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Topic: Choosing new pieces...  (Read 1495 times)

Offline Jacey1973

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Choosing new pieces...
on: June 29, 2005, 06:34:11 PM
Ok...yes i know another one of these samey posts....but...

I just did a recital and i'm looking for new pieces but really have no idea what kinda level stuff i should be going for. I've been playing for 14 years and I recently played Mozart's Sonata in D (K576) and Ravel's Alborada del gracioso.

I really want to go back to Beethoven - but which sonata...need a fairly challenging one i think. Any ideas?

Plus i'm also thinking Prokofiev (but never played any before) and Rachmaninov.

I would ask my teacher but he's been too busy to answer my calls recently (i know...how supportive is that?!) so if i start learning pieces he doesn't agree with that's not my problem!  8)
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"Mozart makes you believe in God - it cannot be by chance that such a phenomenon arrives into this world and then passes after 36 yrs, leaving behind such an unbounded no. of unparalled masterpieces"

Offline 6ft 4

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Re: Choosing new pieces...
Reply #1 on: June 29, 2005, 08:45:15 PM
Beethoven op.81a Les Adieux.
Rachmaninov op.23 no.2

Both fiendishly difficult.

LOL i hate when people acknowledge that what they are doing is wrong BUT STILL DO IT rofl.
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pokeythepenguin

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Re: Choosing new pieces...
Reply #2 on: June 29, 2005, 09:44:53 PM
For Beethoven, if you need a challenging sonata but aren't interested in tackling say, Hammerklavier, I love No. 30 Op. 109.  Quite challenging, but not too long or too impossible.

For Rachmaninov the Etudes Tableaux Op. 39 has some wonderful selections (IE Nos. 1, 2, 6, 8 and 9), as does the Preludes Op. 32 (Nos. 4, 5, 10 and 12).  Also without getting into the absurdly difficult like the Sonata No. 2, his Variations on a Theme by Corelli are quite nice, and his Scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream is beautiful.

For Prokofiev though the only way to go is Sonata No. 6 ^^  Definitely his best piece in my opinion.  But if that's too much I would recommend the Sonata No. 2 or possibly the Toccata Op. 11 if you're looking for a shorter piece.  The Visions Fugitive aren't too challenging and aren't even really spectacular music so I'd stay away from them.  His 4 Etudes are also a possibility if you're not particularly blown away by his sonatas.

I'm about to start a very interesting piece by Bright Sheng called "My Song".  If you're interested I can show it to you, just as a possibility.
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Offline ako

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Re: Choosing new pieces...
Reply #3 on: June 29, 2005, 11:59:12 PM
Quote from: pokeythepenguin on June 29, 2005, 09:44:53 PM
his Variations on a Theme by Corelli are quite nice,

I love Rach's Corelli variations.

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