Hi everybody!

I just wonder what grade is the Solfigietto piece because I am currently working on it!?

I _think_ about 4 or 5

It depends whether you are going to play it as originally intended (ie left hand only) or using both hands !
With both hands I suppose Grade 4

I didn't know that, that could be a good party piece - CPE Bach in the left hand, pint of beer in the right!

When I was in Guangzou a few years ago now I saw Lang Lang play this with his right hand whilst attempting to peel a clementine with his left hand

It's Solfeggietto, isn't it??

It's just appeared on the new (2009-10) ABRSM piano syllabus for Grade 6.

Really?! I'm sure I've got it in a book of pieces aimed at grades 4-5

Are you serious?!

I learnt this piece when I was 9 or 10 I think, it was in Alfred's Piano Library book 6 or something. Which is NOT equivalent to Grade 6, by a long shot..

if it's the one in C minor Wq 117/2 then it definately is on the grade 6 syllabus

I've always used it as a piece for pupils around grade 6 level. Some of them are pleased to see it on the new grade 6 exam syllabus. I feel that's the right level for it, but these things are always a matter of opinion.

That and Fur Fleas are two pieces that I avoid until about grade six. Then the students make a decent job of them in a short time.

The notes are not that hard. I think a Grade 4 student would probably be able to get the notes pretty easily.

However, to play it musically, evenly, and with the right articulation can be pretty hard. It's a bit like asking a choir to sing something in unison and unaccompanied. The notes are very exposed and any little imperfections can be heard.

Although it may be an easy choice for a Grade 6 exam, it would still take loads of practice to make it sound good and effortless.

Its even been in Grade 7 on LCM. !. Its not that difficult. I was playing it at about age 9 or 10, the notes fall under the hands quite well.

It depends on what the examiners are looking for. A performance could get a good mark in grade 4 but.......repeat the same performance in grade 6 and I would *hope* that you would get a poor mark!

There are always oddities - I learned Gnoss. no 3 (Satie) when I was about grade 3 and could paly it quite well but that's in grade 6 now.

I agree, it's not difficult, as long as you keep the tempo and fluency of the piece going. I was playing this at about grade 3/4 and certainly would not rate it higher than this. I use it most evenings as a practice piece, instead of some scale work, to get my fingers and hands 'warmed up'.

Pieces are not of any particular grade. There may be a certain minimum level of playing ability before you can even hit the right notes of a piece, in the right order, at the right tempo, but after that the more skillful you become the better you will play it. There are some Mozart sonatas that are playable (and worth attempting) at grade 5, but to play them truly beautifully and to communicate everything that Mozart put into them is still a challenge to the very best pianists in the world.

It is a revelation to hear "elementary" pieces played by a world class performer, with accurate tempo, and precision in touch, length of notes, use of the pedal, absolute control of dynamics, meticulous attention to phrasing ... I recently hear some "middle-grade"( ! ) Czerny studies played by a very good recitalist and they were quite beautiful.

The same piece can appear in the syllabus for widely different grades - but the examiners will be expecting a much superior standard of playing to merit a pass or better in the higher grade. You can probably make something of Solfegietto when you are at about Grade 2 standard, but you will still be improving your performance when you have achieved your FRSM.



p.s. I could play it with the toes of my left foot , standing on my head, with a bottle of warm milk in my hands, when I was three.

Very wise words there, Tom.


Is this whilst answering questions on differential calculus?

It might make a good pedal exercise for the organ, though there would be problems with the range !

Well, I learnt it not long after taking my grade 4, but my teacher said it was about grade 6. However, my mum can play it from memory, yet still struggles to play the tune of jingle bells (with 1 note in one hand at a time) when we have our annual wheeling out the Christmas duet book session.

It's set at Grade 4 for AMEB (the Australian exam board).

I'm learning it at the moment as an alternative grade 6 piece - in case the Mozart proves too difficult to bring off.