How much risk do you put on stage?

[jesc]

To those qualified and had the experience, under classical performance. Assuming a simple solo recital, not a competition, not a performance vying for scholarship. Just a solo recital, the only thing at stake is the satisfaction of the people attending the event (which might include some faculty members of music college). How much risk are you willing to take?

For example, assuming I've warmed up enough, I can comfortably go through Moonlight sonata 3rd at around 160 bpm with an accepted risk  of errors on some passages. Lowering the speed at 150, minimizes the risk of those errors. Further lowering the speed minimizes the risk but also comes across as tedious... or dull.

How do you balance it? Do you always have a buffer zone? Like what I mentioned above, performing it at a slower tempo than your actual best to minimize the risk. Or do you perform on stage to the extreme limit of your ability risking a lot? I'm leaning more to this cause I don't want to walk off stage thinking "I could do better but... blah blah blah"  

[j_menz]

If you are performing a piece in public, you should play it at the speed you believe it should be played.

If that is not as fast as you can play it, then well and good. 

If it is faster than you can play it without undue risk of mistakes (there will always be some risk), you should consider another piece. 

There are very few pieces that you will impress an audience with by speed alone, and many you can wow them with that are slow.

[akthe47]

If you are performing a piece in public, you should play it at the speed you believe it should be played.

If that is not as fast as you can play it, then well and good.  

If it is faster than you can play it without undue risk of mistakes (there will always be some risk), you should consider another piece.  

There are very few pieces that you will impress an audience with by speed alone, and many you can wow them with that are slow.

I totally agree here.  Speed may only impress teenagers, but anyone with emotional maturity will appreciate the sound, beauty and message of your piece, not the speed.  You will have more people over the age of 18 than under at most recitals

The speed that you perform at should be the speed you have rehearsed at.  I'm not sure why there should be a significant amount of risk for a performance-- the dynamics, tone, and overall 'story' you are trying to portray should be practiced in a way to remove dullness.

[jesc]

Thanks for the replies. BTW I'm not talking about a significant amount of risk. If I  have a significant amount of risk playing Beethoven's moonlight sonata 3rd movement I won't even consider performing it in a recital much less my other more difficult pieces. The accepted risk I'm talking about is more in line with j_menz's "there will always be some risk". More like the risk of a single missed note but nothing too tragic.

Also just in case there's doubt, I got the message about the musicality (if I got the term correct). My temptation to go fast and play loud is more a temptation to dish out my fury on the piano   But I got a dose of my own medicine. I was practicing in a room with a grand piano and unleashed all my fury. After some time, my ears hurt... a lot. Then I realized, I don't want the ears of my audience to hurt... I'm not doing that in my recital.

[49410enrique]

i don't 'perform' at my maximum tempo, that is, i'll purposely work to have a work be playable at a faster tempo than i will perform it, with you're example, if my performance goal for a piece or passage etc is 'quarter note click =160' then i will work incredibly hard to ensure a 172+ is achievable so i can really settle into that goal  tempo, also you must perform enough to realize if you are the type that under 'performance' conditions things speed up (but may seem slow ) to you, so if you know nerves will push the tempo for you, all the more reason to try and play a bit on the low side so you are more than capable of handling things should they speed up on you.

as for  if you don't succeed in overshooting the goal, then my two options are play slightly under tempo (to a point, as long the the range is within reason and in line with an appropriate interpretatin, i.e. work  keeps it's energy or character), or i consider scrapping the work, post poning the performance etc.

in a music college setting, i don't know how it is done elsewhere, but we had 'recital' hearings where you presented the entire program front to back for the faculty/piano department, two weeks minimum from the date of the program, if you didn't 'pass' or they deemed the program is not ready you are not allowed to advertise and present the actual program to the public until you re play it for them several weeks later (a sort of recital audition if you will).

[jesc]

i don't 'perform' at my maximum tempo, that is, i'll purposely work to have a work be playable at a faster tempo than i will perform it, with you're example, if my performance goal for a piece or passage etc is 'quarter note click =160' then i will work incredibly hard to ensure a 172+

Thanks this is exactly what was in my mind. That's why I was contemplating from 160 to 150 at performance. Actually at the back of my head if I'm going for 160 then I must have practiced it comfortably at 170+.

Postponing the performance is no longer an option since I have serious commitments outside music following this. Your suggestions are practical and I appreciate them. The risk only factored in cause I decided to alter some fingering on some passages and those passages are lagging (they are the ones that dragged the whole piece from 160 to 150).    

[49410enrique]

Thanks this is exactly what was in my mind. That's why I was contemplating from 160 to 150 at performance. Actually at the back of my head if I'm going for 160 then I must have practiced it comfortably at 170+.

Postponing the performance is no longer an option since I have serious commitments outside music following this. Your suggestions are practical and I appreciate them. The risk only factored in cause I decided to alter some fingering on some passages and those passages are lagging (they are the ones that dragged the whole piece from 160 to 150).    

good luck and let us know how it goes, even better record it and post!  

yeah generally you can go no faster than your slowest section unless it is in the rare place where musically it will make send to use a bit of rubato and you happen to also need a bit of time to get through it (i generally shy away from making amusical decision for techical reasons, a previous professor always always told me that it is the other way around, technical decisions for musical reasons, but for practicallity do what you have to do), honestly if you take things a bit pulled back but musicality, stage presence, energy, and the 'feel' of the piece are spot on, eveyone will be pleased (i.e. make sure you really have that strong beat 1 and 3 push to the measure,i.e those are 'down motion' beats, and 2 and 4 are 'up motion' beats, generally that will help the piece move along. if that doesnt make sense nevery mind we can discuss that in a different thread after your performance.

[jesc]

good luck and let us know how it goes, even better record it and post!  

yeah generally you can go no faster than your slowest section unless it is in the rare place where musically it will make send to use a bit of rubato and you happen to also need a bit of time to get through it (i generally shy away from making amusical decision for techical reasons, a previous professor always always told me that it is the other way around, technical decisions for musical reasons, but for practicallity do what you have to do), honestly if you take things a bit pulled back but musicality, stage presence, energy, and the 'feel' of the piece are spot on, eveyone will be pleased (i.e. make sure you really have that strong beat 1 and 3 push to the measure,i.e those are 'down motion' beats, and 2 and 4 are 'up motion' beats, generally that will help the piece move along. if that doesnt make sense nevery mind we can discuss that in a different thread after your performance.

Thanks Don't worry I'll make sure that the quality is not as emotionless, careless and loud as my submitted recording of scherzo 2 back at the audition room.

lol, I think your reply came in before my edit. I'm shuffling my posts and put the edit here instead.
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ok I think this will belong to "too much information" but what the heck. This recital is sort of a closure for me and my teacher since it's something I should/could have done when I was a teenager (back when going to the college of music was at the table). The pieces I'm playing mostly are pieces I played a long time ago especially the whole moonlight sonata. It's like an informal event just happened to be held at the college.