Repertoire for recital

[Diabolos]

Hi all.

I'm supposed to have a recital in mid-December, which isn't bad, but my teacher wants me to work on a whole new repertoire since he wants to check my ability of working and preparing under time pressure (whatever sense that makes..ok, he wants to do the same, but that's another story). However, it'll be fun.

The only Prob is that I don't have any idea of what to play.

I'm open to any suggestion, and I'll be really grateful for any advice.

Regards

[dinosaurtales]

Wow!  Are you brave! If someone assigned that task to me I'd start quaking in my boots!  How long is the recital?  Do you have to prepare an entire program, with intermish and all?  It takes me forEVER to learn a new piece, so I'd try to find some pieces that were effective, but not too nasty - maybe a couple of nasty bits for the final piece.  Lemme ponder this one and reply back..........


gotta think.......

[Diabolos]

Well, I don't have that much trouble learning a new piece, but right now I have no idea what to play;
my part of the recital will be about 45 minutes solo, then again piano duo and a piano concerto - I'll perform the Grieg, that's already clear, but again: I have no clue what to do with these 45 minutes (+encore)

Let me now what you think about that!

Oh, bye the way: I don't think I'm brave - I'd rather call it really, really crazy  

Regards

[MzrtMusic]

Well, if you are looking for something flashy that's not to hard, Aram Khachaturian wrote a Toccata for piano in eb minor, and it's a lot of fun! I played it at a small competition a couple of years ago, and it goes over very well! You could also try some of the Chopin nocturnes. They aren't that hard to interpret. I would stay away from Debussy, just because of all the weird impressionistic stuff. You could always do some stuff from the Well tempered Clavier. Anyway. That's all I can think of off the top of my head. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.

Love,

Sarah

P.S. Oh, what about something Bartok? The Romanian Folk dances, or possibly the out of doors? They might be fun! You could also try Shostakovich three fantastic dances.

[dinosaurtales]

Maybe something from the London Piano school, like John Field, Dussek, or Pinto.  They are not played much and some of the sonatas are quite nice.  Some are hard, though.   It would be an interesting alternative to Beethoven or Mozart if you are looking for a twist.

[MikeThePianist]

To go against something Sary said (sorry  ), I would not stay away from Debussy.  I always try to include a set of his preludes because they are excellent for showing off tone/color and great to show your interpretive talents.  I think they're amazing pieces and always try to include a couple in my recitals.  In fact, in the spring I'm going to do a recital of all of them.  From the first book I would recommend "Les collines d'Anacapri," "La serenade interommpue," No. 6 (can't remember the name), and "Voiles."  The second book is a little more esoteric, but just as good.  I would also recommend a small set of Scarlatti sonatas.  They're excellent for starting out a performance.  They get the audience's attention and they test the piano very well.  Overall, I would try to incorporate something from every period.  For contemp., I would also recommend Bartok.  I love his sonata and his Suite Op. 14.  Ginastera is also excellent.

I hope that helps.  
Mike

[sary2106]

I agree with Mike about picking a piece from every musical period... or at least most of them. That really will keep your audience excited and listening closely...  

Here are my particular suggestions for pieces (By the way, I don't know how hard of pieces you are looking for, so these may be too hard to learn by December... just my ideas anyway. I LOVE picking out new repertoire!):

Baroque:
Okay, so there's always Bach. How about the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue? or maybe a couple of contrasting preludes and fugues. Or how about Scarlatti sonatas?

Classical:
I love Mozart. I used to hate him, but once I got to understand him... I discovered that it is very profound music. So I would suggest a sonata. (I'm playing A minor, K. 310... kind of weird Mozart, but I really like it.) Also, there's the Haydn "Variations in F minor." It's a nice piece. Beethoven is really hard, but his stuff is *great* recital stuff!

Romantic:
Could this be the hardest style to pick music from? There is so much great stuff... I like Rachmaninoff's little pieces - Op. 3, Op. 10, and Op. 16. The Op. 3 pieces are the easiest. (The infamous Prelude in C# minor comes from those!) Or you could do some Brahms, although his music is interpretationally quite difficult. Then there's Chopin (Nocturnes, Mazurkas, the Fantasy?), Schumann (Fantasiestuck)...

Impressionistic:
I'm just starting to get into Ravel. I really think his stuff is cool! But it's also hard. "Jeux D'eau" is one of his pretty famous pieces. Also, the "Valses Nobles et Sentimentales" and some of the Miroir pieces. I have difficulty getting into the Debussy preludes. (It could just be the edition I have. This really tiny sub-standard size book... very annoying!) Anyway, the Debussy "Estampes" are a lot of fun. Difficult though - my teacher thought they were just a little easier than Ravel's "Gaspard de la Nuit."

Modern:
Stravinsky: Petrushka
Ginastera: Sonata No. 1
Barber: Excursions
Bartok: The 6 Romanian Folk Dances are probably way too easy. I dunno. But the Allegro Barbaro is great! His etudes are also neat.
Lowell Liebermann: 3 Impromptus... These pieces were written in 2000 and commissioned for the 2001 Van Cliburn competition. I'm working on them now, and they're really interesting pieces. Introspective, rather moody, modern with a little Romantic flavor at times.

Anyway... these are just some of my ideas. Good luck!

Sarah

[Diabolos]

Hi all, thank you so much for the quick and informative replies.

I already got some ideas about the repertoire..
You're right saying that I need to include a piece of every musical period.
I think I'll include an English suite by Bach (I already performed all the preludes and Fugues+ the Italian concerto). I might as well include one of Scarlattis sonatas, since I always found them helpful - just as you - to warm up the fingers.
For the classical period, Beethoven's 'Tempest' is a good one, I think..and not too hard to memorize, either.
When it comes to the romantic period, I might choose one of Chopin's Polonaises as an encore and maybe a few Waltzes by Brahms..

I'm really happy about the many suggestions for modern repertoire (or, let's say, 21st century music).
I won't include Ravel this time, my last Recital included le tombeau de couperin as the grande finale.
I'll do checks on the pieces you all recommended; and I'll definitely tell you which one I'll perform.

However, thanks a lot again.

[ted]

What about some ragtime ? A contemporary rag by David Thomas Roberts, for example Kreole, For Kansas City, or Waterloo Girls ? What about Frank French's Bucktown Buck ? - excellent encore piece. Something by Hal Isbitz perhaps ?

I wrote heaps of stuff myself in flamboyant, late romantic style. You're welcome to tapes and scores if you tell me where to send them. Won't bother me if you don't like them. People are always telling me I should "do something" with my music, whatever that may mean.

tedj@gud.co.nz   or
verj.jones@xtra.co.nz

[dinosaurtales]

Ew!  Superb idea!  What Ted said!  ragtime - what about Kitten on the Keys by Zez Confrey (I think) - That'll knock their socks off!  (and make your instructor gulp!)

[Diabolos]

Kitten on the Keys, hm?

That is weird; I already had the idea of performing that piece a few months ago, but I don't have the sheetmusic yet..(for some reason it's hard to get in Germany).

But you're right, that piece is just great; and certainly a lot of fun  

Dinosaur Tales: I'd be really happy to perform one of your pieces - could you send me the music via eMail?

Regards