I'm off to study Music at Uni in September and I'm wondering what piano music to buy/take with me. I want to take the music that I can perform now but also get some diploma standard repertoire to be working on while I'm there, if that makes sense. Any ideas?

Basics would be both books of the 48 preludes and fugues, complete piano works of Beethoven, Haydn and Mozart, some Chopin, Schubert and a few more modern bits and bobs. Have you a large budget of a friendly family and a birthday coming up soon? Good luck with your course.

I have a well timed birthday - just as I start my uni course! I think this is going to set me back quite a bit isn't it?! What do you suggest for modern bits and bobs? Thanks for your help!

what 's your taste ? how modern is modern? maybe some Scott Joplin, Prokoviev, Poulenc, Billy Mayerl, Debussy Preludes, Ravel ...

Some Rachmaninov preludes? Scriabin preludes? The possibilities are endless...

It's hard to define my taste, there's no type of music I dislike! I really like Debussy and Shostakovich and I'm learning a nice piece by Copland, was really just wondering if there was a sort of staple repertoire that every pianist should have! I want to play everything!

If you have got several months in which to acquire things, start watching e-bay. I have bought quite a few biggish volumes for 99p (Field's Nocturnes, Chopin's Mazurkas ...).

Perhaps some Scarlatti? Grieg Lyric Pieces? There is sooo much piano repetoire!

Sorry - haven't really got anything helpful to add but just wanted to wish you the best of luck at uni. I'm a Birmingham graduate (quite a long time ago now!) and I just had the best four years there studying languages - fantastic place!

Have you got anything like a Red Cross bookshop where you live? I've found some fantastic bargains there - boxes of music, no-one else interested. Likewise car boot sales / e bay etc. The main thing is to play as much of the repertoire as you can so that you are at least vaguely familier with as much as possible (imho). How about looking at some duets and trios - you'll have plenty of people to play with when you get to Uni - lucky you! Have fun

I would suggest as staple works to get your standards up:

Bach

2 and 3 part inventions
WTC Bk1 and 2
Six Partitas - DipABRSM to FRSM level although individual movements may be as easy as Grade 5


Beethoven Mozart, Haydn Complete Sonatas - ranging from Grade6 to FRSM

Schumann complete edition - harder but essential for any pianist to get the "big" technique

Brahms Late piano pieces Op116-119 - these range in difficulty from Grade 7 to FRSM level


With this collection of music you would have limitless combinations of repertoire for all Diploma levels including FRSM.


When it comes to 20th century choose things you like - it's really down to personal taste whether you like Ravel of Prokovief.

I would put Gershwin in my modern bits and bobs. I'm a fan of his. Granados and Albeniz too.

and the toccatas are also very useful and very pleasing to play!

I wanted to put the Toccatas but didn't want to scare Soph off with too much. But then again, you can never have too much Bach under ones fingers.

How about some chamber music? You will be meeting lots of other good musicians, not all of whom will be pianists. On my degree course, chamber music was a mandatory part of the Year 1 Performance module.

My "staple repertoire" includes both the Mozart piano quartets, the "Kegelstatt" trio and the Shostakovich quintet. If I had enough time to prepare them, I would tackle the Mozart Quintet for Piano and Wind and the Trio for Flute, Oboe and Piano by Walter Leigh. I used to try the Faure piano quartet but never got it secure enough even for a satisfying private play-through. You could consider it: I have improved rather little as a pianist since I scraped through Grade 8, 55 years ago.

I'd say get a range of styles together, from Bach ,Handel and Mozart. Then some of the Romantics like Liszt Schumann and Chopin, Nationalists Grieg, Smetana and Albeniz. Well i could be here all day. But get some variety in there including modern pieces and song arrangements.

As pianists, we are so lucky to have such an enormous repertoire - the trouble is, it's hard to select a small amount as being the standard repertoire. I've been teaching for nearly 30 years & have a large collection, but still don't have it all (which is great, as it's lovely to have an excuse to get more music!). It would be enormously expensive, at today's prices, to buy a large collection of music. I've bought a lot from ebay, as well as some 2nd hand music from a local piano shop & local music shop. I also have quite a few Dover editions, which are cheap ways of getting a large amount of a composer's music in 1 or 2 volumes & are often discounted on amazon.

I would be inclined to get what you can find at bargain prices & choose what particularly appeals to you at first. I think it would be better to wait & see what is actually needed before you get too much. Your teacher may have some very different ideas of what you need & it will partly depend on the course requirements. I was at a recital last night by a uni lecturer in composition. He played some wonderful pices by 2 colleagues, as well as Ligeti & Beethoven (in a new edition). If you study composition & 20th/21st century history in your course (which is likely), it may be useful & interesting (or even required) for you to play some modern music (a bit more recent than Prokofiev or Gershwin!). The uni library will probably have a good collection of the types of music that you will be studying, so you can always borrow music before deciding to buy it.

If you like Shoastkovitch, you need to start with the 24 Preludes Op34, the Five Early Preludes, and 'Three Fantastic Dances.' Later move on the the Prleudes and Fugues, a few are playable(in C , E min, D, A, B flat, F) but some horrendous! I cant even get the theme of the Gsharp minor fugue right!

Thank you for all your suggestions! There's so much to choose from and I want to play everything! Time to start eBay hunting!

Its always good to be working on an etude! Try some of Chopin's... they are SO helpful in developing technique! Good luck!

Hmmm: I think a lot of people have read this as "Standard Repertoire" rather than "Diploma-standard Repertoire", which is what you actually asked, but without the hyphen.

I would start by looking at the listed diploma repertoire. From this, pick out a short list of about twice the size you will need (so that you can prune later), that fulfils the criteria for the exam and that you like. That should give you a list that is ambitious but not unrealistic.

Sorry but those who say "the whole Piano works of Beethoven, Haydn and Mozart" or "Try the Chopin etudes" (in each case, many of which are listed for LRSM or FRSM) just haven't read the question (even if you did like the answers!)

Well I'll buy it anyway - hopefully by the end of my four years at Birmingham I'll be LRSM standard. Hmm that's possibly a pipe dream but there's no harm in aiming high!

do you post on the student room soph?

I do indeed, it was you who helped me with what academic books to buy wasn't it? If it was, I repped you today

nice one, I hope you found it helpful. It's so weird to find someone post on different boards and yet still on the internet; feel like I know you better for doing so or something haha. And I wish you an awesome time at Birmingham; I'm sure you'll be able to find any books/sheet music you need to in the library there.

Thank you I started at Nottingham in September and didn't like it so I'm praying it works out this time! But I'll be studying music this time, so things should be a lot better!