At the risk of being boring I'd also really appreciate some expert comments on my proposed DipABRSM piano programme

It's shaping up to be
1. 6 Variations in F Major, Opus 34 – Beethoven
2. Prelude and Fugue in F# minor, Book 1 – Bach
3. Vision Fugitives No. 8,14,19,20 Op 22 – Prokofiev
4. Impromptu in F minor, Opus 31 – Faure
5. Sonata in D major, K. 29 – Scarlatti
6. Prelude in G# minor, Op. 32, No. 12 – Rachmaninoff

With an option of Impromptu in Ab Major, Opus 29 – Chopin going in between 1 and 2 if the programme is too short. At the moment the above sits at 31' 30" , so say allow a 15 sec pause between pieces that's probably about right

What do you think of the balance of composers, periods, styles etc .. please feel free to dismember and pick it to pieces .. I'd far rather my forum mates did than the examiner in May!!

how does it sit for 'difficulty' - I can play it all (obviously or I wouldn't be doing the piece) but overall is the programme a satisfactory level of complexity

waiting anxiously for your thoughts

MusicmanNZ (aged 15yrs)

More importantly, what do you think about it? Why did you choose that programme? Why did you order in that way? These kind of questions are key to the viva, so it would be interesting to hear your thoughts.


Are all the works from the repertoire list? If so, you shouldn't worry about difficulty. If you are not including own-choice stuff, you are safe.

Good luck...

Your programme shows enough variety in terms of period, mood and style.

I notice one minor problem, but you may be able to get away at the DipABRSM level. Most of your pieces are quite short. Personally, I would like to see one substantial, multi-movement work in the programme (10 minutes or longer). How long is the Beethoven Variations? Sorry I don't know that piece.

Also, it is always a good idea to end the recital with a loud, brilliant piece.

Thanks Organ Dummy
The Beethoven is 12 mins so I hope fits that requirement. The next longest piece is the Bach at 4 1/2 mins Obviously the Vision Fugitives are all very short - 4 1/2 mins the lot. Do you think the Rachmaninov is a flashy enough ending?
Thank you for your very constructive comments.

Out of interest how long would someone allow for i) a brief pause before going onto another fugitive or variation and ii) between each piece in seconds.

The recital part of the exam is timed to 35 min +/- 10%. In my program I have allowed just over 30 seconds between each piece and, as a singer, have allowed 4 - 5 minutes for a break in the middle. 30 seconds between songs is sufficient for me to rearrange my thoughts.

I don't know a lot about playing the piano. How long will it take you to change your music and then settle yourself down ready to play again? I would guess that for a work of several movements, you just need to allow sufficient time for the "audience" and yourself to relax for a moment or two and then set your thoughts on the new movement. In between works you will need a slightly longer time. I'm not sure but I think you may have to wait for the examiners to indicate they are ready for you to move on.

When are you planning to take your diploma?

Val

Hi Val

The first session of diploma exams are at the end of May in NZ and that is when I plan to take it. My thoughts are to have finished memorising / working on my programme by the end of March and then spend the next couple of months polishing and hopefully finding somewhere to have a couple of trial 'performances' (maybe at school or to some of my Mum's friends one night)

I haven't yet begun on programme notes but I'll have to start those soon too.

Gulp ... 18 weekends ...

Gulp .. all that reading I have to do to as I didn't even do Music GCE (yes I'm that old!) at school. And ONLY a max of 1100 words for 11 songs in the programme notes.

Val

The word count is a real issue for singers in these lower diplomas as song do tend to be short, so it is a real exercise in summary and precis. I found it hard enough at LRSM level and I had the luxury of and extra 700 words. The only advice I can give is keep it precise. Remember that extra detail can be drawn upon in your Viva Voce. I think I received this advice from a certain MrBouffant. I'm glad I took it as I got 19/25 for that section of my LRSM. You have no space for waffle, so if in doubt, leave it out.

Nice balance with one decently long piece and a good one to end, BUT . . .

. . . one slight reservation, or more accurately several but about the same piece(s):

Firstly, the Scarlatti you've mentioned isn't on the repertoire list. Not being on the list in itself isn't a problem, as the rules do explicitly allow up to 7 minutes of own-choice repertoire (though given the wealth of repertoire that is listed I really don't understand why anyone would take the admittedly slight risk of using an own-choice piece). The problem, to my mind, is that quite a few Scarlatti sonatas are listed, both at Dip and LRSM and, for both, they are listed in pairs not singly. The implication, to me, would be that if you do choose to play a Scarlatti sonata, you may be expected to play two. This itself generates two further problems: Firstly, more than one piece by a single composer is explicitly barred unless specifically indicated in the list. Secondly, that may take you over the 7 minutes for own-choice, or over 38.5 minutes (35 + 10%) for the entire recital.

Secondly, a repertoire for Dip is supposed to offer "a wide ranging . . . mixture of periods, style etc.". You already have a piece by J S Bach, born 1685. Offering a piece by Scarlatti, also born 1685, whilst certainly a different style, could hardly be described as a different period: Bach or Scarlatti in a DipABRSM recital are fine, but I would suggest not both.

I am by no means infallible but for these reasons I would not play the Scarlatti you've mentioned, at least not for a DipABRSM recital (in general, go for it: I don't know about you but I really rather like Scarlatti!)

One solution, if you like Scarlatti, would be to offer one of his pairs of listed sonatas and drop the Bach.

Another is to ignore me completely and just get on with it!