So far i have 2 pieces for my grade 8 piano.

b: Mozart (in purple book)
c: debussy's arabesques number 1....really pretty

what to do for A....?
i hate scarlatti and bach and cannot flay the prelude and fugue by that shotskiov w'e lk in a2

wat can i do?

also any recommended repertoire pieces???

Listen to the CD and see what springs out at you.

I'm doing the Handel, but I warn you it is not an easy option.

I'm doing those same pieces The Mozart, and the Debussy (both lovely)

I had learned the Bach Partita but wasn't that keen on it, so now I'm going to play the Scarlatti....

I know you said you hate Scarlatti, but that Sonata really grows on you - and it's good fun to play! Nice and light-hearted - maybe giveit another chance?

Amanda xx

I'm doing the Bach Allemande and love it but I suppose you could try the Lekeu (sp) Its on the cd, and a bit different from some of the others, though I havent seen the score so dont know about difficulty.
I'm doing the Arabesque too!

I love the arabesque - it's such a nice piece; I could listen to it all day.

Hi there,
I had a student of mine do Grade 8 last term and he did the same two pieces as you. He did the Lekeu as the A piece which is a 19th century take on fugue - rather grand and perhaps touch over the top in places but rather effective, I thought.

Best of luck with it all.

Thanks every one and i may give a try to that scarlatti piece....thanx again

I'm doing those two... I have my exam in 2 weeks! I'm doing the Shostakovich too - a complete monster of a work but what a sense of acheivement it will be if you play that one! There are 6 Grade 8 pianos on the same day as me. I am last - I know though that no-one else is playing that piece so it should set me apart if I don't screw it up!

owch!! it was lk that 4 my flute!!!! people came out cryin and were like the examiner was horrid but i quite liked him

debussy's first arabesque is grade EIGHT?!

*blinks*



but how come i can play it??? .... im only grade 6...

Because you're grade 6 piano but really grade 8 standard? Its a lovely piece isnt it?

It had me beat... will have to come back to it sometime I suppose.

I can't do the first few bars!

wow


proudness!!!!!!!

The first few bars are the hardest though.... It took me literally months to get them right!

eeeek had one of those 'I want to cry' lessons yesterday. Played my Allemande and Allegro Assai to what my teacher called the 'best he had ever heard them', but then he said my arabesque was really good too but all I could hear as I played it was NO musicality and complete ####

teachers.. never happy are they....

yeah, you're all right, it's a completely gorgeous piece!! i love debussy!

You gotta love that Arabesque.... is it really G8 standard? Must be the 'sustaining musicality while doing triplets and quavers in different hands' part, then there's a beautiful range of dynamics too.
You've all just got me inspired to get it up to scratch again!

Try the Scarlatti if you hate everything else. It does seem dull at first, but it really isn't; it's lovely and light-hearted. Couple it with a more dramatic piece for a good range for the examiner to listen to.