Shostakovich - Violin Concerto No. 1 - 1st Mov
Brahms - G major Sonata - First two movements
Delius - Legende

Total time: Approx. 40min

I realise that tempo wise they're are roughly the same but musically they are very different and challenging.


Looking at the LRSM list there wasn't much that grabbed me, not to do an exam with anyway.

Thoughts?

Many people try to mix their program with Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern/20th Century music. The program you have so far isn't too balanced and you may be challenged on that by the examiners. What about some Bach, Beethoven, etc? Have you done the diploma? Maybe look at your program for that and draw some more ideas from it. You are allowed one piece not on the list that is up to 7 minutes long. Good luck!

That's not the case for LRSM, where the requirement is for at least two distinct periods. The own choice element can be up to one third of the programme for LRSM.

Cheers Scifi-Karis for your comments.

I’m hoping to take the exam next summer. I had a look at syllabus and programming should include music from two distinct periods - so I have Modern, Romantic and Impressionistic.

I was going to preparing Bach's Sonata in Cmaj, but I don't feel confident playing Bach at the moment and at this level; also it would mean I would need another piece because my programme would be too short...a little bit tricky as I work full time.

I feel that the LRSM rep list doesn't really allow you to follow the basic period-style programming, the majority of pieces lie in the Romantic period compared to the DipABRSM list.

I think programming should be equivalent to an actor choosing roles (well if they are lucky enough to choose what they audition for).

It may be best for someone to answer this who has taken the LRSM and passed ... but be ready to justify the periods that you choose. I'm speaking from experience from my uni recitals. I had to have a "theme" and then defend it! My first recital was a well rounded, every period, style, tempo, standard violin repertoire representation. My final recital was more daring as I did music from around the world. I did Spanish, Italian, French, etc. and demonstrated the different styles within each piece and it turned out great! My teacher was really skeptical at first but the panel liked it. I also arranged the music in the "oldest to newest" order and it somehow seemed to work well as the Zigeunerwisen was the last piece ... a nice bang to the end of the concert!

To me the programme is not balanced. You have pieces written within a span of 80 years or so. Other things being the same, you will probably get marked down for lack of diversity in your programming. When I took my oboe diploma exams, I always picked one piece each from baroque, classical and modern periods. Hope this helps!

Thanks for your thoughts.

There is only Bach and Mozart on the LRSM fiddle list and loads of ‘Romantic-period’ Sonatas.

I suppose in my defense the programme is mood/character and in some way historic based.

Within 80Years when those pieces were written society and the world changed so much - different schools of thought, empires rose and fell and music starts to branch out into sub-groups. What intrigues me even more is that two of the pieces were written when something tragic had happened to the composer.

Maybe I’m trying too hard but I want to try a darker programme and which pushes me musicality rather than technically and the Shostakovich will definitely do that!

I understand that it’s logical and easier but should the ‘music time-line’ take priority when developing a programme?

From my experience (listening to many players, particularly at conservatory level), there are shortcomings that can be masked by romantic pieces but are easily exposed in Bach and Mozart. For example, a steady pulse, good rhythm, etc. If I were the examiner, I would have reservation if I don't get the chance to hear the candidate in a wide range of styles.