Hey.
I've decided it's time to learn a new piece, but I really don't know what to choose. I got my grade 8 almost a year and a half ago, so anything of a grade 8+ standard. Looking for a challenge! I've just finished learning Rachmaninoff's 2nd, which I really enjoyed, but want a bit of a change. Something relaxing at this busy time of exams etc.! So any suggestions would be lovely.
Rachel x x x x

If you like Rachmaninov, how about the Prelude in C Sharp Minor Op 3 No.2 - awesome

True, but maybe not very relaxing

How about a nice Chopin nocturne, or some Debussy?

How about a Bach prelude and fugue? I am post grade 8 and have thoroughly enjoyed learning p and f XXI in Bb major! Lovely stuff and strangely addictive!

Glinka's Nocturne in Eb, from the first book of his Complete Works. It is beautiful, and easier than Field's or Chopin's. But please don't murder it like the postings on YouTube

I would go for some John Ireland pieces. Greenways or Leaves from a Child's Sketchbook perhaps. (I think that is the correct title.)

The range of possibilities is huge:

For instance, after a thorough practice of my grade 8 pieces and scales yesterday I was looking for something similar i.e. something for post-grade 8. I sight-read (or otherwise hacked my way through) 2 Chopin nocturnes, a waltz, a ballade and the op.10 no3 study, 2 Debussy preludes, 2 Scarlatti sonatas, a Mozart Sonata, 2 of the Leibestraum by Liszt, something by Glinka, some Schumann (from Kinderscenen and Album fur die Jungen), some Dvorak (2 of the humoresques), all 3 Satie Gynmopedies, 2 Gershwin songs, the Grieg thing about a wedding the name of which always escapes me, and the score of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (with my son singing along). It all took quite a long time (several hours) but was great fun.

What struck me was that some of these I have attempted in the past and they were clearly quite beyond me, whereas yesterday I looked at most of them and thought "Is that it? With a bit of practice I can do that!" This must mean I'm getting better, I suppose. The ones I'm going to carry on with (eventually) are probably the Scarlatti, one of the Liszt (the less famous one!), the 2 Gershwin, one of the Debussy and probably the Mozart, on the grounds that these are set for Dip. The questions now are - which one first? Should I start before grade 8 or (more likely) concentrate solely on grade 8 until it's out of the way? Should I leave the Dip repertoire completely until I've consolidated and developed my technique a bit (on which point see a separate thread)? What will me teacher say?

The bottom line for you is to have a look at what music you've got and try playing some of it. If you want to be more narrowly guided and have a view to achieving a specific target, look at the repertoire list for DipABRSM.

Have fun. What other reason is there for playing?

the Grieg thing about a wedding the name of which always escapes me

Wedding Day at Troldhaugen ??

That's the one!

Blast from the past - did I play it for grade 8 in 1972? Anyway I could once play it smoothly and fluently - so I just dug it out - and made a complete hash of it - stumbled all the way through

To crush your opponent and make them feel stupid??

... whoops ... sorry ... that is chess!! Wrong forum.

Do you like Schubert? Most of the Impromptus would fit your bill. The first of OP 142 (D935) doesn't seem to be played as much as the others, yet after the stirring first 2 pages, with some tricky turns, comes some of the most meltingly beautiful music in the whole piano literature. I think!

Why does everything have to be labelled?
Ok, to progress you need to push the boundaries but there will be lots of music which is considered below that level if you were labelling it that you haven't played yet. Just because it's got a lower label on it doesn't mean it's not worth playing. I think you can often get so much out of playing 'easier' music to a high standard.
Maybe I'm just a bit of a wimp but I do the 'hard' stuff for lessons and enjoy more accessible things to play for relaxation. Wouldn't have the brain power to be working on extra hard stuff on my own on top of what my teacher sets anyway.
Being a competant reader doesn't stop me from reading 'children's' and 'teen' literature and enjoying it.

Well said, and worth saying - I think we tend to forget this!!

Yes - a very good point !

What I would want to play if I had your technique:
Brahms Violin Sonatas: 1 in G, 2 in A, 3 in D minor
Brahms Cello Sonata No 2 in F
Brahms Piano Quintet in F minor
Debussy Violin Sonata
Debussy 'Cello Sonata
Ravel Violin Sonata
Faure Piano Quartet
Ravel Piano Trio
Poulenc Oboe Sonata
The Scherzo of the Shostakovich Piano Quintet (I can play the other movements, more or less, but that one defeats me).

If these are not sufficently relaxing, what I actually play will be well within your grasp:
Mozart Trio for Cl, Va and Piano (Kegelstatt)
Mozart Piano Quartets in G minor and Eb
Brahms 'Cello Sonata No 1 in E minor
Shostakovich Viola Sonata

I'm sorry, I just wanted something harder to play because I feel I'm not progressing much at the moment, and I wanted something that I could work on and enjoy. And I would be learning it with my teacher, and I do play easier stuff on my own.
But I am open to all suggestions of pieces, if you have any.

If you don't already have it, what about buying Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words? I found Opus 30, no 1 particularly soothing to play recently. I'm really not sure what Grade it's at; it certainly wouldn't be more than 7, but why not make a point of playing something at this level really well as well as something harder? Sometimes things are on syllabi at a particular Grade, but we can play them much better now than we could have at that time.

Or John Field's Nocturnes? Much as I like Chopin, I don't always find his music particularly relaxing to play.
The Berceuse is an obvious exception, but it ain't easy! If you're a whizz-kidd with ledger lines you'll get the notes soon enough, but it's VERY hard to play well.

Don't rule out Bach, as somebody else said. It can be a headache working out ornaments, which is not what you want if you want something relaxing - so just go for something without loads of ornaments! I find Bach very easy on the nerves when stressed.

There are (at least) two kinds of difficulty. T

1. Being able to hit all the notes, in the right order, at the right speed, with more or less the right weight and touch.

2. Having sufficient musical understanding and physical control to create a meaningful and worthwhile piece of music.

Somewhere between Diploma and Licentiate the first of these ceases to be much of a problem. With the exception of totally outrageous stuff (Sorabji comes to mind) you just know that it is just a matter of doing the work and the repetition and you'll manage it.

But difficulty No 2 remains, and is present in even the simplest pieces.

That is why 30 or so years ago I thought a Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody was "harder" than an early Haydn sonata , and now I think entirely the opposite! I can rattle through Etudes by Chopin and Scriabin and other such stuff, but "simple" piecesby Gurlitt or the early pieces from Schumann's Album for the Young are still a challenge to play well - not to mention the Mozart sonatas.

In fact, the fewer the notes, the more exposed you are. It is no longer just the playing of the notes but how you play them. The precise timing of sounding and releasing them, the clarity of the articulation, the shaping of the phrases, the balance between the parts, the overall shape of the piece, what is it saying, where is its climax, where are the changes of mood and feeling, how can they be conveyed?

So right - don't despise the "simple stuff"!!

I think I've said here before that it was the slow movement of Bach's Italian Concerto (sight-readable) that put me off playing this for a licentiate diploma.

Okay, I'm really sorry if I came across arrogant. I honestly didn't mean it
And I really don't despise "the simple stuff", I love play everything when I'm working on my own.
But my teacher asked me to find a piece which could challenge me, so I needed advice and came on here, I don't mean to sound like I'd only play harder pieces, because it's really not like that at all.

And I hope I, for one, didn't sound like I thought were arrogant! Cos I didn't! I was just agreeing that getting the notes right isn't always the most difficult thing. It can be nice to consolidate your skills to date by playing something in which the 'notes' are fairly easy. I'd definitely go for Mendelssohn - the book is good value, because there's so much in it, and many of the pieces would be Grade 8 standard or more - some are just too short to be on a syllabus.

I don't think you are arrogant either...... apologies if it seemed that I was suggesting that.
I let my teacher decide what is appropriate to challenge me or whatever else I need. Good for you if you are able to find your own. I'd just dismiss everything as looking too difficult if left to my own devices I think.

Mendelsohns song without words are more difficult than they sound, but well worth the efforts. But if i were to suggest one piece for you to learn, I'd go for Scriabins Poeme 1 Op32, an amazing piece. Watch Pogorelich play it on Youtube, where he also plays the 2nd Poeme and an etude. You'll want to learn it.

Another way of looking at it might be to set yourself the challenge of playing a whole set of pieces such as Schumann's Kinderszenen or Debussy's Children's Corner, all of which are within your technical level, but to play them as a set at performance level is a challenge of concentration and musicality. And they're all pieces to treasure individually.