Repertoire Recommendations

[chelsey]

Alright, I realize these types of threads are common, so forgive me!

I'm at the end of my freshman year of a Bachelor of Music program.. My jury is in 19 days, and consists of the following repertoire:

Beethoven - Sonata in Ab, Op.110
Chopin - Ballade No. 3
Bach - Prelude and Fugue in C#M, WTC Bk1
Debussy - Reflect Dans L'eau

Previous repertoire includes Chopin Etude Op. 25 No. 7, 3 Nocturnes Op. 9, Berceuse, Brahm's B minor Capriccio, Beethoven Sonata Op. 27 No. 1, Mozart Fantasia in C minor, Bartok Sonatine, Alexina Louie 'I leap through the sky with stars', etc.

In a little over a week, I have a meeting with my teacher after a lesson to discuss repertoire for next year and of course I can bring my own suggestions to the table.

I have a stretch of an octave, with the occassional 9th, but chordful pieces tend to be straining. On the other hand, I have a relatively agile finger-technique.

I am looking for a repertoire that is challenging and will keep me stimulated throughout the summer months until my jury next spring (upper year students have the advantage of having their repertoire through the summer;)). Basically this gives me enough time to tackle on music that is substantially challenging, at the same time I want pieces that I'll be capable of pulling off, so I don't want to rush into jumping anything excruciatingly difficult for my sophomore year.

Any input of your own expertise/experience would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advanced,
Chelsey

[arensky]

Off the top of my head, these come to mind.

Bach- Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue
Debussy- Mouvement (continue with Images I)
Liszt- Hungarian Rhapsody #6

[cloches_de_geneve]

Basically I would try to choose a few gems that are not played all the time. In my view, most of the Schubert Sonatas are such specimen. Don't pick 960, though, it's the only one that is played regularly; my vote would go to A major 959.

Some less played, striking pieces by Liszt such as Sposalizio, Jeux d'eau à la Villa d'Este, Bagatelle without tonality, 2 Legends (1. St. Francis; 2. St. Paul), 2. Ballade. Benediction de Dieu dans la Solitude is another incredible piece but it may put too much strain on your right hand.

Other free associations:

Ravel: Sonatine; Haydn: Variations f-minor; Mendelssohn: Variations serieuses.

[henrah]

Just because I like it so much, and because I'd like others to play it and enjoy it:

Mendelssogn's Variations Serieuexes

Henrah


EDIT: Hhehe, just noticed that Cloches beat me to the Mendelssohn

[mike_lang]

Have you done any of the middle Beethoven sonatas, perhaps op. 78 or 90?  Also, WTC Book II is worth a look if you haven't yet - I find it compositionally more adventurous than the first.

[chelsey]

Thanks for all your suggestions--they have me searching and listening, keep them coming!

Schubert was somewhat popular this year in my studio sonata-wise, as lovely as they are. One of my friends played the Variations Serieuses last year, and it really is a great piece, though in an awards competition I competed against him playing that piece (I played the Alexina Louie piece) and got the prize. He won the year before though, lol.

I was looking at the score to Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody, I'm going to have to seek out the scores in the library to get a glimpse of the other Liszt pieces that have been suggested. I haven't done any Liszt since a consolation quite a long time ago. I hope my school library has recordings, I'll check it out tomorrow afternoon

As for Bach, I think I may look into more WTC selections (I'll check out Bk II - another friend of mine is doing the E major from this) before I tackle something like the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue. I found the C#M (bk1) fugue rather challenging to bring to a state of consistently decent performance.

[e60m5]

Check out Liszt's Au Bord d'une Source from his Années de Pelerinage Bk.1 (Suisse). Absolutely gorgeous piece, and fits under the hands very well. A cool classical sonata to check out could be the Mozart K.310 in A minor - indescribably beautiful second movement. Look at Rachmaninov's Eb major Prelude, Op.23 no.6 - sublime. Just some random suggestions!

Good luck in your jury, too - where do you go to school?

[chelsey]

Hi,
Thanks for the recommendations. I'm doing my undergrad at Memorial University in St. John's, NL, Canada, I study with Dr. Kristina Szutor (UBC and Juilliard).

[superstition2]

Alexander Scriabin, sonata #10.
Sergei Prokofiev, sonata #9 in C.

[mike_lang]

Alexander Scriabin, sonata #10.
Sergei Prokofiev, sonata #9 in C.

Why those?

[pita bread]

Why those?

The agile fingers she has will come in handy in Scriabin 10's trills.

[superstition2]

The agile fingers she has will come in handy in Scriabin 10's trills.

Scriabin also had small hands, but wrote music that's complicated and beautiful. The 10th sonata would give chelsea's repetoire an added dimension. While it's not extremely complicated technically, it requires a lot of technical refinement to do the piece justice.

Prokofiev's Mozart-like 9th is not terribly difficult, but is a wonderful piece that isn't played often. Playing it with beauty is a challenge that's about more than the typical definition of challenge which is the playing of pyrotechnics.

Learning both pieces would provide two very different aspects of 20th century composition/performance, and neither is overplayed or so rare that audiences wouldn't be interested.

[pita bread]

Scriabin also had small hands, but wrote music that's complicated and beautiful. The 10th sonata would give chelsea's repetoire an added dimension. While it's not extremely complicated technically, it requires a lot of technical refinement to do the piece justice.

Prokofiev's Mozart-like 9th is not terribly difficult, but is a wonderful piece that isn't played often. Playing it with beauty is a challenge that's about more than the typical definition of challenge which is the playing of pyrotechnics.

Learning both pieces would provide two very different aspects of 20th century composition/performance, and neither is overplayed or so rare that audiences wouldn't be interested.

Concurred.

And I bet that if she likes her Debussy, she will like the colorful Scriabin 10.

[chelsey]

Thanks! I'll check these out tonight!

[soliloquy]

Vine Sonata No. 1
Roslavets Sonata No. 5

[superstition2]

If you're looking for reference recordings to study, I suggest Robert Taub and Vladimir Horowitz for Scriabin's 10th. They perform the work quite differently, but with excellent results. There are many banal recordings of the 10th, and some sloppy ones. Ashkenazy's is an example of the latter.

For the Prokofiev 9th, I don't yet have a recording that totally satisfies me. I'd probably look for Sviatoslav Richter's performances if I were you. He is the best interpreter of Prokofiev's sonatas I've found. Sandor's isn't bad, and Glemser's is OK (although he plays the first movement too fast).

The jazz-like, semi-serial, and sublime Roslavets 5th is very difficult, is it not? It's obscure and retains a late Scriabin inspiration. It's a good companion to Berg's sonata. Both sonatas are worth learning and playing, but I'd go for Scriabin first, because as ethereal as the 10th is, it's an established piece, not as difficult to play as Roslavets', and is more charming. I also consider it a better piece. I do hope that more pianists will play Roslavets' music. It's rather silly that there's only one recording of his piano pieces. If a pianist can handle them, his incredible Three Etudes (Affetamente, 'Pianissimo', and Burlando) are definitely worth playing.

I'm not familiar with Vine's sonata.

[chelsey]

I spent the evening practicing and completing a theory assignment, so I didn't get a chance to sit down in the listening section before the MRC (our library) closed, but tomorrow I'm sure I'll get a chance, and I have my list!

I quite like the Berg sonata, though a senior is playing it this year, so I'll wait a year or two before considering it (I have lots of time, I'm still 18).

Thanks again!

[pita bread]

I think that the Berg looks pretty tedious to memorize, but that doesn't diminish its awesomeness.

You seem to like sensual pieces, you might want to try:

Debussy - L'isle Joyeuse
Liszt-Wagner - Liebestod
Ravel - Ondine
Scriabin - Poeme Op. 32 #1; Sonatas #4, 5, 10

[burstroman]

Maybe some of the following:

Ginastera:  Tres Danzas Argentinas
Gershwin:  Rhapsody in Blue (solo version)
Brahms:  lots there to choose from, the Scherzo isn't played a lot
Scarlatti: Several of the Sonatas
or
Handel:  Any of the Suites

[chelsey]

I think that the Berg looks pretty tedious to memorize, but that doesn't diminish its awesomeness.

Actually the pianist (Dr. Jennifer Snow of UCLA) that was giving the masterclass was talking about how so many people consider the Berg sonata atonal, yet it actually falls under late-romantic chromaticism, almost reminist of Wagnerian harmonies. It's also in a strict sonata form, so perhaps this organization makes the process of its memorization more readily intellectual than by rote. I've had to memorize 20th century music by rote (my understanding of 20th century theories at the time was limited, so basically my teacher and I identified particular patterns and sequences that stood out, and memorize based on that), and it's definitely not easy.  Now that was a huge tangent!

Maybe some of the following:

Ginastera:  Tres Danzas Argentinas
Gershwin:  Rhapsody in Blue (solo version)
....
Handel:  Any of the Suites

These are some really great suggestions, however someone is playing the Ginastera danzas this year, and someone else is playing the G major Handel suite (I don't really know much about any of the other ones), and unfortunately, there's quite the 'waiting list' to play Rhapsody in Blue (it's quite popular around here - which makes me happy that it's appreciated ). I think I'd do a Chopin scherzo before I'd do the Brahms scherzo, I find I connect better with Chopin than I do Brahms, though I've evolved a lot musically in the past year, so perhaps I'd see Brahms in a different light.

Anyways, Thank you for your suggestions, they are greatly appreciated, though I think a piece like Ravel's Ondine may be a bit out of my league for next year. All of these suggestions are pieces I don't think I'd have likely considered, so thanks everyone for broadening my horizon

[superstition2]

Scriabin, deux poemes, Op. 71. I've attached number 1.

I think Roslavets' sonata #5 may be better than the Berg sonata, although I really like them both. I still give the edge to Scriabin. Although I love all of his sonatas, my favorites are #10, #7, #5, and #1. Another companion to the Berg sonata is Scriabin's 8th. Whenever I put the Berg on a disc for friends, I include Scriabin's 8th (Ashkenazy's recording), usually as the opening track. I need to get Sofronitsky's recording, because I've heard it's great. Of the many I have, only Ashkenazy's (and to some extent Szidon's) pleases me.

If you like the flavor of the Berg, you might consider Scriabin's 8th. It's long, though.

[chelsey]

Thankyou for sharing this recording. It's a lovely piece, oh how I love Scriabin's harmonic pallette. I've played a few preludes, a while back, gosh it's been like 2 years, I was in love with Op. 11 No. 10 (I still am).

[superstition2]

The Op. 71 poemes are very rarely recorded or performed. Hamelin plays them too fast. I like Ponti's tempo (the recording I attached).

[chelsey]

Well I had my lesson today, and my teacher verified next week is our repertoire planning meeting. She's going to look over my list of previous pieces and decide her own recommendations for me. I told her that I would really love to do a 20th century work of some magnitude, and that I love the colours present in the music of Scriabin and Prokofiev.

She also asked if I was interested in learning a concerto (there are competitions held here annually), and I agreed.  Otherwise, there wasn't much opportunity for discussion.

Afterward, I went and sat in the library and revised my history notes while listening to some Scriabin, Prokofiev, and Liszt. You guys sure have excellent taste! However, I think the Scriabin 10th sonata may be a bit out of my league, the first movement of the fourth sonata is gorgeous (though the last looks horribly tricky!). Certain pieces of Liszt's Annees de Pelerinage have potential. I wasn't able to find recordings of the Roslavet or Vine sonatas, unfortunately.

Thanks for all your knowledge!

[chelsey]

OK, I had my lesson today and this is the stuff I have been assigned for the summer:

Scarlatti - a pair of Sonatas, my teacher had a photocopy of K39 in A major (Presto) waiting for me at my lesson, but it's up to me. She lent me a CD of them for ideas. On what criteria are sonatas paired?

Mozart - Sonata in a minor or Sonata in c minor. I'm leaning towards Sonata in a minor at the moment. There's a Sonata requirement for juries for second year and beyond.

Chopin - Fantasy Impromptu. This was my teacher's idea, and this would be a  fun piece to play. I haven't done anything that's really popular, and I'm sure this piece is popular for a reason. Another romantic option is the Brahms Scherzo.

Bartok - Suite Op. 14 OR a movement or two from a Prokofiev Sonata (she recommended no. 6). Personally I really love the first movement from  his d minor Sonata (I think it's No. 2).

Any thoughts?

[chopinfan_22]

I was just about to suggest Fantasie-Impromptu. I would also suggest, if you want pieces that are popular, Chopin's Etude Op. 10 No. 12 (Revolutionary), Clair de Lune by Debussy, or Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6.

[moose_opus_28]

Do the Op. 14!  Do it!

I love those pieces.  The 1st absurdly happy, the 2nd crazy, the 3rd is insane, and the 4th so desolate...I think it'll be more useful to have than just a movement of a sonata too.

Just promise to sound like you've lost your mind with the middle of the 3rd.

[jehangircama]

Maybe Tchaikowsky's Dumka? and for a nice short piece Liszt's transcription of Aliabev's Nightingale

[bernhard]

OK, I had my lesson today and this is the stuff I have been assigned for the summer:

Scarlatti - a pair of Sonatas, my teacher had a photocopy of K39 in A major (Presto) waiting for me at my lesson, but it's up to me. She lent me a CD of them for ideas. On what criteria are sonatas paired?

See reply # 50 on this thread:

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,2339.msg135996.html#msg135996

Best wishes,
Bernhard.