How many pieces do you know by memory?

[allchopin]

 
[shadow=red,left,300] [/shadow]

[Chad]

0 unless you count simple beginners pieces that are less than a page long.  

[zhovey]

2 well, 3 so-so that require an hour to brush up in fast sections.

[bachopoven]

10. Wow! but wait these are short 10-20 bar pieces - most by Turk.

[pianiststrongbad]

Currently I know from memory without the need to review:
Rachmaninov-prelude in C#m
Beethoven- Moonlight Sonata (all 3 movements)
Beethoven- Tempest Sonata (1, 3 movement, forgot the second .
Beethoven-Appassionatta (1st movement)
Chopin- Fantasie- Impromptu
Chopin-Ballade 1
Chopin- Prelude 1, 5
Liszt- Liebestraum (3rd mov.)

[NetherMagic]

Turkish March - Mozart
Fantaisie Impromptu - Chopin

working on Chopin's Ballade no.1 and Bach's Italian Concerto

[Leporello]

Beethoven Opus 10 Number 3 Sonata First Movement
Mendelssohn Rondo Capriccioso
Villa-Lobos Sereistras Impresoes

I used to know Chopin's Revolutionary Etude and the first movement of Beethoven's Pastorale by memory also, but haven't practiced those pieces in over a year.

[allchopin]

wow im kind of surprised.  I thought this forum would just be flourishing with cognescents- i feel a little bit better about my mere repertoir of 22...
(and just for the record here they are...)

Moonlight Sonata Mvmt. 1
Pathetique Sonata Mvmt. 2
Nocturne #1 in G minor
Nocturne #19 in E
Waltz in Ab
Intermezzo in A
Fantasie-Impromptu
Prelude #7
About Foreign Lands and People
Sonata in A – mvmt. 1
Prelude #9
Mazurka #3 Op. 68 in F
Mazurka #2 Op. 6
Etude #9 in F minor
Etude #12 in C minor
Nocturne #1 Op. 48
Prelude #15 ‘Raindrop’
Mazurka #2 Op. 24 in C
Prelude #1 in C from Well Tempered Clavier
Waltz #19 in A minor
Minute Waltz
Sonata in A – Mvmt. 3 ‘Alla turca’
Ballade #4-Chopin

[sel]

For some reason i have a terribly time keeping things in memory especially if they are simple (i rely on sheet music too much). in any case, i have chopin's revolutionary etude memorized because after playing it in public every other day for several weeks at one point i can't even manage to forget it. also i have liszt's campanella memorized but i can't even remember simple things like chopin's preludes op 28 no 4 and 6 (but i do remember no 8!).

[e60m5]

Eh...

Bach - Partita no.1
Bach - Prelude and Fugues: WTC1 - C minor, D major
Bach - Italian Concerto
Balakirev - Islamey
Beethoven - Sonata Op.57
Beethoven - Sonata Op.13
Beethoven - Sonata Op.28
Chopin - Nocturnes Op.9 no.1, 2, 3
Chopin - Nocturne Op.27 no.2
Chopin - Scherzo no.1
Chopin - Berceuse Op.57
Chopin - Waltz Op.64 no.2
Chopin - Waltz Op.18
Chopin - Etudes Op.10 no.1, 3, 4, 12, Op.25 no.1, 2
Chopin - Polonaise Op.53
Debussy - Suite: "Pour le Piano"
Debussy - Prelude no.2 from "Preludes II
Gershwin - Preludes for Piano
Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue
Liszt - Annees de Pelerinage Bk1: "Au Lac de Wallenstadt", "Orage", "Au Bord D'Une Source"
Liszt - Liebestraum no.3
Mozart - Sonatas K.284, 330, 331, 545
Rachmaninov - Preludes Op.3 no.2, Op.23 nos. 4, 5, 6, 7
Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto no.2
Rachmaninov - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Schubert - Impromptus D.899

These pieces I know from memory, but knowing them from memory hardly means playing them at performance standard. :\

There are probably others out there that I've forgotten - it's harder remembering all the Opus numbers and all of that than the actual piece itself, I find

[Sketchee]

Ravel - Sonatine
     I. Modere
     II. Mouvement de Menuet
     III. Anime
Ravel - Prelude in A minor (1913)
Satie - Gnossiene No 1
Beethoven - Sonata Op 14 No 1
     I.  Allegro
     II. Allegretto
     III.  Rondo. Allegro comodo.
Chopin - Prelude Op 28 No 15
Chopin - Waltz Op 64 No 1
Chopin/Liszt - Maiden's Wish
Liszt - Valse Oubliee No 1
Bach - Gavotte (from the sixth suite for cello)
Moussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition
     I. Promenade.

[dinosaurtales]

Wow!  You guys crack me up!  My feeble brain now holds:

JB  Cramer - Sonata #1 in F from 2 Grand Sonatas
John Field - Sonata in Eflat
SS Wesley - March from March and Rondo

By next year this time I expect the list to be a bit bigger, perhaps with:

Beethoven Apassionata Sonata
Prokofiev Sonata #2

I sure hope my teacher doesn't make me memorize that Bach French Suite.  I hate that thing!

[eddie92099]

Why do people play pieces they hate?
Ed

[dinosaurtales]

My piano teacher says it's *good* for me.  I think it's the piano equivalent of eating your broccoli (brocolli?  sp?)

Min

[Sketchee]

I find the key to learning pieces I hate is to learn to find something to like about it.  Sometimes piano teaches assign things for a reason.  My teacher usually tries to find something he thinks I'll like though.  If he assigns something I don't like it's pretty obvious if I haven't practiced it and he may bring it.  Eventually though I've gotten back to a lot of pieces I wasn't enthused about at first.

[piglet]

How do you manage to keep a wide repertoire?

[allchopin]

Actually, over time, I have nearly lost 3 or 4 of those pieces.  You just have to get them into memory, and play them from time to time. They, of course, aren't concert-ready by memory, if that's what you mean.  But the notes are all in here  --> .

[djbrak]

Bach Prelude in C
Bach Minuet in G

[Trimen1000]

I have 11 memorized, ready to play anytime.

Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6
Chopin Etude No. 12
Beethoven Moonlight Sonata
Beethoven Pathetique Sonata
Rachmaninoff's Prelude in G minor
Lecuana 5th movment from Andalucia Malaguena
Debussy Childern's Corner
Debussy Cakewalk(the little negro I think)
Chopin Military Polonaise
Chopin Heroic Polonaise
Tschaikowsky Piano Concerto No. 1 1st mvt.

[Sketchee]

My memorized repertoire now includes: Ravel: Sonatine (I. Modere, II. Mouvement de Menuet, III. Anime), Prelude in A minor (1913), Satie: Gnossiene No 1, Beethoven: Sonata Op 14 No 1 (I.  Allegro, II. Allegretto, III.  Rondo. Allegro comodo.), Chopin/Liszt: Maiden's Wish, Bach: Gavotte (from the sixth suite for cello), Liszt: Un Sospiro and Moussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (I. Promenade.)

[Edit]  Add in Ravel: A maniere de ... Borodine, Liszt: Sonetto 104 del Petrarca, Fantasie-Impromptu (the last one I suprised myself because I worked on it more than I thought and just had a little more to memorize left Still didn't pick up the ones below though!) [/edit]

The following three pieces have fallen out of my repertoire and need a serious memory update (A day or two each) before becoming playable again: Chopin: Prelude Op 28 No 15, Waltz Op 64 No 1, Liszt: Valse Oubliee No 1.  I really must not like Chopin much because I always tend to forget his pieces. Well, they certainly aren't as fun as Ravel and Liszt.  Beethoven cleverly plays against his own pieces which adds coherence that helps with memorization.  Chopin's piece are beautiful but I don't enjoy them so incredibly I admit.

[BiG-e]

I know by memory:


Moszkowski - Etude in E-flat Op.90, No.17
Christopher Norton - Rock Prelude No.3


Was never really one for memorising pieces. But I'm trying to memorise Chopin Etude Op.10 No.12  

[ahmedito]

so screw you, piano God... who do you think you are? no one here is trying to impress YOU.... and for the most cases, learning a piece by memory, usually involved somewhere along the line knowing it inside out, and knowing each hand separate.

[eddie92099]

Piano God? That's me? Did I ever say that I know to play hands separate from memory?
It seems few people can take a challenge here.
I don't think that I'm trying to impress, because if you take the time and read what I say, rarely I write about my self.
Thanks for the comment though.

Your self-aggrandizing nature is not appropriate in this kind of forum. Take a look at Mei-Ting's posts - he is a great and successful pianist yet he manages to use his knowledge to help others rather than insult them,
Ed

[xenon]

Wow, now that guy has repertoire!

If I considered all my major pieces from about 6 years ago or so, I would say I could have about 30-35 pieces by memory, but who wants to memorize all that?    The 15 or so from a few years ago are the main ones.

But Mei-Ting's repertoire is...uber

[ThEmUsIcMaNBJ]

I havn't played for all my life like a lot of you so my repertoire isn't huge...  But right now I would say...

Beethoven Sonata Op.27 no.2 (complete), Op.31 No.3 1st movement
Chopin Fantasie Impromptu
Chopin Etude Op. 10 No. 5
Chopin Nocturne Op. 27 No.2
Bach Italian Concerto
Rachmaninoff Moment Musical No.4

A few things kinda fell out of my repertoire and it was really depressing trying to play them again    so I'm working on making sure I keep them up from now on.  Feels so much better having stuff concert ready then having to say "Oh a month ago I could play them".

[inkiepoo]

I am very impressed here with what all of you are memorizing and playing. I haven't memorized very many pieces but here they are:

Chopins Valse in C# Minor (opus 64 #2)
Beethovens Moonlight Sonata (first movement)
Rachmaninoffs Prelude in C# Minor

I am especially impressed with e60m5 that has memorized Rachmaninoffs piano concerto #2. That is a piece I really love and would be just happy if I could play it with the music in front of me!!  

Inki

[bitus]

Ravel - Le Tombeau de Couperin - Toccata
Enescu - Suite in stile Ancient - mov. 1, 3 & 4
Haydn - Fantasie in C major
Chopin - Etude in Ab major (from the last 3 etudes)
Chopin - Etude in c minor (not the Revolutionary)
Chopin - Butterfly Etude
Schuman - Traumerai
Bach - prelude & fugue in Ab
Lots of personal compositions... no need for title or "opus number"

Need some review on:
Chopin - polonaise (Heroica)
Chopin - polonaise in A major (Militara)
Mozart - Sonata in D major... forgot opus no.
Beethoven - Sonata in F minor ... same with the opus no
Handel - Suite in G minor (parts of it)

Of course, there are a lot of small pieces that i didn't count... i wouldn't realy include them in my "repertoire".
As you can see, i'm quite bad with opus numbers...

I find my repertoire quite weak... a concert pianist should have a much broader and larger repertoire. This week i will start working on a brand new (full) repertoire for a competition in June in Richmond Virginia, so i'll have a much larger repertoire by then. Anybody in here going there?
Bitus

[bachopoven]

Just added Beethoven's shorter German and Russian Folk dances. Beethoven has quite a range of difficulty and length. I never thought he could write pieces as easily-manageable as these dances. Plus one of his ecossaise, his popular one perhaps, don't remember what else it's called.

[Beethoven87]

Wow...  Hearing repetoir lists like that has a way of making someone like me feel insignificant.  I have memorized...  

Beethoven Sonata "Moonlight," Mvts 1&3
Beethoven Sonata Op.53, Mvt 3 (1&2-ish pending)
Chopin Etude Op. 10 No. 4
Rachmaninoff "Polichinelle"
Debussey "Sunken Cathedral"

However, I know the basic tunes to a fantasticaly large number of other pieces (and songs in general), so I can improvise easily to please a crowd.  That's sort of like cheating, I guess.  I'm sure most of you here know Pachobel's Canon, right?  Not exactly hard to do something like that for an audience that's not especially piano inclined.

[pianojems]

Pieces I know right now are
Bach prelude and fugue in d
Beethoven Concerto #1
Mozart Sonata in Bb
Mozart Fantasy in D
Debussy Estampes
Rachmaninov Prelude Op32 #5
Chopin Ballade #3
Chopin Waltz in C#
CHopin Polonaise Militaire
CHopin Etude Op 25 #1
Beethoven Pathetique
Scriabin Prelude for the left hand
Prokofiev prelude in C
Schuman Scenes from childhood

[Wired]

*joins in*

I think the true question is, how many pieces can you recall that you know by memory? I wrote this list, and then added a few more that I remembered after the fact, and I'm sure I'm missing some.

Rach:
 Prelude in C# Minor
 Prelude in G Minor
 Prelude in B Minor

Chopin:
 Prelude in E Minor
 Prelude in Db Major
 Prelude in B Minor
 Polonaise in Ab Major
 Nocturne in E minor

Mark Hayes
 Sing Hallelujah
 Shine, Jesus Shine
 What Child is this?

Marilyn Hamm
 Awesome and Exalted

Grieg
 A few (4, but can't remember any of the names except for Arietta) lyric pieces

Beethoven
 Fur Elise (only still memorized because *everyone* wants to hear it)
 Moonlight Sonata (First movement only, toying with 3rd)

So, the pieces that I can remember that I remember total... 18. However, up until the last year of my piano life, my learning style was to read a few notes and then watch my hands. That forced me to put it into memory. Nowadays, I'm much better at watching the music and glancing less at my hands, so the newer songs I have learned took longer to actually memorize. Perhaps that will sway how much is kept in my head.

[Lilo]

I know by memory every piece I've learnt....I've never been able to play sth without having learning it ...and learning is so much more easier than reading...
don't you think so ?

Elsa

[GodScriabin]

Bach: Partitas number 1 and 4 all movements

[GodScriabin]

Bach: Partitas number 1 and 4 all movements
         Italian Concerto first movement
         Inventions 1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 13, 14
         Sinfonia 15
         Goldberg variations Aria, 1,5
         Prelude and fugue numbers 1, 5

Mozart:
         Fantasia in D Minor
         Alla Turka

Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody 2
         Tristan & Isolde's Liebestad transcription

Chopin: Fantasy-Impromptu #66
            Minute Waltz
            Revolutionary Etude
            Etude Number 12

Scriabin:
            Prelude 1, 3, 10, 14 , 18
            Etude C#Minor (Affanatto)
            Poem of Ecstasy
            Sonata-Fantasy (Presto)            
       
Beethoven:
           Sonata Pathetique first movement

Prokofiev:
           Sonata 7 precipitato

[guven]

Are you guys talking about repertoire or some pieces which are still memorized and ready to play anytime ?
Sorry I didn't understand .

[Ricordanza]

Hello everyone!  This is my first ever posting.  I am just beginning to read the wealth of material here.  As to the topic, I know 2 or 3 Rachmaninoff preludes by memory right now.  I have, in the past, memorized tons of solo piano pieces, but they always seem to slip out of my memory.  Certain sections of each piece are easily recalled, but they are by no means performance ready.  One reason I think I have this problem is that I have always relied so much on the music.  And I constantly 'second-guess' myself.  It makes it really difficult to perform a piece when your mind is saying in the background, 'oh, you don't know this part---don't let it fall apart, etc.'  Sometimes I think the less I think about it the better and just try to play the piece automatically with motor memory and without even looking at the keyboard too much really.

Anyway,  this is one reason I have come here.  I am so happy to have found this discussion board.  I look forward to learning from all of you.

[guven]

10. Wow! but wait these are short 10-20 bar pieces - most by Turk.

Turk ?

[guven]

I know by memory every piece I've learnt....I've never been able to play sth without having learning it ...and learning is so much more easier than reading...
don't you think so ?

Elsa

Totally agreed, book is an obstruct sometimes - when you play.

[bernhard]

Hans von Bullow (pianist extraordinaire, son-in-law of Liszt - until Cosima left him for Wagner):

"No pianist can be considered an artist unless he or she can play at least two hundred pieces by heart."

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[eddie92099]

Hans von Bullow (pianist extraordinaire, son-in-law of Liszt - until Cosima left him for Wagner):

"No pianist can be considered an artist unless he or she can play at least two hundred pieces by heart."
 

He said a lot of stupid things, didn't he?
Ed

[bernhard]

Maybe that is why Cosima left him...

Bernhard.

[guven]

He said a lot of stupid things, didn't he?
Ed

He did.

Then, we cannot consider Richter as a pianist because he used to play with sheet music alla time ?

[Infernal_Nerd]

As a reply to the original question; I know everything I go over few times, even non-complete.
For example: Foreign lands and People - I just started it and know half of it by memory.

The full list (I'M A BEGGINER, REMEMBER THAT!) of things that I remember perfectly:

Fur Elise, Rondo alla Turca, Beethoven Sonata 49 (I know the first part and study the second one now).
There are a few more which should not be reminded.

Amit.

[eddie92099]

Then, we cannot consider Richter as a pianist because he used to play with sheet music alla time ?

Only in his old age. While in his mental prime he said he held over 80 recital programmes in his head at any one time,
Ed

[Baw]

Limiting my current list to classical piano pieces:
Mozart K.545 (1st movement)
Albeniz "Tango" Op.165 No. 2
Gershwin Prelude I
Rzewski "The People United" Thema and Var.13.

(I am bad at memorization, even my own compositions I have not memorized a tenth of them.)

[jennbo]

hmm.
chopin- 5 nocturnes 4 waltzes 4 sherzi 3ballades 2 Etudes (Rev and Ocean) I studied 2 more I just need to brush upon them 1-impromptu (the fantasie)
rach- 2 preludes
schubert- impromptu in Gb minor (my favorite piece )
bach- I think like at least 20 inventions combined (from both 2 and 3 part) and 5 preludes
mozart- 4 sonatas
beethoven- fur elise (=.=), tempest (1, 3) moonlight all 3, waldstein (1st movement) and this other sonata, I just know the 1st mvmt
ooh and does the super mario song count?  I learned it during APMusicTheory last month

[trunks]

Oh well, so far I have squeezed a very limited number of pieces into my memory, perhaps barely enough for 2 recitals of different repertoire:

BACH
Prelude and Fugue in E (Well-tempered Clavier Vol.1 No.9)
Prelude in D minor (Well-tempered Clavier Vol.2 No.6)

BEETHOVEN (consider me a lazy memorizer in this composer!):
Fur Elise
Sonatas
Op.13 (pathetique) first movement, almost half of the second
Op.49 No.2 complete
Op.57 (appassionata) large portions from opening and ending movements
Op.81a (les adieux) complete

CHOPIN
Waltzes 1, 6 (minute waltz/waltz of the dog), 7, 14
Mazurka 26 in C# minor, Op.41 No.1
Etudes Op.10 No.1; Op.25 No.6 (thirds), No.11 (winter wind)
Scherzos 1, 2, 3

LISZT
Vallee d'Obermann (Annees de pelerinage I, No.6)
Sonetto 47, 104, 123 del Petrarca (Annees II Nos.4, 5, 6)
Apres un lecture du Dante (Annees II No.7)
Three Concert Studies (complete: il lamento, la leggierezza, un sospiro)
Transcendental Studies 1 (preludio), 5 (feux follets), 6 (vision), 11 (harmonies du soir)

LISZT-BUSONI
Grand Etude after Paganini: No.3 (La Campanella)

MOZART
Alla Turca (Turkish March) from Sonata in A, K.331

RACHMANINOFF
Polichinelle, Op.3 No.4

VILLA-LOBOS
O Prole do Bebe (Volume 1): No.5 (wooden doll), No.7 (o polichinelo)

[anda]

right now, probably two or three. but i have 5-6 concertos and about two dozen works i learned some time ago and i could play again by heart with a few days practice. actually, right now i prefer playing with my scores in front of me, but i still can prepare three different recitals in a week or two.

[newsgroupeuan]

*also joins in*

I can play these from memory,  but not all of them I can play well (actually most of them):

BACH
WTK Bk I Fugue II (c min)  (half memorised  prelude 2,  a bit of the d maj,  and a bit of prelude 21)

BEETHOVEN
Fur Elise (but its in the process of falling out of memory,  not played it so long)
Moonlight snta mvmnt I (falling out also)

DEBUSSY
Doctor gradus ad parnassum (falling out of memory also tho)
Golliwog's cakewalk

LISZT
Étude d'Execution Trancendante - Preludio

My grade I piece A (something by Turk : I liked it so it stays in memory)

and lots of other stuff that is half memorised,  half-chewed(some bach prludes,  somemore Debussy, Albéniz,  Greig) .  I have a Martinu piece for my grade 6 exam this year which is 3/4 done.  Used to know half of Mozart sonata in cmaj K545.

To think of it,  I've hardly memorised anything,  (but then I do piano in my spare time,  which is not a lot).

I think that if I were to perform the stuff herre most of it would fall apart halfway thru (apart from the bach and liszt),  so...

Euan

[ayahav]

Until not long ago I was still giving recitals with the following pieces (so I had committed them to memory), and I still know most of them:

H. Villa Lobos - A Prole do Bebe No.1
A. Piazzolla - Angel
R. Schumann - Des Abends, and Aufschwung from Phantasiestuecke Op. 12
F. Chopin - Etudes Op. 10 Nos. 3 and 4, and the First Ballade

And now I'm still working on (but already have committed to memory)

Beethoven's Sonata quasi una fantasia Op. 27 No. 2
    ---(I insist on calling it that, Rellstab made a big mistake in 'renaming' it.)

Bach's Prelude and Fugue in F minor from the second WTK.

Amit