Need a bit of help deciding on RIAM Grade 8 Pieces.

SamIAmNot

Hey guys, last May, I sat and passed the grade seven RIAM exam. I was undecided over the summer whether or not as to do the grade 8 exam due to me having my Leaving Cert exams this year. However, I now think (reinforced by family) that it would be borderline idiotic to leave it there, right on the cusp of being finished the whole shebang bar the diploma thing.

So I got the book today and, to be honest, as a fairly intermediate piano player, most if not all of the pieces in the book are looking really complicated and very time consuming to learn. Now I know that its generally best to pick the ones you like so the learning goes easier but I would still like your opinions as to what would be the least techniclly demanding/easy.

List A:
Fugue no.5 in D major-Bach
Sonata in F minor - Scarlatti

List B:
Sonata in D major 2nd movement - Mozart
Sonata in C minor op13 3rd movement- Beethoven

List C:
Consolation no.3 in D flat major- Liszt
Suite op 14 1st movement- Bartok

I haven't really got a lot of knowledge on the whole thing so if theres any alternatives to these please post them.

Thanks in advance for any and all help recieved.

evolving_doors

HEy id did that Scarlatti F minor about twenty years ago..good to hear it again..I'd say go for that one, its short and sweet,watch for the ornamentation though.. use portato.. and play it lika a chopin piece...

Have you considered the supplementary pieces!! Ibert Le Petit Ane Blanc List C is a nice one.

Defo don't give up at grade 7 ..you'd be mad..to hell with the Leaving Cert..(presume you're doing music as a subject anyhow)

funky penguin

Yeah, definitely look at the supplementary pieces which can be downloaded here.

I have to say it's not the most inspiring of lists. I mean look at list B....3 Beethoven pieces, 2 Mozart, 1 Haydn and 1 Schumann. Jesus Christ like, substitute 2 Beethoven and maybe throw in a Schubert, or Mendelssohn.

List A, as usual, is Bach heavy. As if nobody else ever wrote a good contrapuntal piece. Mendelssohn (both Fanny and Felix) have some good pieces, as does Shostakovitch.

Sorry, but of a rant. Personally, I'd do the Bach D major fugue (fantastic subject), the Mozart sonata in C K330 and probably the Brahms.

Best of Luck!

SamIAmNot

Thanks for the replies guys.Of course more are welcome

Yeah I was looking at the Fugue in D myself. It does seem to be quite an interesting piece of music. I was also thinking of maybe the Mozart in D major. I feel it would contrast nicely with the Fugue.

But i'm totally lost on List C. I definately dont want to do either of the ones in the Grade 8 book.

Could someone also confirm / deny whether or not these pieces are easy enough to get to exam standard. I'm already under alot of pressure with the LC and some personal things.

Much appreciaited.

KealanOCarroll

Im in exact same boat as you, wnet in today and had a leaf through the book. Didnt buy it in the end because I have the Beethoven Sonata "Pathetique" in a different book already so I'll learn that first.

Theres a nice piece in the C list, can't remember the name of the composer but it's kindof half "normal" classical style and half syncapated like the Christopher Norton pieces. Im looking at doing that one myself so ill post back when I remember the name:)

SamIAmNot

That would be great thanks. I like learning Christopher Nortons pieces. I always seem to get them quite quick. Something similar would be nice.

dambarude

SamIAmNot wrote: »

List C:
Consolation no.3 in D flat major- Liszt

I played this for my Grade VIII last May. I didn't particularly like it, it was a bit too placid compared to the type of music I'd usually play. For that reason I found it a real chore practising it. I ended up getting a good score on it (19/20) but not without a lot of frustration/boredom playing it beforehand.

KealanOCarroll

SamIAmNot wrote: »

That would be great thanks. I like learning Christopher Nortons pieces. I always seem to get them quite quick. Something similar would be nice.

Yeah, same here, they all seem to be upbeat:)
The name of the piece is Partita Rhythmique by Hengeveld
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TrFCN7XgwM