i'm planning to join a competition in July
i'm confused to select these pieces

preliminaries:
-one of Bach's three-part sinfonias

next stage:
-one of the 1st movt. of haydn's sonata Hob. XVI except no 1-15 and 35
-one from albeniz or villa-lobos or mendelssohn max. 8mins (i prefer to play albeniz or villa-lobos)

please help me select pieces around gr. 7-8
thanks!

m_b_s

May I ask which competition this is so I can have a look at the criteria?

My suggestions would be:

Haydn Sonatas:

Mov't 1, Sonata in E Hob XVI/31
Mov't 1, Sonata in C Hob XVI/50 (maybe harder than grade 8 standard, not sure)
Mov't 1, Sonata in B Minor Hob XVI/32
Mov't 1, Sonata in Ab Hob XVI/46 (not a favourite of mine, but definitely at the level you want)

Mov't 1, Sonata in Eb Hob XVI/52 (this is harder than grade 8, but really worth it if you can play it)


Mendelssohn:

The "Seven Characteristic Pieces", Op. 7 can be quite good if played well, especially if you choose one that contrasts with the rest of your programme.

Song Without Words have a lot of good pieces you could play. Maybe Op. 19 No. 1 in E major?
I would say that most of Opus 19, Opus 53, Opus 62, Opus 85 and maybe some of Opus 102 would be within this level.


For Albeniz, I would go with his "Cordoba"

I'm not sure about Villa-Lobos but I'm sure someone else will be familiar with his works.

Thank you for your recommendation Cadence
I'm downloading them now at IMSLP, but i can't find Albeniz's Cordoba there.

Actually gonna consult it with my teacher next week but i just saw the publication yesterday and the closing date is the 1st april

I'm actually not really sure about myself, i have no idea about the pieces, but really want to have an experience competing and performing in front of the audience


This is not a big competition, only held in a small city
also commemorating composers' birthday and death of haydn, villa-lobos, mendelssohn and albeniz

Waiting for another recommendation

If the competition is in July it is a bit late to be learning new pieces and expecting them to be thoroughly assimilated by the time of the concert. Certainly three new pieces is a lot to take on. Do you not have a Bach 3-part invention and a Haydn Sonata in your repertoire already? Then you could concentrate on just one new piece by Mendelsohn, Albeniz, or Villa Lobos.

Those three composers have quite different styles. My personal choice would be Albeniz, and at grade 7/8 that rules out his masterwork - Iberia - but almost anything from the Suite Espagnole Op. 47 would fit the bill. Seville is the eighth and last piece in that Suite, but several of the others are enjoyable pieces and are at about the right standard. A lot of them sound more difficult than they are.

You can check many of them out on YouTube - but beware, there are some awful performances there.

I have played one easy Haydn's sonata and tried a couple of Bach's 2 part invention.
Okay, i realised this competition is higher than my ability
One more, and this is the worst, i have to memorise all pieces
But i'll try my best

Thanks for the comments, i'm going to print all the pieces and try it now

Just printed nearly all suggestion
I've sightread Albeniz's Suite Espagnole no. 2 and Albeniz's Zortzico, both aren't really hard for me and i like them

The tough one i think are the haydn's

Thank God that the closing date for registration has been changed to 30th of April, so i have around one month to discuss pieces with my teacher

Any suggestion for the sinfonias please?
Thanks

m_b_s

Number 11 is the easiest, and a very nice piece of music.

Sorry about the mistake in my last contribution. Seville is the 7th piece of the Suite, not the 8th, though there was no god reason to single it out - all the pieces are very good. But your choice of the other suite is fine too.

I'll get back with a Haydn suggestion when I've finished playing through them all.

My suggestion for a Haydn Sonata is Hob XVI/18 in Bb because:

1. It is relatively short at only two movements, so it is reasonable to aim to memorize it and play it well in so short a time

2. There are no especially fast and brilliant sections that are the most common difficulty in Haydn's sonatas. It does not have the ferocious Presto that Haydn often used to give his Sonatas a brilliant ending and the first movement is only Allegro Moderato

3. In general it is not too demanding technically. Unlike the late sonatas Hob XVI 48-52 - which require a virtuoso technique to be played well.

4. It is nevertheless a very beautiful composition

If you don't like this one then for similar reasons I would suggest taking a look at Hob XVI/30 in A, XVI/33 in D or XVI/44 in G minor.

Thanks for another suggestion MT
Mm, actually sevilla (sevillanas) is no. 3
no. 7 is castilla and no. 8 is cuba

Okay, i'll try bach no 11 and some haydns again
Gonna meet my teacher this saturday to discuss this

Thanks!

Well, my parents don't agree if i join this competition because of my bad marks in midsemester test
i have to study more physics and chemistry to pass 11th grade to 12th grade
Also have met my teacher yesterday, we both actually doubt on the pieces because they are about grade 8 and above (and also must be memorised!!)
So, i decided to focus on my school study and grade 7

Many thanks to Cadence and Mad Tom for the suggestion