Fifth year of piano lessons with Iryna Vokhmyanina

In this fifth year of study, Mentari finally got introduced to an ABRSM exam. In the Netherlands, this was not common, but here everybody is doing it. Iryna thought that Mentari could do Grade 4 or Grade 5. We decided to do Grade 4 as this is the first ABRSM exam for Mentari, and a lot to catch up in term of scales, sight reading, and aural.

Learned pieces:

Debussy
Little Niger - performed in music school concert (Apr 2018)

Telemann
Le Petit Jeu (ABRSM Grade 4 exam piece)

Carroll
The Reef (No 5 in Southern Seas)

Gillock
Holiday in Paris

Czerny-Germer
Etude No 12, 14, 17


Performance video:
Little Niger by Debussy, performed in April 2019 at school concert (9 years old). This was a beautiful performance. We sent this to Elena, and she said ""Mentari makes very good progress. I would love to give her hug and kiss. Wonderful child! Please keep sending me new videos and pictures!"

Fourth year of piano lessons: Bronze at BTDA awards for Piano Duet!

Fourth year of piano lessons, with Iryna Vokhmyanina: first exam! (recap)

Mentari started learning from Iryna Vokhmyanina in September 2018, at Tanglewood Music School.

The first pieces she learned were from the Russian book 2: Haydn's Menuett and Berkowitsch's Variations on folk tunes. She also for the first time learning to play the scales.

In Nov 2018, she took part in the internal grading in house by the music school. What she had to do?
- Scales (assessed by another piano teacher during the lessons)
- Etudes: played Lemoine Op. 37 No 1 and 2 (assessed during the lessons)
- Pieces: (1) Berkowithsch's Variations on folk tunes, (2) Benda's Sonatina in A minor, and (3) Tchaikovsky's Mazurka. (performed in concert)
Nin also came to the concert, afterwards we celebrated by dinner at Nandos. When the exam results were released: she passed with Distinction!

There were two concerts, in October 2018 at the Halloween concert (in-house at music school), playing an Ehrhard's polka for duet with ibu. Then in December 2018 at the christmas concert, playing Italian Souvenir for a duet with ibu. These two pieces were recorded in January 2019 (recordings are hard!!) and submitted for Brilliant Talent Discovery Award for duet category, in which Mentari and Ibu won a Bronze! Woohoo!

Learned pieces:

Haydn 
Menuett (from Symphone N 100 G-dur) (book 2 no 21)

Berkowitsch 
Variations from Russian folksongs (book 2 no 41) - performed for Grade 2 internal exam

Benda
Sonatina in A minor - performed for Grade 2 internal exam (but this is actually a Grade 4 ABRSM piece)

Tchaikovsky 
Mazurka (from Children's book Op 39 No 10)

Lemoine 
Etudes Enfantines Op 37 no 1, 2 - performed for Grade 2 internal exam
Etudes Enfantines Op 37 no 3

Leshgorn
Etude Op 65 No 8

Heller
Etude in C

Ehrhardt
Seven Dance Rhythms The D scale polka (duet with Ibu) - performed in Halloween concert, submitted for BTDA awards

Y. Krasavin
Italian Souvenir (duet with Ibu) - performed in Christmas concert, submitted for BTDA awards


Performance video

Sonatina in A minor (Benda), performed at Pianovers meetup as a preparation for the Grade 2 internal exam (8 years old, Nov 2018)


Italian Souvenir (Y. Krasavin), performed at Pianovers meetup (8 years old, almost 9, Dec 2018), a warm up for the Tangle wood Christmas concert.


Italian Souvenir (Y. Krasavin), performed at Tanglewood Christmas concert (Dec 2018).


Practice videos 
Mazurka (8 years old, Nov 2018), practicing from Grade 2 internal exam. The playing at the exam was much more smoothly (and got high mark), unfortunately no recording was allowed. There was a camera from the school, but the operator forgot to turn on the button! '

Etude - Heller (9 years old, Feb 2019)