Seeking Repertoire... possible Sr. recital pieces

[Appenato]

Alright, I'm going to try to make some sense in writing this, so bear with me if I don't....

 In 2 years I will be giving my undergrad senior recital. I'm nearing the end of my sophomore year and I'm dissatisfied with the repertoire my teacher has me playing... or the choices he has suggested. This is a result of seeing that all the rest of his students play the same pieces. I'll agree to playing what he offers me, but for the most part, I don't enjoy working on them. I haven't discussed this with my teacher because I don't want to sound... I don't know how I sound voicing my dissatisfaction about playing every other piece all the other students are playing.... but I don't want to sound like I'm complaining or however it's coming out here....

Currently I'm playing Beethoven's Appassionata (which was actually my choice... only the grad students have played this piece so far), Bach's Italian Concerto (1st mvmt this semester), and Brahms' Intermezzo op. 117, no. 1. All nice pieces, but all pieces that everyone else is playing or has played.

I brought my teacher the Chopin nocturne op. 32, no. 2 and discovered it's one he's never taught before. That means no one else has played it, so it's a fresh new piece for the music department! yay... So I'm working on that, but it's not that challenging except for conveying musicality... but that will come with time no doubt.... I chose it because of its simplicity in its beauty... if that makes any sense.

I've spent the majority of this morning scouring threads here for new repertoire ideas and pieces that aren't endlessly played on campus. If over the next 2 years that sort of repertoire is all I'm made to play (the ones everyone and their dog plays), my senior recital program will sound like everyone elses... or almost like it because so-and-so did that not too long ago.... 

Liszt's Consolations are beautiful, simplistic pieces, but at my last lesson, my teacher gave another student the pieces to learn... I'm learning them on my own at the moment, as a result. am I wrong to not want to conform to the "standard repertoire" field with my teacher? I know I could learn stuff from the other music, but it's no fun to sit and listen to the others play "your" piece, you know...?

My current repertoire needs some 20th century material...Debussy and Rachmaninov are the usual played at my school... the same pieces, too. I've seen Scriabin highly recommended around here so maybe I'll ask my teacher for something of his. Is Albeniz considered 20th cent. or romantic?

I want to learn Grieg's "Wedding Day at Toldhaugen", but as with most of my personal choices, it's under the romantic era. Not that that is going to stop me from learning it, it's  just that I need to branch out more with 20th century... I have Bartok's Sonatina that I was assigned and haven't touched all semester... it's not that interesting to me and I just can't stand to play it past the first page, try as i might. Last summer I was assigned Prokofiev's prelude op. 12, no.7. didn't get anywhere with that piece, either.... I need some help.. and ideas... or maybe just a lecture to set me straight and bow down to learning the common, standard repertoire, conforming to sounding like everyone else. 

anyone...?

[sauergrandson]

So you want 20th century?

Prokofiev: op. 31: Tales of an Old GRandmother     www.piano.ru/library-e.html

Shostakovitch: 24 preludes    (not the 24 preludes and fugue)   www.piano.ru/library-e.html

Ligeti: Musica Ricercata   www.abrahamespinosa.com

[superstition2]

I don't blame you for not liking the Bartok. I haven't heard the Sonatina, but I hate his piano concertos.

If you can play the Appassionata well, why not learn Myaskovsky's (also spelled Miaskovsky) 3rd sonata? I guarantee that no one you know has heard it. I've attached a live version, reduced to mono and 97k per second.