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I've been playing seriously for almost 1-1/2 years, taking a lesson every week with a good teacher. I'm no prodigy, and while I love to play, the short pieces I've been working range, at the ragged edge of performability, from Level 4 to Level 6.

My teacher wants me to play a Sonatina because she wants me to get some experience with a longer-form work, but the problem is that (based on recordings), almost all the Sonatinas I've heard (e.g., from the Shirmer or Alfred Sonatina albums) are not very appealing to me musically. (I find, for example, the shorter and simpler works by Bach, Schumann, and Tchaikovsky much more appealing.)

If I'm going to spend a lot of time and effort on a piece, I want to really like the piece, and most of these works don't strike me as being very sophisticated, either intellectually or emotionally.

Two possible exceptions are the Clementi Op 36 no 4 and the Kuhlau op 20 no 2.

According to the suggested "progressive order" of works in the Schirmer album, the Clementi is about halfway up the degree-of-difficulty ladder, and the Kuhlau is towards the top. Maybe both of these are too advanced for me now anyway.

Any thoughts on those works or anything else in Sonatina form that you've found you really liked?

Thanks!

Beethoven's Sonatina in G ?

Does it have to be a sonatina by a "classical" composer? There are many nice sonatinas by teaching composers such as Dennis Alexander, Melody Bober, William Gillock, Kevin Olson, to name a few. You might have better luck finding a more sophisticated sounding piece at your level with one of these composers.

For whatever it's worth, that's supposedly at the top of the Shirmer progressive degree-of-difficulty ladder.

Lovely piece, though!

Haydn and Mozart both wrote sets of sonatinas, which you can buy here:

http://www.amazon.com/Viennese-Sonatinas-Alfred-Masterwork-Editions/dp/0739030450
http://www.amazon.com/Sonatinas-Alfred-Masterwork-Franz-Joseph/dp/0739008552

Don't know where they would stand in the Schirmer progressive difficulty ladder you mentioned.

Apparently there are two Beethoven Sonatinas in G major. The one that's rated as relatively difficult in the Schirmer (Kohler) collection is the Opus 49 No 2. The other one appears to be about a level 3 piece, depending on who's grading.

They're both lovely, though.

I have no doubt then, that the one I suggested is the level 3 piece !

For sonatinas, Clementi is my favorite. Once you develop the technique, you'll be able to learn one in a day or two, so you can rip through an entire book in a couple of weeks. And I think the vast majority of them are fun to play.

Beethoven's Sonatina in F Major is a fun piece my teacher likes to teach. Pianostreet has it at grade 5 abrsm

What about a neo-classical sonatina? There is one by Alexander Gedike Sonatina In C Major, Op. 36, No. 20. Also, Diabelli wrote several accessible sonatinas. I second looking at modern composers like Kevin Olson and Dennis Alexander for interesting/appealing ideas.

diabelli in Gmajor is really nice. c major really good too but maybe a bit harder. listen to them on u tube and let me know what u think...

James Hook: Plenty of beautiful sonatinas. I am playing one now that is slightly more complicated than the Beethoven Sonatina in Gmajor.

http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/Twelve-Sonatinas-Op-12/5849386

I quite like Clementi Op. 36 No. 6 - it's considered grade 7 by the RCM. I was also working on Beethoven Op. 49 No. 1 Rondo, a grade 8 piece, but after nearly year on it, my tempo is still limited by what I can manage for the sections with sixteenth notes in the left hand. Setting it aside to focus on the Clementi for now, and I'll come back to it when I have played some more of the easier sonatinas.