I'm will be starting my build up to Grade 8 very soon, so I'd be interested in knowing what pieces off the current sylabus people like/know are good to play? I know that I'm going to have a hard time choosing on the A list as I like both the Brahms Sonata and the Mozart Concerto.

What pieces are/have people doing/done? Are there any favourites on the list or even some that I should avoid!

Thanks
RAM

I liked the Brahms, Mozart and Weber from list A and learnt all three then decided to do the Crussel for my exam. I loved it and loved all the extra effort involved in polishing it.
I also did Finzi from list B and Bach from list C.
It was nice to do Finzi and "finish the set", and the Bach was great but hard work because there are no breathing spaces.

I think you should try them out for yourself before choosing, and see what you love enough to do the necessary work on.

It seems to me the A list is full of goodies. My daughter has opted for the Krommer, which I think is a good choice. Would it be sacrilege to say I prefer it to the Mozart? Then she's doing the Poulenc from list B and the Harvey from list C. I'm coming round to this last one, but still love the Hailstork pieces (as discussed some time ago in another thread). Still, thankfully, it's not me that has to play them.

Plenty of good stuff on all three lists : a very quick resume...

A : Mozart is good - but whichever of the movements you do, make sure it's good, mistakes will show up like sore thumbs here. The Crusell is just as nice, and probably a safer bet. Well worth looking at the Brahms and the Schumann too, and the Saint-Saens isn't too taxing and is pleasant to play, most of the difficulty is right at the beginning of this.

B : A couple of pieces here that I think are too hard for grade 8, the Lutoslawski, the 3rd movement of which is fiendish, and the Philip Grange, which I also find a very strange number. The Malcolm Arnold is great fun, as is the Bernstein, and everyone should play the Finzi Fughetta at least once!

C : Both the Muller studies are easy-ish for the grade, but may be ultimately unrewarding, and the Allen is very study-ish. Perhaps the rather excellent Paul Harvey study and the Rachmaninov transcription are the nicest for me. The Hailstork may have left Tracey with a smile, they left me with a rather pained expression. Neither are easy, and I didn't really like the final result even when I worked the movements out...

I agree Barry with all your comments. The Krommer on list A used to be Guildhall grade 7 and is a much easier and safer choice, but they're all nice in that list really. I love the Crusell. List B the Lloyd Webber or Fughetta would be my choices, and probably the Harvey for list C.

I think unless you are needing to dash to 8 you should try to get to know as much of the syllabus as poss - its all good core rep that will give you a good grounding.

Having said that my preferences are Crusell or Brahms on list A. Poulenc, Arnold or Lutoslawski for B then Harvey or Berkley for list C.

Mozart

*goes off to have a look whats on current gd. 8 list*

For list A, I think the Devienne is a hidden gem, it's not played that much (and I think it might be difficult to find a recording outside of the ABRSM ones) but it really is lovely. All the movements are, definitely worth a look (IMHO!)

For list B, Poulenc all the way, and then List C, the Paul Harvey is really good, and the other movements are great too and around the same standard so you wouldn't just be buying the book for one piece!

Having said that, for my G8 I did Crusell, Finzi and Lennox Berkeley, and loved them all too!

I think that the Arnold Cooke is no longer on the list? I have recently got out everything I own that is on the G7 and G8 syllabus for a young clarinettist to borrow and there were a few things that have disappeared since my day. My teacher started me off on Mozart and Cooke and I came back after the summer holidays having decided I'd much rather do Weber (grand duo) and Arnold (1st mvmt of each). Is it the final Schumann fantasie piece that's on list A? If so I would probably plump for that, or the Brahms Eb if I were taking the exam now, and probably the Poulenc from list B. I've never been a huge fan of Finzi, and the first and last of those pieces are my least favourite anyway. I don't know why I didn't do the Brahms F minor (the first movement was list A in my day) - that would have been a better contrast to the Arnold first movement than the Weber, I think. AH! the opening of the Cooke and the Brahms F minor are sort of inversions of each other IIRC, so that would have been a peculiar pairing. I did work up the Saint Saens for an audition once - that is one of the least performed on the list and is great for an expressive player.

Sorry, rambling... un embarras des riches (sp?) here, I think everyone just has to choose the pieces that spark for them. So in answer to the original poster, listen to as many as you can, play as many as you can afford and then choose!

The Poulenc sonata is one of those pieces that every clarinettist ought to at least have a go at, even if (like me) you end up not really liking it...

I have had a listen to the Poulanc, and I agree. I find it quite hard to listen to, so not sure how it will be to play! It's certainly very dramatic (and high )

Give it a go : you may get on with it fine

After a lot of thinking on this matter, My Grade 8 will be this year (2012) at some point.

A. Brahms
B. lloyd Webber
C. Muller No.76

I'm really happy about these three, I have looked at almost all the syllabus and these are the best pieces I've found for my style of play.

I'd be interested to hear your final choices.

Regards, Peter.

Best of luck, c-76!

I'm not a massive fan of the Muller, though it's not a difficult piece considering its grade 8-ness, but the other two pieces are great, the Brahms especially Have fun!

Hi Peter

Good choice here - although I have just started looking at the Crusell and have fallen in love with it? Are you going to Egham - it would be good to catch up again, and maybe play some duets!!

Good luck with your Grade 8 preparation!

It isn't as bad as it looks at 1st sight. It isn't the easiest option on the list but as Barry says it is one of the works everyone should look at. I'm sure if you ask nicely you know someone who'll at least let you have a quick look at some of the music!

Does it remind anyone else of "It's a Long Way to Tipperary"? (I prefer the second movement - but like it all).

Oh yes, a definite embarrasment of riches on the current Grade VIII syllabus. Way back last century when I did mine I did the third movement of the Mozart , the Milhaud Duo Concertant and a Klose study (No 48 in 50 Classical Studies, anyone?). If I was doing the exam again, I'd probably stick with the Mozart and do the Finzi and Muller. Or maybe the Saint-Saens. Or Schumann. With the Bowen. Or Lloyd Webber. Then Bach. Or Berkeley. <sigh>


By far the hardest thing about the Muller is the key - clarinettists aren't meant to play in five sharps and then deal with double sharps That said, once you've got over that basic hurdle, it's a comparatively easy piece, and perfect for being a "woe is me" drama queen

Thanks and you too B-C, (still looking every day for your diploma results and excited for you).
It was a hard choice as the Grade 8 syllabus is full of outstanding pieces.
I love the Crusell but didn't feel I could do it justice.
I (of course) love Saint-saens but that 4th movement is so fast.
I also love all things Finzi, BUT that Fughetta is crazy hard.

Shamefully I'm not at Egham but I'm thinking of going to The ACE Foundation event Near Cambridge on the 26th Feb. with James Rae. I went last year and found it highly enjoyable.
It is a Clarinet and Saxophone day with a French theme.

Regards, Peter.

um - no! And I'm usually quick to spot these things!

Deborah, I couldn't agree more about the sharps - that's what A clarinets were invented for!

That Muller is lovely though - being a drama queen, I enjoyed playing it

I did the third movement of the Mozart Concerto and the first movement of the Poulenc Sonata. I remember at the time also looking at Weber Concerto No.1, Finzi Bagatelles, Lutlowski Dance Preludes. I did a study out of 80 Graded Studies but can't remember which one.

Wish I had the patience to learn a full concerto for clarinet now , the last thing I learnt "properly" on clarinet was the Mozart Quintet. And that is getting on for 8 months ago now!

Well, I'm definitely buying the Mozart and the second 80 Graded Studies (or the Muhler I think, it's definitely got 5 sharps!), and I think at some point the Poulenc will come into my collection as I've been totally converted by over exposure! I just wish that it was the third movement rather that the first on the sylabus because I really like that one!

oh but the last bar of the 3rd movement defeats me with that high G#!

Just to keep this thread up to date, I think that there are the formings of a decision regarding Grade 8 in my head. At the moment that is:

A: Crussell or Devienne
B: Poulenc
C: M?ller No.76 in G# minor

I'm really enjoying all these pieces and am looking forward to polishing them up and hopefully giving some an outing in concerts in the summer and later this year.

A decent looking programme. I'm not personally struck on the Poulenc or the Muller (the Poulenc is just a personal thing, the Muller I think is a bit lacking in character), but I'm sure you'll do well with it. The Muller in particular is not hard for grade 8, the only real difficulty is the key.