The Ghost of the Associated Board of Royal Schools

My former teacher here would not allow me to play any major Bach works, so when I switched teachers I immediately indulged in my favorite composer. I think Bach poses special challenges to musicians: ornamentation and interpretation. You can never play enough Bach!

Although I'm playing the Schubert B-flat D. 960, I wanted to either play the first Partita in B-flat or the Capriccio in B-flat. It's okay, my piano is diatonic and can only play in that key *wink*. Don't ask me to explain how Debussy's Estampes fits in this recital. (Gloria's recital is not complete without a joke: tritone keys.. sound of the devil blah blah blah...).

I settled on the Capriccio since it is shorter and I want the challenge of another fugue. The musicologist in me prevents me from just sticking to one edition. I started off with the NBA, of course and now I have two more editions. I am really confused now with 3 different scores. I thought to lessen the confusion, I should listen to some recordings... and the confusion escalates further. Harpsichord vs. piano and so on.

I am going to perform the Bach Aria & Fugue in Kuching next month, having already emailed the choir director at the church and the principal of the music school. I think they would make a nice opening and here we go ...

I came across the recording for Grade 8 ABRSM 1995 Piano Pieces on the Naxos database and somehow this rings a bell. The Aria & Fugue was a choice for Group A. I listened to the pieces & after scanning the rest of the tracks ... much to my surprise (or horror), I sat for my Grade 8 piano exam in 1995!! This was the list of pieces and I can even see the pieces I attempted to play listed here. I remember flunking scales (E-flat melodic minor staccato) but aced the sight-reading portion. I could tell the examiner was stunned. My aural skills were pretty out there as well. Although I played by ear, I somehow couldn't harmonize that silly melody. I barely passed overall. I think I was my teacher's worst student at that point. I won't embarass myself further by listing the pieces I butchered.

Alright, it's about time I played a Grade 8 piece at the level I am at. I am my worst critic: I better play these well in Kuching! This round better be more than just a scrape by. I'm glad I'm not performing the Haydn Sonata in E-flat L. 62, cos it is on this year's Grade 8 list.

P.S. At least the students I will listen to in Kuching will know and should, that I won't be mean. ABRSM is thankfully not the end all.