Mozart: Rondo alla turca

Marti Boyce

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Apr 22, 1997, 3:00:00 AM4/22/97

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Everyone,
Can someone tell me if Mozart's Rondo alla turca (Piano Sonata
in A major) is difficult or not and where i might be able to get it?

Brian

N.Curry

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Apr 22, 1997, 3:00:00 AM4/22/97

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It is the last movement of the Sonata in A major, K.331, and can be
found in albums of his sonatas, "favorite Mozart" anthologies, and in
Suzuki Piano Volum 6. With quick 16th notes, staccato octaves, and
broken octaves, it is a challenge to play it light and fast enough. My
students play a lot of Clementi and Bach before tackling it, to develop
quick and accurate fingers.
BTW, there is a strange but interesting performance of this on an
English CD called "Keyboard Collection" on SAYDISC Records. The piano
used for this piece has extra levers and pedals that activate drums and
cymbals, and the pianist adds them to the recurring rondo theme.

Nancy

M.Holme

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Apr 23, 1997, 3:00:00 AM4/23/97

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In article <335D24...@emory.edu> Marti Boyce <mbo...@emory.edu> writes:
>From: Marti Boyce <mbo...@emory.edu>
>Subject: Mozart: Rondo alla turca
>Date: Tue, 22 Apr 1997 16:50:53 -0400

>Everyone,
> Can someone tell me if Mozart's Rondo alla turca (Piano Sonata
>in A major) is difficult or not and where i might be able to get it?

> Brian

You can get it from virtually any half decent music store. As for difficulty
its hard to say. Its pretty difficult for a beginner but not very difficult
for someone with say 10 years experience. If you mean the whole sonata, it
would be the kind of piece set for UK grade 8.
Mozart isn't easy to play well, the main thing to avoid is playing it to
heavy, it's not Beethoven. Forte in Mozart is not as heavy as Beethoven's
forte.

Casey

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Apr 23, 1997, 3:00:00 AM4/23/97

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Maybe easy for you, difficult for me!
I think I've seen it in a Schirmer folio.
Casey

Marti Boyce <mbo...@emory.edu> wrote in article
<335D24...@emory.edu>...

Peter

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Apr 23, 1997, 3:00:00 AM4/23/97

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Marti Boyce <mbo...@emory.edu> wrote:
>Everyone,
> Can someone tell me if Mozart's Rondo alla turca (Piano Sonata
>in A major) is difficult or not and where i might be able to get it?

Hi Brian,

It's not formidably difficult but the middle section can twist the heck
out of your fingers, hehe (-:

Peter Chan (Hong Kong)

ricm

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Apr 23, 1997, 3:00:00 AM4/23/97

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M.Holme <M.H...@doc.mmu.ac.uk> wrote in article
<M.Holme.5...@doc.mmu.ac.uk>...

> In article <335D24...@emory.edu> Marti Boyce <mbo...@emory.edu>
writes:
> >From: Marti Boyce <mbo...@emory.edu>
> >Subject: Mozart: Rondo alla turca
> >Date: Tue, 22 Apr 1997 16:50:53 -0400
>

. If you mean the whole sonata, it
> would be the kind of piece set for UK grade 8.
>

> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> |Michael John Holme | email: M.H...@doc.mmu.ac.uk (work) |

How does th e UK grading system work?. What pieces for the different
grades?

Richard Moody

Casey Keller

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Apr 25, 1997, 3:00:00 AM4/25/97

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>
>Marti Boyce <mbo...@emory.edu> wrote:
>>Everyone,
>> Can someone tell me if Mozart's Rondo alla turca (Piano Sonata
>>in A major) is difficult or not and where i might be able to get it?
>

I'm nuts. I was playing piano only two weeks when I picked up the A Major
piano sonata at my local music store and started trying to learn the rondo.
It's been two months and I'm slowly but surely making my way through it.

I can't decide if it's smart or idiotic. Obviously I don't yet have the
fingers to do this piece any justice, but it's always been a piece I've
enjoyed and I'm enjoying learning it.

In June, my piano school is having a recital and I'm debating whether or not
to actually play this rondo in front of friends and family and strangers and
the seven-year-old girls in my daughter's piano class.

It won't be the greatest musical experience these people will ever have -- or
if it is, I feel very sorry for them. But maybe it will get some other people
of my baby boom generation to make some time for making music.

Or, maybe I'll make a tremendous ass of myself.

Casey Keller

Ken Payne

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Apr 27, 1997, 3:00:00 AM4/27/97

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I don't find it at all difficult. The copy I have of it is in Schirmer's
"59 Piano Solos You Like to Play"

John Musselwhite

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Apr 27, 1997, 3:00:00 AM4/27/97

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"N.Curry" <cu...@ctos.com> wrote:

>It is the last movement of the Sonata in A major, K.331, and can be

...

>broken octaves, it is a challenge to play it light and fast enough. My

I heard a recording the other day by (I think) a Brazilian pianist. It
was played SOOOO slowly it was almost frustrating - like waiting for
the other shoe to drop!

The technique was fabulous though... every pause was absolutely
delicious. I prefer it played faster. One teacher who heard me play it
suggested I cut down on my coffee intake. B-})

> BTW, there is a strange but interesting performance of this on an
>English CD called "Keyboard Collection" on SAYDISC Records. The piano
>used for this piece has extra levers and pedals that activate drums and
>cymbals, and the pianist adds them to the recurring rondo theme.

The notes in my copy (from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools
of Music) indicate that it was written for such an effect:
"Some early fortepianos had a percussion stop to add realism to the
drum-and-cymbals tuttis of the finale." The notes for the third
movement indicate that the "cymbal clashes" will come thick and fast.
I'd love to hear it played that way and in the original temperament.

I learned it as a test piece for after I've finished tuning a piano
because it's familiar and a good party piece. Although I don't play it
all that well (but I play it with marvelous feeling!) I have the
opportunity to play it on a lot of different pianos. It's an
interesting "gauge" by which I can measure a particular piano's
capabilities since it's one of only a few pieces I can play from
memory.

The difference between playing it on an "average" piano and a really
fine piano is astounding. On some "instruments" I don't even bother
trying it and stick with Fur Elise. If I can't make *that* sound good
then the piano isn't much of a piano anymore.

John Musselwhite Calgary, Alberta
mus...@cadvision.com Canada
http://www.cadvision.com/musselj

Mrs J.A. Drury

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Apr 30, 1997, 3:00:00 AM4/30/97

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ricm (rem...@easnetsd.com) wrote:

: How does th e UK grading system work?. What pieces for the different
: grades?

Grades 1-8, Advanced Certificate, Diploma with Grade 1 being the easiest
and becoming progressively more difficult.

Pieces change each year, but Grade 8 usually has some sort of Prelude and
Fugue (Bach, Mendelssohn, Handel) and a whole Sonata (Beethoven, Haydn,
Mozart). Hope this gives you some idea of difficulty. Most kids that are
keen on music get to grade 8 by the time they're about 16.

Jo

PS. If you're interested I've got the syllabus for all the Associated
Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) exams.

ricm

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May 3, 1997, 3:00:00 AM5/3/97

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Thanks for the return info. Taking the Moonlight, the first movement
would be perhaps Grade 3, the second movement, Grade 4, and the third
movement, Grade 6 ??

I was wondering (and hoping) that various works of the Masters have been
assigned grade levels. In the US there is the John Thompson series, that
has the book in grades 1 through 3 that I am sure of, and perhaps 6, but
haven't seen 4-6 recently if ever.
Has any one or organization proposed a grading system for any of the Bach
one and two part inventions, fugues, well tempered clavier, Mozart sonatas,
Beethoven sonatas, Chopan etc etc. ?
It would be impossible to assign a grade to an entire work such as the
Greig Concerto, or Rachmanoff C# Prelude. But perhaps sections could be
assigned grades.
Why assign grade levels?? Some people like to "measure" their progress.
Some people like to rate themselves as on resumes. "My keyboard
profishency is at grade 8. (even though my spelling prof. is grade 6)
Meaning that there exists a "standard" grade 8 music book, ( so one
claiming proficiency at that level can play a work from that book from
memory. )
Teacher could advertize their instruction levels. Music camps could do
also. Of course at some level, sight reading ability could be rated. A
call to the Union for musicians would indicate the grade level sought. A
BA in Music would indicate an ability of a certain "grade" or "level" Just
some thoughts on a grading system for piano players.

> PS. If you're interested I've got the syllabus for all the Associated
> Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) exams.
>

I am interested.
Richard Moody

Mrs J.A. Drury <jad...@liverpool.ac.uk> wrote in article
<E9Fy...@liverpool.ac.uk>...

JaneAlcorn

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May 5, 1997, 3:00:00 AM5/5/97

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In response to your inquiry regarding proficiency grading in piano
playing, the Royal Conservatory of Music (based in toronto, Canada) has
had such a certification program for many years and now the examinations
may be taken in the United Statesl. I am the RCM Representative for the
examination center here in Darien, Connecticut. We are doing our sixth
session this June, with examinations being conducted fro piano, strings,
voice and classical guitar. There are now ten centers in this country. The
piano syllabus is much broader than the Associated Board list, with about
two dozen pieces listed in each of a minumum of three categories of
repertoire per grade.

The current Piano Syllabus as well as syllabi for other instruments and
voice may be ordered from any music store handling Frederic Harris Music
Company publications. The Celebration Series published by FH contains
pieces at each level that are found on the examination list. I suggest you
order a Syllabus for complete information on all aspects of the
examinations. You may contact me for further information about how to
apply for future examination sessions (JaneA...@aol.com).

Simon Nickerson

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May 5, 1997, 3:00:00 AM5/5/97

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In article <01bc5785$34fd1780$1da180d0@remoody>, ricm
<rem...@easnetsd.com> writes

>Thanks for the return info. Taking the Moonlight, the first movement
>would be perhaps Grade 3, the second movement, Grade 4, and the third
>movement, Grade 6 ??

Grade 6? I would personally say that the third movement went well beyond
grade 8, simply in terms of technical difficulties. The first movement,
though not technically demanding, is hard to interpret (and certainly
beyond grade 3; possibly grade 7/8). The second movement might be about
grade 5/6 standard.

In 1996, Beethoven's Sonata in G (op.14 no.2) was classed as grade 8,
and the 1st movt of his Sonata in G minor (op.49 no.1) was classed
as grade 5.

It's worth bearing in mind that the Associated Board would be unlikely
to set any movement of the Moonlight Sonata in a grade exam, since it's
so well-known.

--
Simon Nickerson
si...@sigma.demon.co.uk
"The English people may not understand music, but they
absolutely love the noise it makes" -- Thomas Beecham