Hey everyone,

Been a while since I posted here Just looking for thoughts on a program for doing the LRSM;

what would ye make of the Chopin Fantasy Impromptu? Is it too much 'grade 8, common piece' standard, or, would it be acceptable?

A little torn on this one!

The standard's all in the playing! If you can play it to concert standard, if it compliments the rest of your programme, if you love the piece and want to study it, then go ahead; it doesn't matter if it's "grade 8" or not. (And, what's more, you'll be a pianist, my son...sorry, couldn't resist! )

cellocase, how lovely to see you posting again! Are your exams over now?

Apologies for being off topic, Symphony!

It's a bit hackneyed - just everyone tortures it on YouTube.

Thought I replied to this last night

Thanks Cello for the advice; it's actually my sister doing the LRSM, but she's a bit iffy on whether it'd be deemed 'acceptable' so I said I'd ask around;

No hassle BerksM :] and .. thanks, I think maledictis Yeah, it seems to be one of those pieces that everyone thinks they can play, but many cant [that rhythm!]

I'll pass on the thoughts

It has been on the repertoire list for both DipABRSM and Trinity ATCL, so I doubt it would be accepted in an LRSM own choice application.

That is not conclusive. The same pieces have also been set for both Grade 8 and LRSM (recently a Haydn sonata movement and a Shostakovich Prelude and Fugue).

Also you don't have to apply in advance for a piece to be accepted in the LRSM, so if it is not going to be accepted presumably the first you would know if it is when the examiners see your Program notes at the start of the exam itself.

In the worst possible scenario I suppose the piece would not be marked, and your possible score would be proportionatley lower - by whatever % of the total performance the piece occupied.

Much fairer would be to mark it anyway, but more strictly than a technically more demanding piece.

I don't really see any problem with this particular piece (Faintaisie Impromptu). It is far from being an easy piece to play, and there is plenty of scope to give a more convincing performance as Licentiate level than would have earned a pass at Associate level.

But this looks like a good question for the "Ask the Chief Examiner" slot. What is the Board's policy if the examiner believes that an own choice piece is not at the correct level of difficulty.

The safe thing to do in practice is to construct your programme from works in the AB's repertoire lists. That way there can be no argument. And the lists are so rich that there should be no problem finding 35 minutes of music with which you feel completely in sympathy. The problem is more what not to play.

On 'Achieving Success' (the DVD the ABRSM make about their diplomata) one of the LRSM piano candidates is playing a piece that was set for grade 8 a few years ago - Debussy's 'General Lavine - Eccentric'. If you can do an LRSM-worthy rendition of the Chopin, go ahead - the only risk is that the notes themselves aren't 'automatically' hard enough (for want of a better term), so it needs to be very well polished.