Ahhh!! the SHOWY pieces... these pieces must be used carefully. a whole evening full of virtuousic mumbo jumbo will be exhausting to an audience. However, many of these pieces are brilliant.
I like liszt's GRAND GALOP CHROMATIQUE, because there are many interpretations of it- Cziffra, who thunders through it 2x faster than indicated, Bolet, who captures the brilliantissimo aspects, or Howard, who plays it in the most straightforward, boring manner. this piece is a crowd pleaser, appriciated by the intelligent
and the ignorant.
Liszt's DANCE OF THE GNOMES is also particularly excellent. People would want to hear a piece like this after a long, emotional piece such as Chaconne in D-Minor by Bach/Busoni.
Balakirev's ISLAMEY - ORIENTAL FANTASIA FOR THE PIANO is a great Showy piece because it is constantly changing from phrase to phrase. Anyone can fall in love with music they can listen to
, not study like a boring textbook.
Liszt's PAGANINI ETUDES are great for drawing an audience. Liszt composed them to prove to everyone and to himself that he was the pianistic equivalent of Paganini. A a result, we have 6 brilliant works today no one will ever get tired of.
Liszt's TRANSCENDENTAL ETUDE NO 1 is probably the showiest piece of them all. One should play it at the beginning of a recital to get the attention of an audience, test the piano, and give themselves presence on the concert platform.
Topic: "Showy" pieces?