the best piece to OPEN a programme with?

[stevie]

it depends what kind of mood you are trying to set i suppose.

you could take a chilled approach with some mozart...
a shock unleash of insane speed and fury with a fast virtuosic etude..

or my favourite approach(kissin has used this frequently, and hamelin played it for me at his last recital here) is the profound and colossal insane way of opening-
with the bach-busoni d minor chaconne.

thats just an awesome way to set the tone.

[klavierkonzerte]

moscheles prelude in c minor op73 no.24

henselt prelude in a minor 

both pieces are very short about 10 to 15 seconds and very impressive and will defintly leave the audience wanting more.

[sharon_f]

I remember years ago attending a piano recital that began with the Gubaidulina Chaconne. What an astonishing opening.

[donjuan]

I vote for Liszt - transcendental etude No. 1

[stevie]

what could follow that donjuan?
complete TEs? 

i think another AWESOME opening piece is the chopin/godowsky 10/1...
its so grandiose and awesome, a great way to kick things off.

[da jake]

I have some really weird ideas for opening pieces once I have the technique and confidence to perform them...

Schubert Moments Musical 1
Chopin 2nd Sonata
Scriabin Fantasy, sonata 4
Prokofiev 3rd Sonata
Mozart Sonata 8 or 10
Mendelssohn Rondo Cap.
Schumann sonata 3
Bach Partita 1, 4
Alkan Sonatine
Edna Bentz Woods- Valse (F/Ph)antastique

And I also really like the idea of starting with Chopin 10/1

[pianistimo]

how about with some gregorian chant for piano.  now that would be interesting.

seriously, people try to always start with baroque as though it's fixed.  what about transcriptions (as mentioned above) and/or a modern piece that is based on something ancient.  then move forward - so you have a sort of ancient/modern - renaissance/modern - baroque/modern -   (making baroque in the middle)

there are many baroque things (ie fugues that belong in the middle of program anyway)  to start with something insanely hard - isn't too good.  the audience has to be brought into the concentration.

what if a person actually brought a shepherd boy that played the flute?  how interesting that would be - to hear from the balcony.  as in ancient times - the lonely shepherd -

[mikey6]

or my favourite approach(kissin has used this frequently, and hamelin played it for me at his last recital here) is the profound and colossal insane way of opening-
with the bach-busoni d minor chaconne.

Am I the only one who hates this piece? (I can just tolerate playing through the Brahms arrangement).
I was told the italian concerto is horrendous to start with.
Lately i've been opening with the abegg variations, and then pariging it with a Mozart sonata or 'ondine'.
What about Composition 1960 no.3?

[pianistimo]

interesting you mention abegg variations.  i was just thinking about it the other day.  it is a beautiful, simple start that draws you into the variations.

[jehangircama]

isn't a baroque or classical piece usually played in the beggining of a programme? how about, say, the chromatic fantasy and fugue, or a mozart sonata (k576) or the e major haydn sonata hob 16/31? then one could progress to beethoven and the romantics. that's probably how i would go about it (if i ever got the chance)

[dmk]

isn't a baroque or classical piece usually played in the beggining of a programme? how about, say, the chromatic fantasy and fugue, or a mozart sonata (k576) or the e major haydn sonata hob 16/31? then one could progress to beethoven and the romantics. that's probably how i would go about it (if i ever got the chance)

depends what the 'theme' of the program is (or if there is a theme at all)

A good opening to a program (not that I think you need to stick to the start with Baroque model) I think is Bach's Toccata in C minor.

[burstroman]

Is this a crazy idea?  Open the concert with the Etude in F by Alkan, "Allegro Barbaro", and then open the second half after the intermission with Bartok's "Allegro Barbaro.

[thierry13]

Is this a crazy idea?  Open the concert with the Etude in F by Alkan, "Allegro Barbaro", and then open the second half after the intermission with Bartok's "Allegro Barbaro.

Interesting Idea.  I would open with anything encore-ish.

[phil13]

Beethoven's 'Pathetique' sonata would certainly get their attention. I would open with it if you didn't want something baroque up front. Same goes for the 'Hammerklavier', but only if you've got something truly amazing to follow it. (don't want all the weight up front, after all)

I found a ficticious program in a book about a young pianist. The program opened with the Hammerklavier, and included the Liszt B minor Sonata and some etudes by Scriabin. 

Has anybody ever done a program THAT demanding?

Phil

[sergei r]

Rachmaninov Prelude in C# Minor. Well-known piece to begin with and immediately gets you into that dramatic mood. 

[musicsdarkangel]

anything by Sorabji that's over 4 hours long.

[leahcim]

S'funny to note that, to avoid what would be considered cliched and doing the same thing as everyone else many suggest the same thing as everyone else

It's like, if the question was "I'm opening a restaurant, what should I serve for starters" how many would say a dessert to "be different"?

[nanabush]

I think Chopin 10/1 or List 1st TE are perfect starter piece... C major is the perfect key for a beginning, and these pieces are fast and impressive.

[jehangircama]

I agree with Phil, the Pathetique would be a nice start, especially as you have the grave section so that you can get into the concert, before the tough parts begin.