This has been on both Trinity and AB grade thee lists over the last few years or so. Is the syllabus version(s) the same as the one in "The Classic Experience" book? http://www.musicroom.com/se/id_no/0396640/details.html

Thanks. It's a long drive to look at a syllabus book.

Don't know about TG but it is the same as the AB book

Thanks Andy. I thought it was, but wanted some confirmation.

I've accompanied it for violin and cello. I don't even like it as Puccini wrote it (as a soprano aria from his opera Gianni Schicchi) and like it even less in the various bleeding chunk versions favoured by exam boards. It's hard to believe that there are huge numbers of worthwhile original solo pieces for strings, especially violins, available from all periods over the past 300 years at least. Pity the poor examiners. I deplore the constantly high proportion of arrangements included in exam syllabuses. Pity the poor composers of original music too! It must be really galling to see the names of the same arrangers cropping up frequently while their work is neglected.

I very much agree with this. There's a very small number of people who make really good instrument-specific arrangements, but then there's all the ones the ABRSM owns rights to and thus recycles every few years (Adam Carse has been dead for longer than Mozart lived...).

'Spectrum' was, is, wonderful. I hope they follow it up with more of the same. I adore the Bartok Duos, because they work exactly as intended, as a source of material for learning.

I don't know 'Spectrum' but I did find OMBC a useful learning tool. I like the aria and found that listening to it was really helpful regarding phrasing when I was playing, and that's what I was using the piece to focus on.

Dacapo - I also enjoyed playing it because it was music I recognised. Of course there are many compositions out there that could be used in exams, but how many of them are suitable for lower grades? For experienced players I guess it can be annoying to hear such reductions but for those of us - well for me at least - just starting out it gives a little extra boost being able to play a recognisable tune.