u/Rip_Fair

Hi there,

I am an aspiring young composer, and I am planning in a few years to make portfolios for conservatoires. I have been involved with composition since at least my 12 years of age, which is quite late, though I had never really managed to compose any serious work when I was young. Today, I am planning quite a heavy study plan to try to get into conservatoire after I finish my current university course in history, in about two years (though I might take one full year of intensive study before I do apply).

In a highly idealized scenario, I would love to get to Paris or into the RCM in the UK (though the standard seems to be ridiculously high). I am trying to get an idea of what does a top portfolio usually looks like, but I have very little information. So, what are they typically looking for in these kinds of big portfolios? Are there any tips in preparing?

Hello,

I was listening to one of my favourite recordings for the Chopin Nocturnes by Cortot, and critically listening to it, I was surprised by how much rubato it actually uses. I personally enjoy it quite a bit, but I was told by my teacher, by a conductor I know, and by quite a few other people, not to overuse rubato. I really do get the point, and I agree to an extent, but I still can't be at peace with this recording. If you listen to his very first nocturne, Op. 9, No. 2, for instance, and you go to the second theme, almost every note he is delaying from the bass. Not just that, but that, but you seem to almost hear at least as many delayed notes as notes a tempo throughout the piece. I can see why someone might find it a bit tacky, but for some reason, I think it works really well in this piece. So, what are your thoughts on it? Do you like it?

Hello,

I am currently studying history in university, and recently, I have been retaking interest in piano as a hyperfocus, as someone who stopped playing piano for a while. I started to play the instrument when I was 11, was told I was very talented, had lessons with a very good teacher who was a student of Madga Taglieferro, when I was 16, but then essentially gave up, after being very tired. I never got to play the core repertoire uo to that point.

Now, I am 19, currently moving to my second year in Unoversity, retaking interest in Piano, and I want to pursue this quite seriously. I am now taking piano classes with a student of my old teacher, who is also a good friend of mine, and he believes we can do quite heavy repertoire since we started the entire Op. 9 by Chopin + an entire Mozart Sonata, and after we finish reading this, we are going to start reading the Abbeg Variations by Schumann, which look really scary. Most importantly, he teached me HOW to learn a piece musically instead of mindless mechanical finger repertition that I used to do. I can really see he is pushing me, and I don't think I ever learned so much in a few months of lessons.

My question is, I really want to go to the Paris Conservatoire after I finish university, but I'm not sure if by the end I will be young enough, since I will be 21 years of age by the end, and to my research you need to be younger than 22, and if I will have the musical strength to do that, since I don't know the level of the musicians who take auditions there and I found little information on the auditions themselves. Plus, I am not sure if I can do B1 French in time until then, as required for the course of piano, and I am really scared about developing anxiety for being far from home.

So, as demonstrated, there is a LOT of roadblocks. Is this still possible? God bless.

I'm just coming here to vent on how awful ABRSM grading actually is. Currently me and my teacher are doing the entire Opus 9, and it has been great fun so far, although it has been taking alot of my time. My real problem is, somehow the grading for it is written in the ABRSM syllabus.

Genuinely, how is it only grade 7? Ok, I get it is the easiest of the set, but this is still almost an Etude of musical sensibility. The left hand doesn't have to be soft, it has to be unperceptable almost. In Chopin's own words, like a "choir of guitars."

This is actually the Nocturne I am losing my mind with right now, because it looks to easy, until you actually try to have a goal at the piece. The other ones you get a discount because they do look difficult. But the 2 is just humiliating. On top of that, it is so overplayed I don't even think it is worth playing it.

Now, let's have a civil discussion in the comments.

So, I understand French kissing is gravely sinful outside of marriage. But Christian Wagner goes even further, and places stuff like looks somehow into that category.

I am really confused. It seems every action that could lead to marriage is deemed as sinful, which is obviously not true, as otherwise we would be having generational good practising catholics anymore for self-explenatory reasons. What is actually allowed when dating, that is, assuming dating itself is allowed.

Good bless.

Greetings,

I am currently studying with a Concert Pianistfrom my home country., Brazil, and I have learned a lot recently in terms of sonority, clarity, coherence, phrasing, etc, but particularly, he has been incentivizing me to play like the Old School Pianists (particularly the French School, because that is his kind of formation was based on, sort of, with a little bit of Russian as well).

The issue is only that I want to take ABRSM exams here in the UK, where I live, for career progression purposes, because I want to start teaching piano, and my teacher really doesn't know much about them, because we don't have those back in Brazil, really.

My real question is, if you listen to the older recordings they tend to improvise alot. Aure, within limits, to what is acceptable, but they do tend to do things that are not really in fashion today (like adding Octaves, fiorituras, ornaments which aren't written, singing middle voices, etc). So my queestion is should I ommit those from an hypothetical future ABRSM exam, say, Grade 7 or 8?

God bless you all who read until here. I could have been more succint, but I am very verbose as a person. I hope you understand my question.