What to play for mixed audience

[Rach3]

What should we play to an unwilling audience with no musical background? Especially combined with a very limiting piano? When confronted with these situations, I don't really know what to do, things like Prokofiev sonatas aren't really received or understood. I'm always backwards on what is found "impressive", its often easy and trite stuff (e.g. Brahms Sonatensatz), whereas for example late Beethoven looks (to them) easy. I'm not Horowitz, but I'm sure I can communicate certain pieces impressively to such audiences, under substandard conditions. What do you find successful? (other than Mephisto waltz)

[dj]

play bugs bunny music:) ie. chopins minute walz, liszts hungarian rhapsody no. 2 (although i don't know how easy that would b on a limiting piano)....just play stuff where they've heard the main themes b4.

[eddie92099]

things like Prokofiev sonatas aren't really received or understood.

I read an interview with Peter Jablonski who said "it was a slight mistake playing Prokofiev's Seventh Piano Sonata in a remote Tibetan village"!
Ed

[bobo]

Hello,

Given that they are an unwilling audience, it would be nice to find
a way to avoid playing at all.  If this is impossible then you're
well advised to find some tunes they like.  If that is not feasible
you'd best make the tunage short.

It all really depends on whether this is a prison, school or
rest home.  What works best is stuff to which they can kind
of relate.   (I guess I left out the biggest group - jury members...)

On lousy pianos I don't do anything beyond Chopin Nocturnes
(not the big one), and what works for the particular inmates I
encounter is popular "jazz" music like Misty, Mean to me, etc.
They seem to prefer this even to the more accessible "classical"
literature.  Maybe that's my fault, but there is little to be said for
placing pearls before disinterested individuals (or
colony organisms for that matter).

It would be very interesting to know what exact species of
unwilling audience you are considering.


Regards,
Bobo


"Beethoven is much harder on modern pianos due to my
inferior technique"