Competition repertoire?

[onwan]

Hi,
next year I'll be in piano competition. My teacher told, that I have to star with learning the pieces this month, so I have done my own competition repertoire. I'll be 17 year-old next year, the timing is about 12-15 min. And it is necessary to play more different styles-baroque, classicism and romantism.

I've choosen:
Bach-prelude and fugue no.10 e minor (3 min.)
Mozart-sonata k310 a minor, first movement (4 min.)
Chopin-valse op.posth. e minor (3 min.)
Rachmaninoff-prelude Op.23 no.5 g minor (4 min.)

I was thinking about Bach invention no.13 compared to the prelude and fugue, but it is probably too easy, but I like it more, do you think that I can play the invention there?

What do you think about this repertoire? Would you change something?

[slobone]

Hi,
next year I'll be in piano competition. My teacher told, that I have to star with learning the pieces this month, so I have done my own competition repertoire. I'll be 17 year-old next year, the timing is about 12-15 min. And it is necessary to play more different styles-baroque, classicism and romantism.

I've choosen:
Bach-prelude and fugue no.10 e minor (3 min.)
Mozart-sonata k310 a minor, first movement (4 min.)
Chopin-valse op.posth. e minor (3 min.)
Rachmaninoff-prelude Op.23 no.5 g minor (4 min.)

I was thinking about Bach invention no.13 compared to the prelude and fugue, but it is probably too easy, but I like it more, do you think that I can play the invention there?

What do you think about this repertoire? Would you change something?

My impression is that competition judges just love fugues. I assume you're talking about the P&F from book I? The invention is a fun piece, but probably too short.

[onwan]

My impression is that competition judges just love fugues. I assume you're talking about the P&F from book I? The invention is a fun piece, but probably too short.

Yes, I was talking about P&F e minor from book I. That's the only P&F I like. Generally, I don't like Bach music, so I have troubles with choosing new pieces from Bach.

[thesixthsensemusic]

If the piece is technically easy it will be much more of a challenge to play it musically superb, I'd say go for it, but only if you are REALLY confident about your skills as an interpreter. If you are not (and I mean not confident instead of not good, for the record) I'd opt for a more bravoura-type piece within manageable technical difficulty, because it will be technically harder but also less critically looked upon by the judges, and also offer more opportunity to mask any flaws in interpretation, even if it's only you who thinks the performance is flawed.

For example, the 2nd or 4th impromptu from Schubert's op. 90 are impressive displays of rapid keyboard acrobatics but still sufficiently easy for someone of your current level, to play. I managed both of them when I was at the same sort of level as you are, albeit with difficulty and many weeks of relentless practice.

But....  

....at your age this means very little, you could be twice the pianist you are now by the time the competition is held, I once played in a school concert after a pianist who was one class below me, he played a 3-voice invention by Bach, but the next year he played, in the next edition of the same yearly concert, Chopin's op.44 Polonaise, as he leapfrogged to a much higher level of skill in just one year... I'd keep all options open if I were you. When is the deadline for subscription and repertoire choice?

[onwan]

If the piece is technically easy it will be much more of a challenge to play it musically superb, I'd say go for it, but only if you are REALLY confident about your skills as an interpreter. If you are not (and I mean not confident instead of not good, for the record) I'd opt for a more bravoura-type piece within manageable technical difficulty, because it will be technically harder but also less critically looked upon by the judges, and also offer more opportunity to mask any flaws in interpretation, even if it's only you who thinks the performance is flawed.

....at your age this means very little, you could be twice the pianist you are now by the time the competition is held, I once played in a school concert after a pianist who was one class below me, he played a 3-voice invention by Bach, but the next year he played, in the next edition of the same yearly concert, Chopin's op.44 Polonaise, as he leapfrogged to a much higher level of skill in just one year... I'd keep all options open if I were you. When is the deadline for subscription and repertoire choice?

Do you think that I should play some of Chopin and Rachmaninoff etudes and/or preludes? I mean the messy ones.
I don't have to have prepared whole repertoire, but next pieces which I'll be learning I will probably play on the competition. I have about 1-2 months of work on Chopin waltz, two weeks to done Bach invention no.8. and of course I play some of Czerny's etudes Op.299.
Choosing new pieces is very problematic, because I am able to play only pieces that I really like. I like almost everything from Chopin, most of Rach. and some of Liszt. I could find interesting something from Scriabin (his etudes), Schubert or Mendelssohn. But it's all romantism. I have troubles to fall in love to classicism and baroque pieces. Beethoven is a big composer but acully I like his only 3 sonatas. I don't know much about Mozart because he has never been attractive to me. The worst and unfortunately the most needed is Bach work, which I acully really don't like, I just feel bored of him. Every new Bach is just torture, I don't want to play it but I have to.
So, how I could create the program that I like and to be interested for judges?

[slobone]

To be honest, I think at this point in your musical development you need to expand your horizons a little bit. You have some pretty great composers on your "don't like" list. If you want to have a musical career, it would help to be a little more open-minded.

Start by listening to performances by great performers (there are plenty on YouTube). But also play more pieces by these composers, just sight read them, and see if you can figure out why people love them so much.