Music about Human interactions -- Piece suggestions ?

[m19834]

I am wanting to set a program whose overall theme is on "human interactions" -- I will be looking at the following themes within that overall idea :

Meeting and Greeting (preludes ?  -- dialogue-related : inventions ?)
Interaction (for example, dances could go here)
Relationship development (love, friendship, family ... etc.)
Farewells/"Letting Go"

I would love to have any piece suggestions on this program !  This will be a program meant for background music at a fund raiser for a bedside care program.  I will be playing primarily during the first hour, which is considered the hour of "meet and greet" for the fund raiser -- I am open to your ideas on classical, jazz and even some pop (it has been requested  :-), but will ultimately like a mix of all.

Thank you very much ,
Karli

[rc]

JSBach - Capriccio on the Departure of a Beloved Brother, BWV 992

Mozart - sonata in C, K309, from the liner notes:
"He has a daughter who plays the keyboard very well, and with whom I have made friends. So I am working now on a sonata for the Mlle daughter, which is already finished up to the rondeau...".  When asked what he had in mind when he wrote the Andante, Mozart replied "I want to make it a portrait of Mlle. Rosa"

I've always thought the development for K545 sounded like a couple fighting then making up, but that's just my fancy.

[gerry]

When I first read your idea all sorts of possibilities popped into my head, then I read that this is to be background music for a meet and greet session. A purely classical program could be a bit esoteric and meaningless to a general gathering like this without a lot of explanation, and even then things might just go over their heads. When I read you needed a "farewell" piece I immediately thought of Beethoven's Op 81a "Les Adieux" but as background music - I don't think so??? Personally, I would be inclined to shape a program like this around selections from the musical theater repertoire - many with lyrics that the audience might already know and could relate to. You'll find a wealth of pieces specifically written for the moments and emotions you have described. I apologize if this sounds like heresy on a "classical" music forum but I think it would work quite well.

[m19834]

Thanks for your suggestions, rc !

When I first read your idea all sorts of possibilities popped into my head, then I read that this is to be background music for a meet and greet session. A purely classical program could be a bit esoteric and meaningless to a general gathering like this without a lot of explanation, and even then things might just go over their heads. When I read you needed a "farewell" piece I immediately thought of Beethoven's Op 81a "Les Adieux" but as background music - I don't think so??? Personally, I would be inclined to shape a program like this around selections from the musical theater repertoire - many with lyrics that the audience might already know and could relate to. You'll find a wealth of pieces specifically written for the moments and emotions you have described. I apologize if this sounds like heresy on a "classical" music forum but I think it would work quite well.

Thanks for posting in, gerry.  Yeah, I am considering other genres besides classical, mainly because something like what you have suggested has been requested as part of the program, but I also think that a little bit of jazz would be fun (though not necessarily any more recognizable for the audience). 

Of course, since this is background music, I really just only want to set the mood and I am not trying to have them "get" what the program is "about" ... necessarily.  But, what makes it infinitely more fun for me (and more cohesive-seeming for the program) is to have the program running along some story that I can secretly tell through the music.  Ultimately, I would love to be creating a program of stuff that I could give a solo concert with if played a little differently -- that would be the supremely best use of my time ! 

There are hoards of pieces I could play to just fill up time and space, but thinking solely along those lines is just not special at all !  I would much prefer to prepare and create a thoughtful musical meal  .

[mattgreenecomposer]

LOTR-Howard Shore-"Fellowship theme."

Only You-(and you alone)

What a Wonderful World