I decided not to retake DipABRSM piano for the time being- I want to play a wider range of stuff and look at other things rather than worrying about exams all the time. I think covering more repertoire is more important than a certificate tbh.

Anyway I've been looking over the lists... do you think this will give me enough to choose a program out of when I do come to retake?

Bach- P+F G minor (WTK1)
Beethoven- Pathetique (wouldnt use this it just seems a 'right of passage' at this level... everyone plays it)
Chopin- Nouvelles Etudes
Haydn- Sonata in Ab
Janacek- In the mists (1 and 4)
Rachmaninoff- Prelude in G#minor op 32/12
Sculthorpe- Night Pieces

also I'm considering retaking Grade 8 to get distinction, what to people think?

Basically I'm not a bad player- I've played more advanced stuff in public recitals/competitions than any of this (Chopin Ballades, Liszt Etudes, Ravel Gaspard) and had good feedback. I just suck at exams so thinking maybe best action to take is to go back to something really basic like retaking Grade 8.

if anyone has any advice or thoughts to offer I would be grateful.

Personally, I wouldn't spend time working on Grade 8 again to gain a higher mark/distinction. I would put the time and effort into exploring repertoire as you have said and work on performance. You said in your own post you think covering more repertoire is more important than a certificate.


Louise

I agree - I wouldn't bother taking Gr8 again. I missed it out altogether. You selection of pieces is interesting and varied. I would work on that, maybe with some Debussy and Shostakovich or Bartok .

Really? I don't see how someone playing Liszt Etudes and Ravel Gaspard well in public can fail the DipABRSM.

thanks- I won't bother redoing grade 8.

I play a lot of French stuff anyway thats why there's no Debussy on that list. I will look at Shostakovich though (already played the Bartok on DipABRSM list).

organ_dummy- if we're going by ABRSM standards then Liszt Etudes and Chopin Ballades are only LRSM, as are the first 2 movements of Gaspard. its not that impossible to be able to play stuff from LRSM better than DipABRSM; also I did not say ALL Liszt Etudes and Chopin Ballades (hope I didnt sound like I was saying that). as for Gaspard I've been working on it since i was 17, I'm now almost 23. It's again not impossible that I can play something I've had going for 6/7 years better than stuff I played when I took DipABRSM which I had only worked on for just under a year.

also it's not impossible to fail DipABRSM because you only gave yourself 10-12 months to work on pieces >.<

I thought that too

I don't buy this argument. The basic logic is OK. You'll play something better after 6 or 7 years than you'll play it after one. But it does not apply here. We are not talking about any old piece here. We are talking about one of the most difficult pieces in the entire repertoire. A piece that top class concert pianists are still proud to master. And it is being compared to pieces that are simple in comparison. If you can play Scarbo then NOTHING on the DipABRSM list presents any technical difficulty. So a year should be plenty of time to put together a convincing 30 minute recital.

You must have had an off-day when you took your DipABRSM, or succumbed to really bad exam nerves. If that's the case then choice of repertoire is not the problem.

Wow Invidia, you already have some very impressive works in your repertoire if you ask me... but yes, a balanced 35 minute recital programme for DipABRSM looks quite possible, chosen using your list there (but go for the Haydn Sonata in Ab over the Patheitque...).

If someone of your ability fails DipABRSM, what hope have I got???

denmark

this is getting off topic... I didn't post this to get attention in a "look at me I play Gaspard" way.
I failed DipABRSM 2 years ago at which point I wouldn't have dared play Scarbo in public, though I was working on it on and off (and not getting far).
Also, when I say I play that stuff well in public, I am basing it on the view of the average concert goer- there is a difference between the views of people who are amateurs at most and RCM professors (who examined me for DipABRSM). But at the end of the day the "average concert goers" are who we play to, its very rare one plays to someone like an RCM professor- so whilst im not saying at all that their views are not more important, at the same time they are not the general audience if you understand where I'm coming from?

anyway.... back to the point....

denmark77 no way would I play Pathetique in DipABRSM- as wonderful a work as it is, it is probably the most overplayed thing on the list.

At the moment I am thinking maybe Bach, Haydn, Chopin, Rachmaninoff and Sculthorpe?

I would say this covers the breadth of repertoire - a friend of mine is doing something similar to this in terms of the composers but with Bartok and Copland instead of Chopin.


Louise

Nice program but maybe too long?

The Bach should take about 4.50, perhaps 5.00
The Haydn may be 18.00-19.00 at most but may be shorter depending on repeats
The Chopin pieces take about 5.30, maybe 6.00
The Rachmaninoff is about 2.40 but maybe 3.00
The Sculthorpe may be 7.30 but can take 9.00

Without the Haydn that makes over 20 minutes. maybe 23.00. If you can do the Haydn in less than 18.00 you might be OK but it's cutting it fine at the upper time limit and you risk over-running.

I see three options:
1. Leave it alone and maybe have to rush a bit,
2. Miss some of the repeats in the Haydn (probably not all - I intend to start another thread on this)
3. Miss out the Rachmaninoff to leave a program that is much closer to the target of 35 minutes, easier by 1 item and easier to write program notes for with only 4 instead of 5 composers.

no. 2 and no. 3 both have their points! I think option 1 is ill-advised.

Good luck.