Debussy program - comments sought

[iumonito]

I plan to play early next year a recital with the following all Debussy program.  I am interested in your reaction.

Arabesques 1 & 2
La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin
Suite Bergamasque
Bruyeres
Danse
La Cathedral Engloutie
L'Isle Joyeuse
Children's Corner
Pour le Piano

What do you think?  Knowing the program, would you like to attend?  I am thinking no intermission, although the place to have one would be after Danse.

[Kassaa]

People will be bored to death. 

[_____]

Unfortunately so. Most people aren't going to want to sit through an all Debussy recital.

[xhunterjx]

I certainly wouldn't want to.

[_____]

You've got to really be into any composer to sit through a recital of works by them and only them. I couldn't hack an all Mozart recital, for example. I think Debussy is wonderful so naturally I'd love go to this gig, but yeah. Most people aren't me.

[desordre]

 Dear Iumonito:
 I'm only sorry I can not be there... Anyway, I'm not sure about this particular ordering and its lenght (it's about one hour and a half of music). If you let me suggest, with these pieces, my order would be:
 Deux Arabesques
 L'Isle Joyeuse
 Suite Bergamasque

 (intermission)

 Trois preludes (Bruyeres, La Fille, Cathedral)
 Children's Corner

 Encore: Danse (if you want something fresh) or L'Isle (if you want an actual bis). Of course, the Toccata is a bright piece that fits very well in this situation.

 Why the change? First of all, you need really badly an intermission. By the way, even with it, it's too long: with claps, pauses, intermission, encore(s), you're talking about a two-hour recital. It seems not to work, and because you don't have wild contrasts (such between Mozart and Webern, for instance) it will be too long and boring to any audience. It's a shame, because it's a wonderful repertory.
 Then, I dislike a bit croping the preludes without any dramatic intention behind it. Furthermore, the Children and Pour le Piano together, at the end of the program, are almost certain a difficult choice to the public.
 Just thoughts...hope it helps, and hope that you make a beatiful recital.
 Best wishes!
 

[ekirth]

I played an all Debussy thing during the half hour before an open house, but the purpose was really for background music...

For a recital, it seems like too much of the same (though those pieces are lovely). I'd love to go, 'cause I like Debussy and there was a year in which I played loads of Debussy, but for the average person it might be a bit too much.

I hope your recital goes well, though.

[pianowelsh]

Actually I think Debussy is one of the few composers who can stand an entire recital devoted to him. There are so many colours and facets in his music.   I might be incline to put in one of the wind preludes as a more virtusoso expression of his ouvre.  I agree you do need an interval...I never think its good to sit an audience to long without fidgit space! It keeps your recital fresher too.  I love Debussy and I wish you every success with it. Id love to attend if I could.

[pianowolfi]

A few years ago I've heard Krystian Zimerman play a concert with the Debussy Préludes Vol.1 in the first and the 4 Chopin Scherzi in the second half. But he has let people know that he would have preferred to play Debussy Préludes Vol. 2 instead of the Scherzi and the organizer of the concert wouldn't have allowed him. So he played Fireworks as an encore.

[iumonito]

People will be bored to death. 

I must tell you I have played already a slightly shorter version of this program to a group of mostly non-musicians and they loved it.  This is really beautiful music, so people really don't get bored.

You might, of course.

[iumonito]

You've got to really be into any composer to sit through a recital of works by them and only them. I couldn't hack an all Mozart recital, for example. I think Debussy is wonderful so naturally I'd love go to this gig, but yeah. Most people aren't me.

____, ekirth, desordre, pianowolfi and pianowelsh, thanks a lot for your insight.  I am very interested in what you have to say, so feel free to elaborate.

It is incredible to me that anyone would have the confidence to tell Zimerman what to play.  Freedom for the artists!

As I am exploring and experimenting and discovering and learning, I am developing a concept of this repertoire that requires (or uses) much more time that, say Gieseking's recordings.  Certainly some slashing is in order, so perhaps at some other time there will be a Debussy II program.

First to go is Pour le Piano.  I love it, but it is not as pretty as the rest of the program.

I feel strongly about not having an intermission.  So strongly, in fact, that I would rather shave the program to 45 minutes, so that we don't get a break.  I feel that it is like turning the heat off half way boiling the water.

The reason I have the preludes separately, rather than as a group, is because I think of them as independent pieces, plus Bruyeres and La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin are somewhat similar.  I think they don't follow each other well.

L'Isle Joyeuse is such an emphatic piece, I don't feel is has enough room to explode at the beginning of the program.  It appears to me that anywhere other than near the end, it comes too soon in the program.  On the other hand, I like the concept of having something else after its climax, not to let my poor audience leave rattled, but instead rather sated.

Which is why I like Children's Corner at the end.  Yet, it is a little too long a program with it, and I wouldn't play just a few pieces out of it.  Plus, after L'Isle Joyeuse, I think I want something even lighter than Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum.

I don't know.  Also it appeals to me to finish with a late rather than an early work.

What about either General Lavine, Minstrels or Feux d'Artifice?  Or perhaps Etude 11?  (I would need to learn those).  I would take D'un cahier d'esquisses over la plus que lent, just in case this occurs to you.

Like this:

Arabesques 1 & 2
La Fille...
Suite Bergamasque
Bruyeres
Danse
La Cathedral Engloutie
L'Isle Joyeuse
a softie to close

This is basically the program I played this past July (sans la Cathedrale Engloutie and the softie close).

An unusual idea would be to close with the two arabesques again, in reverse order.  Too much of a Cesar Franck gesture?   

[pianowolfi]

It is incredible to me that anyone would have the confidence to tell Zimerman what to play.  Freedom for the artists!

I don't know if it's still like that but there was a time when Zimerman complained about having to play too much classic-romantic repertoire because of the public and the organizers. He personally likes 20th century very much. He would like to play things like 20 regards, Bacewicz sonatas and more avantgarde stuff. I have a rare cd where he plays a sonata by Grazyna Bacewicz. It is very interesting to hear him play this obscure stuff.

[iumonito]

I put some additional thought on this and here is the current re-ordering of the program.  I will be playing this in the Washington DC area in a couple of months, if you are interested.  I'll try to post L'Isle Joyeuse by the end of the month.  Hopefully I'll be disciplined.   

Arabesques 1 & 2
Danse
Prelude 8, Book I
Le Petit Negre
Prelude 5, Book II
Suite Bergamasque
L'Isle Joyeuse

[verywellmister]

Like this:

Arabesques 1 & 2
La Fille...
Suite Bergamasque
Bruyeres
Danse
La Cathedral Engloutie
L'Isle Joyeuse
a softie to close

Why not leave the softie as an encore?

[iumonito]

Good idea.  It must be a surprise, though.  Es pavoso revelar el encore antes de tiempo.   

[soliloquy]

If you're going to do an all-Debussy programme, you can't do a bunch of his most boring pieces.  You would have to do something like this, if you wanted your audience to stay in their seats more than 20 minutes in:


Ballade
Selection from Preludes:

Ce qu'a vu le Vient d'Ouest
La Serenade Interrompue
Feuilles Mortes
La Puerta del Vino
Canope
Ondine
General Lavine Eccentric
Les Tierces Alternes
Feux d'Artifice

-----------------------------------
Images II
Etudes Book II
"Claire de Lune" from Suite Bergamasque


Encore- L'Isle Joyeuse





And even then you'd probably have to be Entremont.

[ahinton]

If you're going to do an all-Debussy programme, you can't do a bunch of his most boring pieces.  You would have to do something like this, if you wanted your audience to stay in their seats more than 20 minutes in:


Ballade
Selection from Preludes:

Ce qu'a vu le Vient d'Ouest
La Serenade Interrompue
Feuilles Mortes
La Puerta del Vino
Canope
Ondine
General Lavine Eccentric
Les Tierces Alternes
Feux d'Artifice

-----------------------------------
Images II
Etudes Book II
"Claire de Lune" from Suite Bergamasque


Encore- L'Isle Joyeuse

Yes - surprising as it may at first seem that a composer so vital to the history of pianism does not easily stand up to an entire programme of his work, the above suggestion is likely to be about as close as you'll get to an effective solution; it's no project for a slouch, though! Sustaining full audience attention in the way that Michelangeli, for example, used to do is certainly not impossible throughout an all-Debussy programme but it is by no means an easy task; even Michelangeli - a phenomenal Debussy pianist if ever there was one - never gave a programme devoted entirely to Debussy's music, as far as I am aware.

Best,

Alistair

[elspeth]

On a practical point rather than a repertoire one, any concert lasting more than an hour without an interval should always have one unless there's an extremely compelling reason not to. Your audience need time to shuffle, talk, go get refreshments, etc... Regardless of how good a pianist you are or how well-picked your repertoire, if your audience is uncomfortable they won't enjoy it.

[iumonito]

Thanks for the comments again.

Actually I did this program already and the audience loved it; they did not fidget and everyone had a relaxed and happy face at the end.  The program is just about an hour long.  Which is about half of a standard movie.

Do not underestimate the power of good music (even in spite of limited music-making). 

I am set.  Thanks.

P.S.  Ballade, really?