.

The Mozart F major in section B has done the rounds in ABRSM exams in the past and is a good work to tackle if you have effective economy of movement and agile fingers. If you prefer to dig in and go all out on expression then anything by Beethoven is a good bet, although I advised a pupil to go for the Hummel the other  and she's on target to score a high merit I reckon, partly because she exceeded my expectations with that piece so far (and her great sightreading). Despite being Mozart's protege, Hummel was shot from the same barrel as Beethoven in terms of borderline romantic expression.

After the ever conservative A and B sections, the C section has some good stuff in and quasi-jazzy dross this year. The Prokofiev is proving a big hit and, at the risk of opening up a can of wanking worms, its a good workout if you know how to use your forearm and wrists properly. The York Bowen piece is good (as, somewhat sadly, are so many of his works, racist fucker that he apparently was) and I love the Brahms Intermezzo, one of the easier ones. But if you like the Fats Waller then go for that. I'd only advise the Scriabin if you're feeling adventurous as he's not the easiest to play if you're not clued in to the way his harmony moves so idiosyncratically. I've seen people fall from tackling him before. Personally, bar the easier preludes, I think he's best left until diploma standard. John Ireland I can't stand so I'm not going to make a case for him but, as an ABRSM examiner, I've had to endure listening to him many times and have to write enthusiastic remarks about performances when secretly I've wanted to puke on the performer for their choice.

How's your sightreading and aural etc?. What did you score for grade 7?.

[Neville Chamberlain]

Since I failed grade 2, got sacked by my teacher, and my favourite pianist is Les Dawson, I'd better not reply to this thread.

[Kishi the Bad Lampshade]

Thanks loads for the big post Ginyard, it was very helpful (and probably the only proper reply I'll get). I asked my teacher what my strangths and weaknesses are (I'm not very self-aware) and now I'm pretty sure I'm going for the Beethoven for B as my strength is apparently the "passion of my playing" so he'd be the obvious choice, and with him you can do lots of rubato and big fuck-off dynamics (as I believe the professionals call it). My weakness is probably that when it comes to scaly bits or long lines of semiquavers I tend to lose control at high speed, so I'm going to try and avoid anything with too many of those (or maybe I should do a piece like that so I can learn to tighten up). Having heard all the A tunes now, I'm going for the Cimarosa, and I haven't listened to the Cs yet. Much as I love Fats Waller, I don't know about picking him because I'm not very experienced with jazz (and I have small hands, so the LH part, with its big gaps between notes, might be literally too much of a stretch for me).

As for the other parts of the exam, I'm pretty good at scales, arpeggios etc., not too good at sight reading, and good at aural (fnaar fnaar). Well, most of it, I've a good ear but my singing voice is shite so on the first test where you sing back a line, I get nervous and screw up. As for Grade 7...I haven't done it. My teacher wanted me to skip it and go straight to 8 after 6 - I asked her if she was sure that was a good idea, because of the massive jump and all, but she said that's what she did when she was learning. And even if I struggle with the pieces at first, since the syllabus has just come into effect I've got two years to study for it if I need to. For Grade 6 I got a high merit (would have been a distinction, I reckon, but I went through some personal stuff just before the exams).

PS You're right, John Ireland is cheesy wank.

PPS Neville, did you really get sacked by your teacher?

[Ginyard]

Thanks loads for the big post Ginyard, it was very helpful (and probably the only proper reply I'll get). I asked my teacher what my strangths and weaknesses are (I'm not very self-aware) and now I'm pretty sure I'm going for the Beethoven for B as my strength is apparently the "passion of my playing" so he'd be the obvious choice, and with him you can do lots of rubato and big fuck-off dynamics (as I believe the professionals call it). My weakness is probably that when it comes to scaly bits or long lines of semiquavers I tend to lose control at high speed, so I'm going to try and avoid anything with too many of those (or maybe I should do a piece like that so I can learn to tighten up). Having heard all the A tunes now, I'm going for the Cimarosa, and I haven't listened to the Cs yet. Much as I love Fats Waller, I don't know about picking him because I'm not very experienced with jazz (and I have small hands, so the LH part, with its big gaps between notes, might be literally too much of a stretch for me).

As for the other parts of the exam, I'm pretty good at scales, arpeggios etc., not too good at sight reading, and good at aural (fnaar fnaar). Well, most of it, I've a good ear but my singing voice is shite so on the first test where you sing back a line, I get nervous and screw up. As for Grade 7...I haven't done it. My teacher wanted me to skip it and go straight to 8 after 6 - I asked her if she was sure that was a good idea, because of the massive jump and all, but she said that's what she did when she was learning. And even if I struggle with the pieces at first, since the syllabus has just come into effect I've got two years to study for it if I need to. For Grade 6 I got a high merit (would have been a distinction, I reckon, but I went through some personal stuff just before the exams).

PS You're right, John Ireland is cheesy wank.

Yeah, you've got loads of time on your side. I don't know how I feel about grade jumping  -  6 to 8 is one hell of a leap. But your teacher should know best, and a high merit at 6 is a very decent mark. If I was you, I'd seriously consider going all out with the Hanon, Czerny and Bartok exercises/studies to really get your fingers working at their best. I've always been an advocate of entering people who are that next step on so they're comfortable in the zone, so to speak. If you can hammer your way through those sorts of studies its going to give you an extra burst of technical confidence in the long run.

I only ever took the grade 8 exam and none of the earlier ones as I was taught by a russian pianist who thought it was all pretty dubious and narrow-minded (something I secretly agree with but would never admit as examining pays nicely). But, as a kid, I was at the gruesomely competitive Purcell school where you had to sit the exam at some point before you went on to the diplomas so people could admire/shit-on you, depending on your mark.

Once you've got your chops up then, if you ever fancy recording yourself and want some earnest appraisal, then don't hesitate to PM me a link. I'll be only too happy to help.

BTW, while its early days, don't forget to check out the Trinity/Guildhall exams. The syllabus and options might suit you more.

[Artemis]

Urgh, I got flashbacks of piano lessons while reading that list. I got to grade 4, then bulked at grade 5 because - if I recall right - that's the grade you have to start swotting up on theory as well as just playing the bloody thing. I carried on with lessons (ultimately had nine years of them) then abandoned it altogether, and just played for pleasure, mainlg ad-libbing blues and jazz stuff. I was fortunate to have reached the point where I could play by ear. I still can, although I've not played now for years, but I'd be lost if you put a sheet of music in front of me.

[Ginyard]

Urgh, I got flashbacks of piano lessons while reading that list. I got to grade 4, then bulked at grade 5 because - if I recall right - that's the grade you have to start swotting up on theory as well as just playing the bloody thing.

Its a shame really as there are plenty of potentially good musicians who drop off at that point with the exams as they're just not up for spending a couple of terms' worth of time mugging up on theory and its practical application in music. Fact is, out of those who do sit the theory exam, 80% forget most of it in half a year and think a plagal cadence was some sort of temporary respite from the Black death. These days, there are other examining bodies with a more flexible system that draw on improvisatory skills etc and would probably have been something you'd have enjoyed rather than seen as a big brick wall.

For anybody who wants to take the instrument seriously and reach a professional (or semi-professional) level in classical music, then a really solid foundation in theory is a must. For most people though, a brief few lessons spent on musical terms, harmonic movement, ornamentation and its history etc would be fine. Dull as shit as that last sentence sounds, that sort of stuff can be really fun to learn with the right teacher. I think too many teachers aren't clued enough about how to achieve that though as they don't relate it directly to works in the student's present and future portfolio, or, beyond describing WHAT a particular term or technique is, paint an animated enough picture of WHY and HOW it is used the way it is.

Regardless, this is CaB, and I must shoehorn in the word 'crackwhore' or I'll pumkinise Grimm-style into actually appearing serious, and I can't have that here.

[Shaddock]

I'd only advise the Scriabin if you're feeling adventurous as he's not the easiest to play if you're not clued in to the way his harmony moves so idiosyncratically. I've seen people fall from tackling him before.

Right, so the Scriabin isn't Grade 8 after all then? !!!   I've played Scriabin from a Grade 4 book (1979 exams I think).  He's not ALL for people who have reached the level of Vladimir Horovitz!

[Ginyard]

Right, so the Scriabin isn't Grade 8 after all then? !!!   I've played Scriabin from a Grade 4 book (1979 exams I think).  He's not ALL for people who have reached the level of Vladimir Horovitz!

Wow...that's quite a blue thing you've got going on there Shaddock!.

No, I was thinking specifically of the higher grade stuff. If you read back, I mention his easier (and most often earlier and more harmonically conventional) preludes as approachable. Its not so much that its technically beyond performers at that level (they wouldn't put it in if it wasn't) just that some of his works they put in these exams are prone to be played badly by people who just don't get how its played even if they possess the ability to play it technically. Its a bit like Chopin's mazukas. A lot of people play them very badly as well, even some decent pianists, because they don't get the way they need to be shaped rhythmically speaking. They think they're like the waltzes because of the often simple accompaniment and overall structure and they're not at all. As approachable and inviting as they might seem sometimes, they're like the blues in that if you don't 'get it', its going to sound shite. Anyhoo, I guess I've just heard more than my fair share of badly played Scriabin over the years.

[Neville Chamberlain]

PPS Neville, did you really get sacked by your teacher?

^

Yes, in a way. Despite her being a good friend of the family and having already seen my two older brothers through to Grade 8, she felt I was a completely hopeless case and told my parents so in no uncertain terms! Obviously she was quite happy to forgo the quite hefty tuition fees if it meant she'd never have to see my face again!

Anyway, good luck with your exams, Mr. Lampshade!