MusicOnline UK Teaching Notes - ABRSM Piano 2019/20 Grade 5 - C2

Lentamente - No.1 from Visions Fugitives Op. 22

Sergey Prokofiev.

ABRSM Grade 5 Piano 2019/2020.

Teaching Notes

Although quite slow, this Lentamente has some hidden challenges. It would suit those with a larger hand span (there is a 9th stretch in bar 20).

The main thing to watch out for in this piece is tonal control. The whole thing never gets above a mezzopiano, while the tune still needs to stand out against the accompaniment. This is especially important in the second half where the descending quavers must be quieter than the notes above them. If you notice, the notes with "stems up" from bars 14-21, are the same tune as at the beginning where there were no quavers. Your performance should make this clear. In fact the ppp marking in bar 15 applies just to these descending quavers, NOT the tune which is still just pp. 

Pedalling, should be done on every change of harmony which is often every beat. Be careful to release for a beat of complete silence in bar 14. Finally, be careful to observe the overlapping minims in bars 12 & 25. Here, good fingering is essential and those suggested in the ABRSM edition are a good guide, although instead of substituting 3rd for 4th finger on the RH "E" in bar 25, you could just play this note with a 4th finger to start with.

Did you know....

You can get a personal appraisal of your performance of this or any other ABRSM Piano Exam piece as a Patron of MusicOnlineUK. Click HERE for more details