How to prepare this program?

[sukiay]

Bach/Busoni Chaconne
Beethoven sonata op. 109
Franck Prelude Chorale and Fugue

Is this program to heavy for the exam?(I need 50 mins program and a topic in recital)
And which piece should be play first, second and last?

[asiantraveller101]

What topic do you have in mind? And may I ask if that topic goes with your choices? Without further information, the program looks fine, not too heavy.

[sharon_f]

Love the program, three of my favorite pieces. And keep them in that order. I'm also curious about the topic.

[gerryjay]

Dear Sukiay,
what exam will you take?

About the program, it is dense. I mean, I'd love to attend to a recital with these pieces, but I think you must consider the degree of focus that is required. If you are confident enough (and please don't mind with my objection, it's just my safety instinct speaking ), just choose whatever order pleases you the most and do it. Yeap: I think that either of the six possible ways are perfect.

Today, I feel like Franck - Bach - Beethoven.

Best regards,
Jay.

[sukiay]

I am thinking to take ftcl or frsm
the topic i'm thinking is VARIATIONS
but I wonder if franck's prelude chorale and fugue could be regarded as a composition with some variations aspects e.g. different apperance of the subject entries in the fugue
Does anyone has some suggestions?
thanks!!!!!!

[gerryjay]

I am thinking to take ftcl or frsm
the topic i'm thinking is VARIATIONS
but I wonder if franck's prelude chorale and fugue could be regarded as a composition with some variations aspects e.g. different apperance of the subject entries in the fugue
Does anyone has some suggestions?
thanks!!!!!!

Dear Sukiay,
if your topic is variations, Franck is not a good choice, because there is no use of the variation principle. The compositional process you noticed on the fugue is not variations, but fugal writing itself.

If you are into late 19th century french music, why not Fauré's set (opus 73)?

Best regards,
Jay.

[asiantraveller101]

Great program, but I am wary about calling a fugue a set of variations. Technically, it is not. Each entrance of the subject of a fugue is not subjected to varied compositional technique. Contrarily, each variation undergoes different compositional technique that a composer wants to exploit, thus acquiring different moods and character. A fugue, however, is a tight construction, in one aspect of affect or character. (Frank would have called it "chorale prelude and variations" if he had meant for it to be one)
You may have to come up with a different theme, but using the same pieces. If you have not worked on Franck yet, perhaps, IMHO, a set of Brahms variations instead?
Best of luck in your preparation!  

[mousekowski]

How much work have you done on the Bach/Busoni Chaconne? It's one of those pieces that I'd love to be able to play!

[sukiay]

if the topic should not be variations, then what should be the topic instead? COUNTERPOINT?
I don't want to start another new big pieces...
These 3 pieces i have prepared more than 2 years...

[gerryjay]

if the topic should not be variations, then what should be the topic instead? COUNTERPOINT?
I don't want to start another new big pieces...
These 3 pieces i have prepared more than 2 years...

Excuse me, but the topic is mandatory? Three outstanding works in a great performance (I assume your long preparation got you there ) are not enough?

I think that "counterpoint" is somewhat like "piano music". It means so many things, like a huge umbrella. I ask you what do not go under that label... However I promise to give this problem some thinking (kind of interesting challenge).

Best regards,
Jay.

[sukiay]

Thanks everybody's suggestions
still thinkin' about the program topic...
the topic is not really mandatory, but i need to write an essay (post-graduate type)...
that's why i think I could have a topic to link all pieces in the program...talking about some special features of the pieces performed...otherwise the essay title might be "Selected works by Bach/Busoni, Beethoven and Franck"
For the time being, I am doing some research...like counterpoint aspects....polyphonic writing...Bach influence...cyclic form...
ANy better suggestions?

[gerryjay]

Thanks everybody's suggestions
still thinkin' about the program topic...
the topic is not really mandatory, but i need to write an essay (post-graduate type)...
that's why i think I could have a topic to link all pieces in the program...talking about some special features of the pieces performed...otherwise the essay title might be "Selected works by Bach/Busoni, Beethoven and Franck"
For the time being, I am doing some research...like counterpoint aspects....polyphonic writing...Bach influence...cyclic form...
ANy better suggestions?

Dear Sukiay,
the best suggestion that occurs to me is to forget about a topic altogether. Then, since you have a recital as the most important goal, I'd think about something different to your paper. What about the limit of piano writing? You are playing three pieces that are known due to their complexities, but in three very different ways.

Let me explain my idea a bit more. Everybody will say: Bach/Busoni is difficult! Beethoven's opus 109 is hard! Franck's is a nightmare! But you very seldom listen/read someone explaining why. And I think you have an ideal program for such an approach, because you have works that deal with the very limits of the instrument.

Bach is a transcription made by Busoni, probably because he felt the original too simple. So, he made his best to turn it into an absurdly difficult concert  piece. How does he did so?

Beethoven, in his final years, was struggling with the boundaries of the Classical style, and so, struggling with some physical constraints. It is very easy to notice that while listening to opus 106, opus 125, opus 131. But also opus 109 is far from common. Even Schubert was trying this kind of writing back then.

Finally, Franck was almost delusional in his writing, because he did look at the piano and actually saw an organ, and he wrote for the latter! Another theory is that he was a mutant, with a third hand coming from his lower abdomen. Or perhaps he had six fingers in each hand.

The question is: how to deal with such writings? Notice that I'm not asking how to deal with a difficult piece in general, because Liszt or Prokofiev (two different example) do not fit into this group I'm talking about.

Best regards,
Jay.