Modern Piece to fit Senior Recital Program?

[loveforpiano]

Hello!

I am planning my high school senior recital, and I am in need of a modern piece that would fit well with the rest of my program. I am looking for something lyrical, and of moderate difficulty. The other pieces on my program are:

Prelude & Fugue No. 17 in Ab Major (WTC II)-Bach
Sonata in Eb Major Op. 81a "Les Adieux" -Beethoven
Sonata for Cello and Piano in e minor, 1st mvmt- Brahms

I have played works by Debussy, but have not yet played much "modern music." Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[orangesodaking]

Play Griffes' Fantasy Pieces Op. 6, or at least the Scherzo! It's a great alternative to Debussy and Ravel. I can't help you much if you want non-impressionistic 20th century though.

[loveforpiano]

What do you think of Liszt's Un Sospiro?

[orangesodaking]

I think it's a great concert piece, but it's not modern. However, you don't have a Romantic piece for solo piano on your program, so I think that should do fine.

[remy]

How about Francis Poulenc's Melancolie:

It's absolutely gorgeous, and not too difficult, certainly much easier than Les Adieux.

I hear 'nostalgia' when I play it, not 'melancholy'.

For something a little shorter and easier, Poulenc's Improvisation No.15 "Hommage à Edith Piaf" is wonderful:

Such lovely music.


remy

[loveforpiano]

orangesodaking, you're right, not modern. But it kind of fits the program.  Sadly, I think it may be too big of a piece for me to pull off by July.

remy, thanks for your suggestions! I'll give those a listen.

[orangesodaking]

Oh, I'm sure you could pull it off in time. I mean, it is a fairly hefty piece (although not too technically overwhelming) that requires time to get the notes under the hands well, flowing well, memorized well (which should come fairly quickly with this piece), and polished, and on top of all of this having all that other music to practice. I mean, that Beethoven sonata is a VERY hefty work! Hehe. But if you devoted a LOT of time to the piano, it could be done.

That being said, if it were me, I would maybe program a slightly easier work. It would be less to worry about, the audience will still enjoy it (I mean, nobody is going to say "Bleh! She played a piece a little below her level!"), and you'll have more time to explore the possibilities with it and practice your other pieces.

But it's all up to you!

BTW, you can just call me Ethan.

[steviesteps]

gershwin! all the way
a prelude, maybe the 3rd one?

[prongated]

Hello!

I am planning my high school senior recital, and I am in need of a modern piece that would fit well with the rest of my program. I am looking for something lyrical, and of moderate difficulty. The other pieces on my program are:

Prelude & Fugue No. 17 in Ab Major (WTC II)-Bach
Sonata in Eb Major Op. 81a "Les Adieux" -Beethoven
Sonata for Cello and Piano in e minor, 1st mvmt- Brahms

Those are mature works for a high school kid. You must be good at the piano...

...so since you're playing the 3 B's, what about doing the 4th one? Check out Bartok's "Three Hungarian folk songs from the region of Csik" - not long, and with much beautiful lyricism.

[loveforpiano]

steviesteps, I love those Gershwin preludes! But I'm afraid my hands aren't quite big enough to play them well. 

prongated, thank you for that suggestion! It would be pretty cool to have an all "B" program...and I considered doing his Romanian Folk Dances, (I've learned them once before) but it didn't quite fit my program the way I wanted it. But you're right, those Three Hungarian Dances have a lot of lyricism.

Thanks for your thoughts, Ethan.  That helps!

[liordavid]

any of Alan Rawsthorne's solo piano works.if you could find the they are really great pieces. Go with the Sonatina in my opinion

[loveforpiano]

Have any of you played any of Ernest Bloch's piano works? (goes along with my all "B" program)

[furtwaengler]

steviesteps, I love those Gershwin preludes! But I'm afraid my hands aren't quite big enough to play them well. 

I feel your pain...my hands are quite small, but I found this encouraging:

As pianists, our hands are only as big as our ears.  As our ears grow, so do our hands.

Bloch is a good composer. I've accompanied several of the pieces for violin and for viola. His string quartets are magnificent, though that really doesn't help you...I've not heard any solo piano music.

If you are doing a program of all B's and would like to do something that's actually modern, I'd recommend looking at the beautiful and effective "Six Encores" of Luciano Berio, or even the 12 Notations of Pierre Boulez, who turned 85 last month...he wrote them as a set of piano pieces in the 1940's, but has even up until now transformed certain of them into the most ravishing orchestral expansions. In either set, the Berio or the Boulez you could pick and choose according to your desire for the program.

If your definition of modern is something more arbitrary, such as (1900 - ), then I could recommend one of the smaller pieces of Arnold Bax, or Frank Bridge (or even Lennox Berkeley, who's been dead only more than 20 years, and wrote a little)...or one of the elegies or sonatinas of Ferruccio Busoni...or Arno Babadjanian's "Poem" which is a great concert piece.

There are many, many, many different possibilities.