What happened to people out there ??

[kghayesh]

I made a small private recital to all my family. I played pieces like the Pathetique Sonata ,Chopin's G minor Ballade and C# minor nocturne Op.posth, K.545 sonata.

What made me so shocked is their response. After playing the Ballade and the Pathetique, all the feedback i get is that they are so difficult pieces.

Then, when playing somethings like Fur Elise and Richard Clayderman stuff, people get so affected that they request me to repeat them all over again !! Then, someone tells me " Hey do u know that love story theme ". Then i try to play them by ear and improvise some accompaniment, then they say OMG you are great you are so skilled to play these.

It was so strange is that what did they like most was Fur Elise and Richard Clayderman stuff. The only other piece that got some good feedback was the Revolutionary Etude ( most probably due to its explicitness and its fiery opening )

I spent about 4-5 months learning the 1st Ballade and only about 2 days to polish Fur Elise. So, is it worth spending all that time on learning hard pieces while one can make everyone( not everyone of course, only non-musicians ) think that i am an outsanding pianist by playing such easy pieces???

[brahmsian]

I think non-musicians (I'm assuming your family members you played for are non-musicians) give a better response to a piece if it is one they recognize. They know the tune, and can immediatly identify with the piece. Maybe if you play the Chopin Ballade enough, they will start to recognize the nuances of piece and come to appreciate it more.

If you are playing for non-musicans, you should mix it up a bit. Play some pieces they will certainly recognize (Fur Elise, etc) and some not-so-"mainstream" classical pieces. That way they are garunteed to hear something they know, while also being exposed to pieces they may never have heard.

[gorbee natcase]

The Pathetique is a bit like a race horce it is full of rythm drama and little harmony and the only melodic part of the piece the 2nd and 4th subject. Where as fur elise is harmonic all along.

The first thing I liked playing was pieces like this when I was young, isn't it possible that thaey need to experience more of that sort of music before they are ready to move on to more complex ideas.

When you were born coloures were fascinating, but after a while coloures got boring you wanted to see coloures in shapes until now where you can appreciate fine art

By the way that works to you advantage

[gorbee natcase]

The Pathetique is a bit like a race horce it is full of rythm drama and little harmony and the only melodic part of the piece the 2nd and 4th subject. Where as fur elise is harmonic all along.

The first thing I liked playing was pieces like this when I was young, isn't it possible that thaey need to experience more of that sort of music before they are ready to move on to more complex ideas.

When you were born coloures were fascinating, but after a while coloures got boring you wanted to see coloures in shapes until now where you can appreciate fine art

By the way that works to you advantage  

I have no idea why this has been posted twice 

[panic]

Fur Elise is only popular with folks because...it's popular with folks. It's so hackneyed that everybody knows it, and therefore it is popular, which only leads to it being more hackneyed and popular - vicious cycle. Every eight-or-nine-year-old kid taking piano lessons has to play Fur Elise at some point, it seems. I have no idea who was the teacher that first taught his young students the piece, but he had no idea what he started.

I once heard an opinion that FE was the hardest piece in the entire piano repertoire, and it's a decent idea. Ninety-five percent of people who play it, that is to say young kids, have no idea how to pull off the Beethoven behind the music. And because probably fifty million people have played it (serious estimate), it's incredibly hard to come up with an interpretation that is unique and individual and yet still works well.

[dinosaurtales]

This may just be a theory, BUT.....
I think parents like Fur Elise because it reminds them of when you were little, and they like remembering you when you were little.

[kghayesh]

I think parents like Fur Elise because it reminds them of when you were little, and they like remembering you when you were little.

Why are you saying that? What is yr point ??

BTW, not only my parents liked it. All my family, my uncle, aunt, grandfather...

[jamie_liszt]

The reason they like Fur Elise is because this piece is everywhere, theres no escape from it, non-musicians know it and when you play it they know it so they enjoy it. Musicians on the other hand try to get away from it because they hate it so much, other pieces Non-Musicians know- maybe the Chopin Prelude Op 28 No 7, Beethoven Symph No 5 and 9, Mozart Alla turca, Play these pieces for Non-Musicians and they will enjoy it. Its just like playing the entertainer for a bunch of oldies, they go mental, am i right ?

Like someone else said, when playing a Recital for maybe your family or a bunch of Non-Musicians, Play stuff that they will know, it doesn't have to be EASY, an example would be hungarian rhapsody no 2 (friska mainly) its fast and people recognise it, maybe the heroic polonaise, some people recognize that piece too. So if its hard or easy as long as they know it. If your playing for Actual Musicians or People who know alot then maybe more serious pieces like the ballade no 1 and some lesser known pieces, because they know how hard they are and they APPRECIATE it. Non-Musicians don't give a rats ***. But like someone said for family, play it so many times they get to know it, thats what i do with my parents.