Hong Kong Festival 2017 - Grade 5 Piano
Grade 5
Sonata in A - Handel
- 1/ A metronome speed of around crotchet = 84 provides the optimum chances to play this piece with energy and lightness of touch without being too quick. It should not plod along.
2/ The articulation should be a mixture of detached quavers and slurred semiquaver pairs.
3/ There are lots of opportunities for terrace dynamics (f/p contrasts - e.g. bars bars 1&2 with bars 3&4).
4/ The best way to include the trills is to use a five note pattern commencing on the upper note, as in these examples:
Bagatelle in G minor - Beethoven
Tips:
1/ A gentle one-in-a-bar is needed to make this musically effective. Crotchet = 136 or thereabouts would work well.
2/ The music should be poised and phrased in a dance-like manner, the musical direction going forwards onto the first beat of the bar at the end of each short phrase.
3/ The middle Eb major section should be lyrical and nicely shaped making use of pedal to join the chords where necessary.
4/ The turn written on the 3rd beat is best interpreted as:
5/ Bars 52 - 65 should build up the musical excitement before eventually dying away in he final 4 bars to end on the unexpected major tonic chord. The RH can be phrased in slurred quaver pairs or in 4 note quaver patterns which follow the ascending shape of each musical motif.