competition program

[thorn]

right i have a competition coming up in april. i was entered into it by the music festival i won this year- its a competition for all of the winners, sort of a 'winner of the winners' thing if you like.

anyway closing date is january so i need to pick 2 contrasting pieces to play that last 10-15 mins in total.

my teachers says i should use Scarbo as one of them. i am confident i can play it well enough and she must be or she wouldnt have suggested it right?

so im looking for a contrasting piece to Scarbo. i found a really lovely Granados piece called 'The maiden and the nightingale', but sadly that and Scarbo together come to over 15 mins =/

so im still looking and running things past my teacher but if people could throw suggestions at me id be grateful. thanks

[imbetter]

why not some bach?

[shinerl]

Try some Mahler

[kelly_kelly]

I agree with imbetter - why not add some baroque or classical? Unless these aren't your strong points...

[sharon_f]

Chopin's Berceuse is about 4-1/2 minutes. (I'm not sure how fast your Scarbo is.)

[imbetter]

Chopin's Berceuse is about 4-1/2 minutes. (I'm not sure how fast your Scarbo is.)

to be honest i dont think the berceuse proves enough of a point.

[sharon_f]

to be honest i dont think the berceuse proves enough of a point.

Well, here's what my thought process was. Thorn mentioned the Goyesca but said it was too long, so I assumed he was looking for something similar, romantic and lyrical.
Now Baroque and Classical would also be an option but most Preludes & Fugues would be longer than 5 minutes, as well as most sonatas, and I didn't think he wanted to do a movement from a suite, partita or a sonata movement.

And I happen to be very partial to the Berceuse because I think it is a very underplayed gem.

[thorn]

baroque/classical arent my strong points tbh

i will go library tomorrow and look at Mahler. my teacher suggested the Berceuse yesterday funnily enough and lent me her copy of it, its a nice piece. she also suggested some Liszt- either one of the Petrach Sonnets or Un Sospiro. and also the Brahms Romance from op 118.

i learned Un Sospiro a couple years ago and its beautiful, but only problem is a)its overplayed and b)i dont think its enough of a contrast stylistically because Ravel is basically the French Liszt isnt he. in any case its definitely an option.

what do people think?

[furtwaengler]

It should be important for you to know that Mahler, as great a composer as he was, wrote no solo piano music.

The Chopin Berceuse is a fine choice, a delicate and beautiful piece which is a wonderful complement to the Ravel. To play it well would prove very much indeed.

[cloches_de_geneve]

IMO Bach WTC, one with a challenging fugue.
Or Schubert, one of the Impromptus or Klavierstück D946, Nr3)