repetoire for competitions

[jester]

Hi everyone, Im doing some research into piano competitions and would like you to take a few moments to answer the following questions please:

What do you think is good repetoire for amateur competitions & big international competitions? (list the pieces)
What pieces do you know to be often played in competitions?
Do you think playing something unusual or hardly known works against/for you with the judges in general?
What are your own experiences in preparing for competitions and what was the outcome?

Thanks for your time

[zheer]

Avoid Chopins  Ballad in Gminor,and avoid Beethovens F****** Appationata .
Try Manuel de Falla Ritual Fire Dance,DANZAS ARGENTINAS by Alberto E. GINASTERA and something from Mendelsons songs without words for amature competition.

[kghayesh]

Avoid Chopins  Ballad in Gminor

Why is that???
I think it is a demanding piece that require a lot of musicality and technique (ask the coda).

[prometheus]

Because he doesn't like it.

[zheer]

Most amatures are very advanced and if you look at the leeds international piano competition you will find that those pieces i have listed are fairly easy.

[RealPianist]

zheer,
if you think it is fairly easy, why do you avoid playing the g minor ballade?
what is the thing that make you avoid playing that?

i agree that the g minor ballade is hard and need technique, musicality, etc etc..and this piece is very demanding.

[pianowelsh]

Ballades/scherzos of chopin and the late sonatas of Beethoven are on virtuaually all the lists of the big competitions. They are rep you need to be able to play - the question is whether you actually have the guts to play them in a competition when they have all been done a million times before. chopin studies and liszt studies are often asked for either one or two (amateur/small competitions) or as a group - like Op10 or op25 complete as in leeds etc. as general rule you find that people tend to try and play all the big works by a composer at these competitions. Generally to show their technique and how well they can handle all the big famous pieces (product of the recording era). BUT this is often a criticism of jury members and you sometimes do better to choose a slightly more eclectic programme Or a programme which is themed - which shows you have BRAIN + FINGERS easiness is not generally the issue. It is common sense that somewhere in your programme you will have to show them what you can do in terms of keyboard gymnastics. But you dont need to play everything hard. I have seen people on the international circuit play Chopin Andante Spianato/grand pol immediately followed by Mussorgsky's pictures at an exhibition - and frankly it gets too much.

Another crazy programme: Liszt Bmin son,Brahms Pag variations,Chopin scherzo no1!! Heavy! OR: Beethoven eroica,Chopin ballade1, polonaise Ab, Ravel Gaspard,Liszt Harmonies du soir and then his 6th rhapsody!!!! - ok its showy but you just get to the point where you say enough - change the paint brush!
A nice prog i enjoyed at competition was: Beethoven (les adieux) Debussy 2 preludes and Liszt Spanish Rhapsody.
also: Beethoven 32 variations, Franck prelude choral fg, chopin Fantasy, Prokofiev sonata 6

[zheer]

Well Realpianist, i love the g minor ballad ,i even play the dam thing its just that i know that you risk being compared to Rubenstine, Ouest , Horowitz etc, and its playd well by many people am only an avrage pianist.

[march05]

i did once consider the g-minor ballade for competition but dropped it after memorizing and playing it informally for friends. for me the hard parts to pull off without sounding cliche are the slow sections that require fantasy-like rubato or gradual-speeding up. it's easier to do those in a beautiful way when playing in a quite room alone, than in front of exhausted jury members & bored audience (who have to sit up to 6 hours and listen to multiple performances of that ballade). for competitions, i think fast pieces are more attention grabbing. perhaps add a short slow/lyrical piece to show you can do those moods too, but generally i'd prefer to keep a high pace thoughout, especially the starting and ending pieces...

[jester]

ok thanks guys keep your replies coming!!