Hi
I want a change of things to play. I have just finished gde 7 and need suggestions as to some good pieces to try. I seem to have been playing lots of Chopin
(Mazurka Op 17, Polonaise Op26), Bach ( French Suites + Italian concerto, preludes) done about 4 of The Seasons, did Des Abends, Le Petit ane blanc and Beethoven Sonata in Eb for my exam.
I feel like something a bit different. I like playing romantic music best. I'd accept a bit of a challenge.
What can you suggest?? All ideas gratefully considered
Thanks

Why don't you try a few of Douglas Lilburn's "Occasional Pieces", or get "Firestarters" - a book of pieces by fold like Gareth Farr - might as well play some Kiwi music! Nothing too tricky, but will be a change of diet at least.

Perhaps Debussy's "Children's Corner Suite"?

Have you played any Brahms? Some wonderful piano music -
maybe the three Intermezzi op 117 for starters.The two rhapsodies op79 are fabulous; would be a bit more of a challenge.

Schubert Wanderer Fantasia if you want to tackle something longer.

Just a couple of ideas.

I really like Country Preludes by Christopher Norton and also A Keyboard Anthology for Grade 7 has a lovely selection of pieces (pub AB).

Faure: Pavane

Grieg: In the hall of the mountains king

Debussy: Claire de Lune

Haydn: Sonata in B minor / Sonata in D

Tchaikovsky: Seasons: May - Barcarolle, Nut Cracker's Suite: Dance of the Flowers

Mendessohn: Song without words: Lost Illussion, Venetian Boat Song

Bach: Jesu, the joy of man desiring

Schubert: Ave Maria

Thanks everyone ...keep em coming
I've played the Haydn Sonata in D but not the B minor one, Songs without Words and some of the Seasons but not many of the others suggested.
I've overdosed on Bach with the Italian Concerto so I'm going to have a break from all those interweaving melodies
Hey Fen - I really like Douglas Lilburn. I have played his 3 Sea Changes and am currently playing his 1946 Sonatina No 1 for a competition in Oct. I've also done some of his 9 short pieces.
I am going to try some of the other suggestions too.
MaggieMay I don't think I have ever played any Brahms so I'm starting with your suggestions - I luckily have a huge Brahms Urtext set that was a gift.

Opp. 117, 118 and 119 have some of Brahms's most magical piano writing, although rather few of the movements would be G7.

A great work, but a bit ambitious IMO. I'm a far better player than when I scraped through Grade 8, and the Wanderer F. still defeats me.

For something rather different, how about Billy Mayerl? The second movement of the "Four Aces" suite would be about G7, and the others OK for a good G8 pianist. Also every pianist should own at least one volume of Bartok's "Mikrokosmos". The volumes are graded, nominally as teaching material, but very good music irrespective of didactic purpose. Please will one of the piano teachers say which volume corresponds to G7 and 8. Finally, I am delighted* wholeheartedly to recommend the AB's own "Spectrum" volumes, each a set of short piano works commissioned from contemporary composers, including some very well-known names.

* because so many of my contributions seem to be criticising the AB exams .

How did you find Des abends and Le petit ane blanc? Do not appear to be very popular choices for grade 7, judging by the thread recently on grade 7, and would like to know what mark you got for those 2 pieces in the exam and what the comments were

Others will guess why I am asking!

Don't need to reply if you do not want to!

I've answered on the grade 7 thread

Thanks

How about

Peter Maxwell Davies - Farewell to Stromness

Saxlover
My Mother would Kill me if I played that!!
My brother ( he wouldn't mind me saying this) took ages to do this piece .. and played it painfully slowly
We had to listen to it every day for about 3 months !!
NOOOOO.. she wouldn't have it reverberating in the house again

Schubert's Wanderer Fantasie is on the FRSM and FTCL syllabuses, so I'd give it a bit yet

I'll make my ubiquitous recommendation of the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, either volume should have plenty to be going on at.

Why?!

erm... you could try einaudi

well - yes, maybe a bit ambitious. It is great fun though.

I've always enjoyed playing sections of it, even though, like Kenm, I can't (yet)manage the whole thing straight through.

I'll back that too! Try Hisaishi too!

I guess my purist attitude, not liking to play bleeding chunks, helps to discourage me. The WF is so closely integrated that, for me, there is nowhere to stop before the end. I feel the same about the F minor Fantasia for piano duet, but I can manage Secondo all the way through that.

Romantic? Go with Debussy or Chopin I'd say ... especially Chopins nocturnes *swoons*

Or ... you could do really hard one that i currently cant remember the name of even though its flowing through my head but i don't think typing the name of it would help you ... its on little woman ... for anyone who might have done it, its got a ton of semis at the start, and goes:

G# A G# G G# a C# E I think in the Right Hand,

And the LH has quavers

C# G# C# E C# G# C# ......

Hrm. I'm going to go remember the name of it now.

AHA - the impropmtu

I have had so many good suggestions! thanks
The other thing I've just done is to buy the Trinity Gde 8 book and I've started to look at a couple of pieces from there. I'm not doing Trinity exams but it was a good way to get some repetoire at the gde 8 level before starting my ABRSM pieces next year.
I've started with I got Rhythm by Gershwin ( as a complete change ) and Romance in fminor Op5 by Tchaikovsky.

Interestingly my teacher thought that the Grieg Sonata in E minor op 7 1st mvt on the list was quite a bit harder than gde 8 .. anyone else agree??

I'll be so busy with my new pieces I'll hardly have time for the forum

Could it be the fantasie-impromptu? Op66 i think. Such a fun piece... kinda hard though cos its so fast

yup i remembered it and posted it about ten minutes later

musicmannz, that chocolate cake recipe of your Mum's was great. Thanks for sharing it!

Hi Greentone
I'm very glad you enjoyed it. Here in NZ a lot of receipes use 'a cup' to measure things and when she was looking up to try and find out what 1 cup equalled (incidently its 150gms) she kept getting lots of sites about bra sizes and breast reduction not flour and sugar
musicmanNZ