Allegro - Cimarosa - Grade 5 ABRSM Piano 2023 - 2024 A1 Teaching Notes

Allegro: 3rd Movement from Sonata in C minor C68
Domenico Cimarosa

In the footnote at the bottom of the first page of the ABRSM edition it states that "articulation is up to the player". Also that "all dynamics are editorial suggestions only". With this in mind you will notice that the above performance includes some additions to the printed copy.

First of all, most of the quavers of the melody are articulated with a slur two and detach the third quaver of each triplet group (although the LH generally uses a more legato approach throughout.) This bouncing rhythm adds some lightness to the dance-like quality of the piece and besides any fast tempo enhances the "Allegro" instruction, which means lively, (rather than simply fast). There are moments where the LH also has a more melodic role, for example bars 15, 16, 55, 56 where the articulation described above for the RH is used in the LH. However, be careful here to revert to the legato style when the LH is returning to an accompanimental role (bars 21, 57)

Secondly, the dynamics often lend themselves to echo effects which you will hear in bars 34, 40, 48 and 60 of the performance above. It will be noted that the changes of dynamics occur exactly on the beginnings of new phrases and further to that some breaths might shape the phrasing better after the first note of bars 66 and 70.

Attention should be paid to LH rests, for example in bars 11, 12, 17, 27, 28, 53, 62, 63. Also the very final rest of the piece has a pause after it, which might seem unnecessary since the piece has finished, but actually, you should not think of the piece as finished until AFTER this rest. In other words, don't sit back / come away from the instrument in a "I've finished" kind of pose, until waiting for a moment for the atmosphere that you have created can settle into your audience's consciousness.