Hi

I was wondering if anyone can help me? I want to do my ABRSM Licenciate Diploma this year and am having problems deciding on my programme. I need to present "a balanced programme from at least two distinct musical eras" according to the syllabus and it needs to last from 36-44 minutes.

At first I'd thought of doing Bach's C minor Partita with Mozart's Sonata in F K533 but I'd wondered whether that was sufficiently balanced. I'm also having reservations about the Mozart as I don't feel I'm "bonding" that well with it as a piece of music, although I'm not sure yet whether time will help.

To balance the programme a bit better I thought I could do the Bach and Mozart listed above, and also the Chopin C minor op48 Nocturne, but this would mean I have to leave out the repeats in the Bach and the expositions of the Mozart (1st and 2nd mvnts) which I'm loathe to do as it is not how it should be played.

Alternatively I thought of doing the C minor Partita with repeats, Mozart's A minor Rondo K511 (a piece I think I could get on well with having toyed with it) and Chopin's F major Ballade, but would 30mins of works in a minor key against 7 mins in a major be too depressing?

I don't really want to do anything Romantic other than Chopin and my hands can only just stretch the octave, so it does give me a few limitations! I'd quite like to stick with the Partita and at least some Mozart.

All advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks

Charlotte

Greetings Charlotte, your experience is a familiar one. I wouldn't regard playing 2/3 or 2/2 pieces in the minor key as depressing; If more than 3/3 pieces are in the minor key then you might reconsider. If you had to chose two works for program balance, I would chose one work from the Baroque or Classical period and another work from the Romantic or Modern period. It's always better to have complete works as opposed to 1 or 2 movements from a sonata, unless they specify that "a movement" is required. A larger work in a sonata form is more formal - e.g. a Chopin Ballade would be better than a Nocturne. However the Nocturne Op. 48, No.1 is no slouch and may be considered a larger work. Keep the Bach. I could understand you not connecting with K533. If time allows, you could learn the Sonata in F, K332 in 1-2 months, or a sonata from Haydn or Beethoven...

It all depends on how formal and rigid the committee views their requirements. When in doubt, call the committee to inquire, or ask others who have passed the diploma. Don't worry about absolutes or how others will judge you on balance. Chose the pieces which you play with conviction - at the end, your strong performance will speak louder than the program selection. Good Luck!

George

Hey, familiar thing here too. I have to play the Bach e minor partita for an upcoming recital that's only supposed to be 30 minutes long (that's the partita, with repeats!), but it still has to have a balanced program, and there's no maximum recital length for me. So I'm going to play one or two Chopin etudes (probably 25/6 and 7) and maybe one or two preludes from Shostakovich Op. 34 to balance it out, but the program will probably be closer to an hour than to 30 minutes. Because I've been told that repeating the A sections on Bach is required. Since 7 of the 8 movements of my partita are binary, that's a lot of repeating.

Also, my entire program will be minor key pieces. I love minor keys! For my next recital, though, I'm doing Beethoven's Op. 110, so that will throw some major key goodness into the mix.

By the way, the c minor partita is my next project.


No, and I think that is a perfect program for what is required. And your major key piece is actually a minor key piece in disguise. That's a good thing!

I agree with the suggestion of a Chopin Ballade, you could also use one of his Polonaises or Scherzos potentially. Or you could try something more different, an appropriate piece of Gershwin, something by Scharwenka, or one of Wagner's piano Sonatas. If you fancy stretching things a bit you could put in Brahm's Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Chopin's Grande Polonaise Brillante, or Liszt's Fantasia & Fugue on a them by Bach.

Oh yes, Brahm's Paganini Variations. Why don't you play them in a recital Wagner's sonatas make great recital pieces too. Talk about stretching things a bit indeed