Another "what should I play next" thread

[vansh]

I know there's been quite a few threads asking for suggestions on what to play next, but they didn't seem to quite "fit" me, so here's my own.

I'm close to finishing up on memorizing Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody #2 right now, and am looking for another piece to start learning while I start working on polishing the HR2 to bring it up to performance level and perhaps learn one of the cadenzas. (Yes, I know it's been a while since I started learning HR2 which I posted previously here, but I play piano on my own in my spare time as a grad student which means my practice time is very inconsistent). I've already played a variety of pieces that are "louder" (i.e. HR2, Chopin's Revolutionary Etude, HR11, Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C# minor, etc.), so I'm looking for something that's a bit gentler, more emphasizing beauty and expressiveness. I think difficulty-wise it should be somewhere between Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu and the Hungarian Rhapsody #2.

I like music from the Romantic and Impressionistic periods, so this sort of implies Chopin/Debussy/Ravel. I'm actually not all that familiar with what's out there though. I don't particularly mind if it's considered overplayed here -- realistically, I play for pleasure and I'm not surrounded by music students, so when I play in public it's really for "lay" people who rarely hear classical music, much less know what's overplayed and what's not (Fur Elise and Moonlight Sonata movement 1 being the universal exceptions). Case in point, although Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu is overplayed in the music world, at the public piano at my university I've only ever heard one other person play it; most of what's played is stuff like the theme song from Titanic or "What Does the Fox Say?" or Legend of Zelda, etc. So I'm not really limited by the pressures of competitions and auditions in terms of selecting repertoire that will stand out from other classical repertoire; just being classical is a rarity.

Some pieces that I've been attracted to are Debussy's Clair de Lune and Arabesque #1, in terms of the evocative nature of the piece. However, I think I'm looking for something with a bit more difficulty.

As a complete side-track, I think La Campanella sounds good (and I like the leaps and stuff) so I want to learn it, but I think it'll be a while before I'm really ready to play it -- so another option would be to learn it at a slow pace and play it "slow but musically" without the pressures of trying to make it fast. Although since HR2 is already my "reach piece" for now (the piece where I'm mainly expanding my technical abilities to order to play it proficiently), I'm a bit wary of having two reach pieces at the same time, and it may be better to wait until I have the HR2 at performance level before trying to learn La Campanella.

My past pieces include:
Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody 2 (currently learning)
Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu
Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody 11
Chopin's Etude Op 10 #12 ("Revolutionary")
Chopin's Etude Op 10 #5 ("Black Key")
Sibelius's Romance
Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C# minor (Op 3 #2)
Grieg's Wedding Day at Troldhaugen
Chopin's Polonaise in A Major Op 40 #1 ("Military")
Khachaturian's Toccata in Eb minor

[j_menz]

Rather than picking one piece to bring up to performance standard, why not back up a level or two and spend the time broadening your knowledge of the repertoire. The Debussy Arabesques and Claire de Lune are fine, but there's a lot more stuff out there. Go explore. And don't limit yourself to Romantic and Impressionist works - broaden your horizons. It's an exercise that will teach you more about playing the piano than any one piece could ever do. And, you might like it. 

[ale_ius]

I am absolutely gaga crazy in love  with his sound, I feel this is what the modern Austrian musical sound needed to be at the time (vs the second Viennese school ala 12 tone....). This sound like more of an evoluton of where Wagner was  going but with favors of late romantic and Impressionism  ( indeed its been said that Strauss can be seen as an extension of Wagner) and Marx along with perhaps Egon Kornauth probably react pulls back on things a bit to more of a gala Brahms while still still staying fresh while still lovely and ethereal not unlike Scriabin...

Worth exploring.
You mentioned an evocative arabesque.  This one is quite so!

I have audio of his prelude and fugue but cannot post for copyright. But it is in his six pieces for piano on imslp (score but only for some countries).  Love this guy!

 

Ps from the society page
The unique "Marx sound" reminds the listener of Debussy, Scriabin, Delius, Ravel, Respighi, J. Jongen, Vladigerov, Reger, Schreker, R. Strauss, Korngold, Brahms, Mahler and Bruckner but is in the end totally his own. Regarding his Lieder for which he became famous (these were mainly composed before he was 30 years of age) he is said to be the rightful successor to Hugo Wolf. The southern atmosphere in many of his works has its origin from his mother who was half Italian half Slav. Marx was a late romantic impressionist whose musical inspiration was nourished by his deep and spiritual tie to Mother Nature to whom he wrote so many glorious hymns of love. This is why the mood of his music is so sensuous, optimistic and even hedonistic, a work of art created by a happy man who wants to share his delight with others.

[illusionary]

Jeux D'eau by Ravel is absolutely gorgeous. Quite a challenging piece but from what you've already played, it's certainly manageable. Looking at more french stuff, have a look at some of Saint-Saens etudes, most of them suit your criteria of a bit gentler sounding/not too heavy. Chopin Ballades are really nice too. Have a listen to some more french works, there's a lot more around than Claire de Lune (though I maintain it's a lovely piece)!

[chicoscalco]

I am absolutely gaga crazy in love  with his sound, I feel this is what the modern Austrian musical sound needed to be at the time (vs the second Viennese school ala 12 tone....). This sound like more of an evoluton of where Wagner was  going but with favors of late romantic and Impressionism  ( indeed its been said that Strauss can be seen as an extension of Wagner) and Marx along with perhaps Egon Kornauth probably react pulls back on things a bit to more of a gala Brahms while still still staying fresh while still lovely and ethereal not unlike Scriabin...

Worth exploring.
You mentioned an evocative arabesque.  This one is quite so!

I have audio of his prelude and fugue but cannot post for copyright. But it is in his six pieces for piano on imslp (score but only for some countries).  Love this guy!

 

Ps from the society page
The unique "Marx sound" reminds the listener of Debussy, Scriabin, Delius, Ravel, Respighi, J. Jongen, Vladigerov, Reger, Schreker, R. Strauss, Korngold, Brahms, Mahler and Bruckner but is in the end totally his own. Regarding his Lieder for which he became famous (these were mainly composed before he was 30 years of age) he is said to be the rightful successor to Hugo Wolf. The southern atmosphere in many of his works has its origin from his mother who was half Italian half Slav. Marx was a late romantic impressionist whose musical inspiration was nourished by his deep and spiritual tie to Mother Nature to whom he wrote so many glorious hymns of love. This is why the mood of his music is so sensuous, optimistic and even hedonistic, a work of art created by a happy man who wants to share his delight with others.

I lost track of time listening to this composer and forgot to reply here. Thank you ale_ius for this great finding! What a lovely Arabesque! Do you have the sheets for this one?

[ale_ius]

His sound is beyond simply appealing. It is positively addicting.  I listened to the majority of his solo piano work earlier and I like it even more now after that binge stream.

Let me know if this does not work. This should be the right one:

https://ia600409.us.archive.org/15/items/Arabeske/Marx-josephArabeskePiano.pdf

the scores are worth purchasing but they are very VERY expensive. Worth it though (UE is never cheap).

-Alee