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7. Gavotte & Six Variations in A minor

Jean-Philippe Rameau

About this piece
This is one of Rameau's most famous pieces for solo keyboard, and justifiably so. The piece starts with a beautiful and delicate gavotte, that explores some of the most simple harmonic progressions and yet the melody is so inspiring. The variations that follow get increasingly more difficult and exciting. The final two variations stand out for their technical difficulty involving broken double-notes that jump up and down the keys on the left and right hands. All in all, a challenging piece for early to mid-advanced pianists.
Is this your next piece?
You might enjoy this if you're an advanced pianist keen to expand your repertoire and explore the music of Rameau.
Level guide
Equivalent to RCM level 9
Equivalent to ABRSM level 8
Equivalent to Suzuki book 7
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Jean-Philippe Rameau was born

Beginning of the composer’s lifetime.

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This piece
Gavotte & Six Variations was published

Jean-Philippe Rameau was 44 years old

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End of the composer’s lifetime.

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