HELP on my repertoire!

[scriabinsmyman]

OK, so I'm finalizing my repertoire (of course, I can still add pieces on throughout the years, but I'm talking about a solid foundation)...and I need suggestions on anything I may be missing.
I have a Bach Prelude&Fugue (D minor, i think it's book 1), Beethoven sonata 26 (A-flat major, the one w/ the funeral march), Saint-Saens Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Scriabin Etude in D-sharp minor, Scriabin Fantasy Op 28 in B minor, Chopin Grande Polonaise, Granados Conciertino (it's actually a solo piece), Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No 2, Debussy Prelude (Ce qu'a vu le vent d'Ouest), most of Chopin's Nocturnes (yea, I'm kinda crazy about them), Prokofiev Prelude (the Harp), Mozart Concerto K415, Beethoven's 2nd Concerto...and that's it.  I have a lot of the Romantic period, and a good amount of 20th century; I feel that I'm lacking in Baroque and maybe classical...I rarely play the Beethoven and Mozart Concertos...and suggestions?

[Gambit]

Wow, you repetoire is amazing.  
So dou you want more barroque? Why dont you learn Bachs Italian Concerto, and for the classical if i were you id learn Mozarts Varations on ¡ah vous dije mama¡.

Congratulacions

[Chitch]

Nice list, but...here's a little more you might want to consider playing

1.) MAURICE RAVEL! - Une barque sur l'ocean
2.) Bach French and English Suites - Boooooooootiful collection!
3.) Liszt Etudes Paganini/Transcendentale (La Campanella/Mazeppa)
4.) Chopin Preludes - Op. 28 No's 4, 8, 16, 24
5.) Rachmaninoff Etude Tableaux - Op. 39 No. 2
6.) Chopin Etude in thirds ( )

Sorry I'm not really that familiar with classical concertos

[bernhard]

You have a good start. Here are some I missed from your repertory:

Baroque:

Scarlatti sonatas (see here for some specific suggestions:
https://www.pianoforum.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=repo;action=display;num=1077145772
)

Handel: He is not my favourite keyboard composer, but the suites are very nice.

J.S.Bach: The six partitas and if you are ambitious, why not the Goldberg variations?

Couperin: Although purists demand him to be played on the harpsichord, the new CD by Angela Hewitt shows the folly of the traditionalists. (I particularly like “Les Barricades Misterieux”)

Classical:

Haydn - sonatas (the late ones are very advanced and wonderful)

C.P.E.Bach (some great sonatas, unjustly underplayed).

Clementi: Unjustly forgotten by grown up pianists, I like his sonatas better than Mozart’s (and so did Beethoven).

Romantic:

Mendelssohn (Songs without words, Variations serieuses, Capriccios, etc.)

Schubert (I particularly love the Impromptus)

Schumann (Everything he wrote is top quality)

Grieg (Lyric pieces, I love the Holberg suite, and naturally the concerto)

Rachmaninoff (no Rach?)

Modern:

More Prokofiev (see here for some not too advanced suggestions:
https://www.pianoforum.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=stud;action=display;num=1077907916

– If you want advanced go for the sonatas – and if you are feeling fearless why not the concerts?)

Shostakovich (see here for some ideas:
https://www.pianoforum.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=repo;action=display;num=1073648526

– his concerto no.2 is not exactly easy, but it is one of the easiest concerts).

You can get a few more ideas for modern composers here:

https://www.pianoforum.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=repo;action=display;num=1077625353


These are just mainstream composers – standard repertory. If you want the obscure ones (and I would encourage you to get out of the well-trodden path) then the list is almost endless.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[comme_le_vent]

i have one thing to say- your seriously lacking in alkan, you need some alkan in your repertoire! try anything from op39 for starters  

[Chitch]

Ahem, I believe he's also missing the Wild Man's Dance by Leo Ornstein. Which I SADLY forgot to include.

[comme_le_vent]

nice joke, mine was serious....

[Xelles]

Bach - Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1
Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 846
Prelude and Fugue in C sharp major, BWV 848
Prelude and Fugue in C sharp minor, BWV 849
Prelude and Fugue in D sharp minor, BWV 853

Beethoven
Piano Concerto in C minor Op. 37 No. 3
Piano Concerto in Bb major Op. 19 No. 2
Sonata Op. 13 - Pathetique
Sonata Op. 57 - Appassionata
Sonata Op. 106 - Hammerklavier
Sonata Op. 111

[rachlisztchopin]

i dont believe adding Alkan to ur repertoire is essential because he isnt a major composer but if ur up to the task go for it! i plan on adding the concerto to my repertoire when im good enough...what about chopin etudes...iv been playin piano for a year so im not as experienced but i chopin etudes are amazing pieces

ohhh and by the way comme_le_vent...since ur the Alkan lover im telling u...im now just beginning to get into composition and i find his compositions very intersting...i heard the first prelude of his 25 preludes...its really simple but i love the piece and i plan on composing variations on that theme...is that a good idea? iv always loved variation pieces and im a good improvisor when it comes to that

[Hmoll]

OK, so I'm finalizing my repertoire (of course, I can still add pieces on throughout the years, but I'm talking about a solid foundation)...and I need suggestions on anything I may be missing.

What do you mean by "finalizing"? Are these pieces that you already know, or are these pieces that you are planning to learn?

Your list is ok, but is very light on Bach, classical sonatas - Haydn, Clementi, Mozart, Beethoven...  - and there is no contemporary music at all in your list. Also, why does everyone want to play that overplayed warhorse of a Hungarian rhapsody #2?

[comme_le_vent]

alkan is a major composer - in my opinion he is as great as liszt and chopin.

and yeah its always a good idea to compose themes and variations, its very fun to see what you can do based on that 1 theme.
my favourite theme and variations piece is actually by alkan too - his le festin d'aesop op39no12 - its incredibly inventive and hilarious - but also very moving.

[scriabinsmyman]

Wow, thanks for all the great suggestions.  Here's a little secret of mine- I HATE Bach...so I think I'll just learn another prelude and fugue, and maybe that concerto, and THAT'S it for me from that guy.  I definitely agree with you, Mark, that I need Ravel.  And Rach- I'm working on Concerto 3 and I have a couple Preludes, but they're not officially on my repertoire yet.  Bernhard- Schubert!  How could I not have any Schubert Impromptus, silly me!  I think I'll also try the Grieg concerto- who doesn't love it?  And I have most of the Chopin preludes and etudes learned- which ones should I include in my repertoire for the best variety?  Thanks much!

[Xelles]

Mei-Ting Sun has some nice recordings of Maurice Ravel's Gaspar de la Nuit on his website, if you're interested.

[scriabinsmyman]

By finalizaing my repertoire, I mean having a concrete list of pieces that I may send to agencies, orchestras/conductors, producers, etc.  Maybe I'll give Alkan a try, comme_le_vent (btw, does that mean like the wind?)

[alkanite]

I would suggest one of Alkan's shorter pieces.  (Nocturne in B+, Barcarolle, Festin, Aime-moi, even the 1st movement of the Grand Sonate) etc.  Trying to keep the concerto or symphony in your repertoire will be a full time job.   I was at a master class with Hamelin the day after he played the concerto live, and he stressed the impracticality of the learning the larger Alkan pieces - except for us masochists of course.  

Alkan will always be your ace in the hole.  Dazzle someone with some demonic technique, or charm them with one of his devastatingly melancholy melodies.

Presently working on the 3rd movement of the concerto.  Typing with one hand and soaking the other as we speak.

Cheers.

[comme_le_vent]

yes comme le vent = like the wind

i wouldnt call amie-moi of festin short works.....they are around 10 minutes each.

i agree with you for the average pianist it is rather impractical to learn huge works, but if you want to be a commited alkan pianist, and if you really love his music - its worth it, and theres an ever greatening demand for them too.

id advise you to learn some shorter works - eg saltarelle, chemin de fer, le preux , and the esquisses - they are all amazing music, and make perfect encores.

my favourite works by alkan are his symphony for solo piano and his sonatine.
if you like music in a minor key, and with extreme drama and intensity - there is no better choice(imo).

the symphony lasts 25 mins(if you are very skilled   ) and it is often thought to be his greatest work(hamelin agrees with me here), it is very overwhelming and will improve every aspect of your playing, and has scope for infinite interpretive variation.

the sonatine is 18 minutes long and every single second is riveting. the finale is a showstopper, with a coda of unbearable intensity, and a very shocking end.

this is music to blow people away with, be prepared for jaws hitting the floor and deafening applause    

[scriabinsmyman]

comme le vent- i think i'm going to go for the sonatine...that's my kind of music
i'm also decided to do all of chopin's works...i know most of them anyway, so why not just finish it off and have something to brag about

[comme_le_vent]

and if u really like the sonatine , try the symphony too - its all kick-ass.

and ALL of chopin's music??
are you aware of how much he wrote? i have like 15 cds of his piano music.......

while i do love chopin, i dont love all his music and i wouldnt play all of it just for the sake of completeness - just play the ones you love - the more you love a piece, the more effort and heart you will put into it.
and i have to admit, i wouldnt like to hear your bach playing    

[alkanite]

Learning the Symphony will certainly develop your technique - but lets get serious here.  It's careless to be throwing around words like 'symphony' and 'concerto' in the context of public performance.  If the metronome markings cannot be attained, don't bother thinking about it.   I asked Hamelin about the viability of taking of few points off the 1st movement of the concerto (160) or 3rd (100) and he said the scale of these works is too big to consider performing it slower.   Architecture, pulse, etc. etc.  

If anyone here can play the 3rd movement at 100 (ALL the way through) I' be very surprised.  If more people could they would, believe me, and we would have more Hamelins running around.

Learn the symphony for personal pleasure and development.
Then perform any of the excellent choices comme le vent put forward instead.

Cheers.

[comme_le_vent]

thats all good.

but i think she has the technique to do it - look at her present repertoire.

[alkanite]

Bless her if she does.  Forgive me for being trite, but I think all who have played Alkan's large works can agree that after playing one of them, the Liszt HR#2 seems...well...a relief.  So much of Alkan lies outside the hand - perhaps the most significant technical challenge about it.

However, I yield to comme_le_vent about the Symphony.  Looking over the score again today, it is considerably more approachable, and I daresay, easier than the concerto.  Go for it.  And have something that few people have.

I have video footage of Hamelin playing the 3rd movement of the concerto live if anyone is interested.
Leave me a message.

[scriabinsmyman]

ahhh!!! all these great suggestions!  I think i'm going to go crazy learning all these appetizing pieces!   anyway, I know Chopin has a massive collection of music- I'll be happy if I can learn everything by....well....the next 5 years...i have his nocturnes, etudes, and preludes, the majority of the ballades, scherzos, polonaises...i'm lacking in the mazurkas and there are only a couple concertos...but I adore this guy!!