Hello,
Personally, I prefer to start with something that is not too technically demanding and not too fast -- to allow me time to adapt to the hall and audience, to soothe any stage fraight, and to warm the fingers up to that particular instrument. At the same time, I try to also choose something that can capture and hold the audience's attention. In that sense, I try to avoid starting with anything that has long, "boring" passages in it. "Short, steady, and sweet/upbeat" is usually what I would go for for an openning number.
I also like to experiment with new ideas, improvisations, original compositions, etc. I usually slip those in right after intermission if it is expected to be short, or at the end of the recital if it is expected to be long.
With regards to sharing the stage with other pianists, I shared a stage with two other pianists before. I ended up playing four-hand (original composition) with one while the other turned the pages. We are planing on playing six-hand pieces to close our next recital together in 2004.
In the past, we threw the shorter pieces (etudes, preludes, pre-Romantic sonatas) in the first half before intermission, and saved the longer works (e.g. a full Beethoven sonata) to make up the meat for the second half.
The above worked for me, but I am still very inexperienced when it comes to giving public performances; and I am always looking for better ways to do things. I look forward to learning from the more experienced folks here, to see how you would do it, and maybe get some idea for my next "experiment." Thanks.
