How to make an interesting piano recital

[Nordlys]

I think you have noticed, it is more hard to attract a large audience to a piano recital today than 50 years ago, or even 20 years ago. Even if an international celebrity plays, there is a risk that the audience is sparse. Why is that? Are there less people today interested in classical music? I don't think so. Some possible explanations:

Maybe people go out less today:
- The working life nowadays is time consuming, and people don't have any extra energy to go out and listen to a concert, which takes some intellectual effort.
- We have now TV, computers, and not least internet, which can give enough cultural stimulation for people.
- CD recordings. We can now hear whatever we like in the living room. Sometimes that is to be prefered instead of a live concert. 50 years ago recordings were more rare, expensive and harder to get.

Or, people still go out, but:
- There are a lot of happenings in a modern city, and people have to choose how to spend their time. Many people go to the cinema, and get the stimulation they need from that.
- There are more good pianists now, and the competition is consequently tough, with less audience on each concert.
- There are a lot of other type of concerts to compete with today, other genres: pop, jazz, ethnic music etc. In the old days it was regarded as a sign of culture and good breeding to go to classical concerts.  Now, other concerts and cultural activities is regarded as equally valuable and are not looked down upon.

These things can be depressing for pianists to think about. But it can be a positive thing too: It forces us to think creatively when we want to organize a concert. Concerts have been different things in different times. The standard piano recital, typically featuring famous pieces by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt, is maybe 100 years old. Is it maybe time to do something else/more than just playing the same pieces again? Remember, concerts are not only about making a good rendition of the repertoire which your teacher can nod in approval to. It is also an event, which should have something special to present to the audience. If not, who would waste an evening and ticket money? Not me.

So the question is: How to make a concert which would be interesting to go to? Do we have to rethink the good old recital?

Suggestions:
- Focus the program on a topic, like the development of the sonata, romantic fugues, music from America, pieces inspired by nature etc.
- Not only play, but give a lecture-recital, or include reading of poems in between pieces.
- Show paintings during the concerts which have something to do with the music.
- Use some of the possibilities of multimedia which we have, but which today are only used in rock concerts. Think about what Scriabin would have done if he had the possibilities we have with light shows, computer graphics projected to the wall etc.
- Include improvisations in the concert.


What are your thoughts about this?

[CDS814]

I agree wholeheartedly. I am pretty much the only high schooler I know that truly enjoys classical music. I have always wished that there would be a way to bring classical music into the mainstream culture, and anticipate the day in which that will happen. I think that a good way to start would be the concert-lectures. Audiences have to be taught how to listen to and appreciate music. Also, it has become proper audience etiquette to remain silent until the performer is done. This was not always true, and if you look at more popular forms of music, the audiences love to react to inpressive or touching passages, classical audiences should have the same opportunity. Of course, and this isn't a problem with all performers or performances but, the performer doesn't have to be so sullen and serious, they are allowed to show their enthusiasm and excitement about their profession. Just some ideas that I've had in my hope for the introduction of classical music to the mainstream.

[lostinidlewonder]

I think Yo Yo Ma said something really interesting about concerts. The Triangle of peformance, you have to pay attention to, the Composer, the Audience and the Music.  Before you play i think it is necessary that the audience knows who the composer is, so that they may understand what the music is about. Not just get up, play and then leave. People argue that music stands alone, but I personaly have found people enjoy a personal/intimate insight of your own of the music. It is the peformers duty to educate as well as entertain I think.
I have been performing solo for 4 years now and my own style is just relaxed. I don't make it very formal, i crack jokes, prod fun at things, ad lib etc etc. I think nowadays you have to be able to be a good performer, that is, have good communication skills, be able to convey ideas interestingly and speak with an interesting tone. I think if you can create excitement and solid images through your speech, you will create a good peformance.

Secondly i find that people always want to see the hands. I have done concerts with cameras above the keyboard and the image of the hands projected on a screen for the entire audiece to see. That draws in a lot of people. Furthermore you could present music for the deaf, connecting a Digital piano, DC series of yahama for instances, connecting that to programs which reveal color, actual notes of the pieces you play, etc.  I think there is a big importance for visual focus as well as audio. I think it would be a good idea to get images of the composers that you play up on stage, images which inspired the music etc.

[Alde]

In March, I organized a piano recital in a city in Canada of about 400,000 people.  I did a pretty good job advertising.  I sent flyers to music schools, music stores, churches, senior's residences, pianists, and piano teachers.  The venue was small and held about 100 people.  I was almost certain to get a descent turnout.
Only a handful showed up.   The pianist was world class, but not a major competition winner.  He has performed throughout North America and yet a poor attendance.  Tickets were only $10 - the same price to watch a movie.
I know that many people knew about the concert.  They just decided not to go.  Perhaps they were more interested in the hockey playoffs!
The pianist had performed audience friendly music - Liszt transcriptions (including the Rigoletto Paraphrase).  The program was filled with virtuosic music.
Maybe I should have had the concert in a hockey arena.

[chromatickler]

3 things make a good recital: SPEED, FURY & Comedic Genius

[Daniel_piano]

I don't care if all the snobs out there don't like the truth but there's a specific and only reason why piano recitals (or orchestral music for that matter) attract less people today than 50 years ago
And there's no reason to find lame excuses blaming it on television, videogames, cd recordings, competions and so on
It has already been showed before by mass-media experts
The reason is simply avant-gard music

I don't know how many concert and recitals programs people know all around the world
I'm friend with a piano and organ recitals organizer who have organized several orchetral and piano recitals in Europe and America
The problem is that in the 1940 it became established the habit of putting avant-garde composition between the first and the second time of a recitals
People accepted this lack of respect and sign of idiocy for some years but they gave up and majority of them stopped attending concertos and recitals thinking that either the music world had become very dishonest or completely insane

I love the Mozart concert for Harp and Flute and the concert for Clarinet
There were two rapresentations near my city
I really wanted to attend them and had saved some money for the occasion
When a friend of mine told me that between the two works there were a compulsory preformance an avant-gard piece (flashing winds) where a file where used to play a cello and various chain and scream sounds were used I gave up
And like me thousnds of people chose not to attend the concerto
Despite the merits of these avant-garde manneristic nonsense I didn't liked the lack of respect and presumption of the avant-gard establishment, they thought that since no one want to listen to their stuff they were so powerful and idiot that they could put them in the romantic, baroque and impressionistic repertoire
But people is more intelligent than these presumptuous elitists and so few listened to their stuff but incidentally few listened to Mozart itself

If they want people to hear their manneristic noisy compositions they should make a recitals or a concertos all of them so that people can choose to listen or not listen to them
Concealing them in a baroque, classical or romantic repertoire so people are compelled to listen to them even if they didn't want is so dishonest to be sickening

It doesn't matter if the music world has freed itself of this habit, people lost their faith in the musical honesty and they still fear to be faced with this situation

If you look at some serious data of classical recordings and several concerto manifestos you will see that what teh experts say is true, there where a wide and established audience for the orchestra performance and piano recitals and it was large enough to give a job to many performers
This same audience start disappearing when their faith was betrayed by the avant-gardists and accademy directors who kept putting avant-gard nonsense between the piano recitals and orchestra performance so that people could not helo but listen to something they didn't wanted to listen if they wanted also to have the chance to listen what they wanted to listen
When treat the audience this way it no wonder that you lose it

It's like putting a porno short between a Disney animated feature; you're simply obliging the audience to see something they didn't wanted or planned to see

Daniel

[caro]

they are all great ideas. We must find the way to sell our product. But donīt loose never ur integrity. Be cool but donīt be 2 cool.
Cheers
Caro

[m]

3 things make a good recital: SPEED, FURY & Comedic Genius

Does it mean that late Richter sucks?

[chromatickler]

Does it mean that late Richter sucks?

I'm afraid so. The extra bit of comedic genius don't quite compensate for the loss of SPEEED & FUUUURY.

[peter_g_moll]

I think Yo Yo Ma said something really interesting about concerts. The Triangle of peformance, you have to pay attention to, the Composer, the Audience and the Music.  Before you play i think it is necessary that the audience knows who the composer is, so that they may understand what the music is about. Not just get up, play and then leave. People argue that music stands alone, but I personaly have found people enjoy a personal/intimate insight of your own of the music. It is the peformers duty to educate as well as entertain I think.
I have been performing solo for 4 years now and my own style is just relaxed. I don't make it very formal, i crack jokes, prod fun at things, ad lib etc etc. I think nowadays you have to be able to be a good performer, that is, have good communication skills, be able to convey ideas interestingly and speak with an interesting tone. I think if you can create excitement and solid images through your speech, you will create a good peformance.

Secondly i find that people always want to see the hands. I have done concerts with cameras above the keyboard and the image of the hands projected on a screen for the entire audiece to see. That draws in a lot of people. Furthermore you could present music for the deaf, connecting a Digital piano, DC series of yahama for instances, connecting that to programs which reveal color, actual notes of the pieces you play, etc.  I think there is a big importance for visual focus as well as audio. I think it would be a good idea to get images of the composers that you play up on stage, images which inspired the music etc.

I think LostInIdleWonder has several excellent ideas for making recitals more interesting.  I'm especially enthused about the idea of projecting the keyboard activity on a screen for everyone to see.  Could you please tell us all exactly how you did this -- what camera, what projector, etc.?

Thanks.

Peter

[bizgirl]

People don't understand classical music.  It is very complex, usually doesn't have words, and pieces are a lot longer than pop music.  People just don't know what to listen for in the music and, unfortunately, the musicians themselves don't seem to put a lot of effort into educating these people.  A lot of times I get the feeling classical musicians think they are superior.  It seems that some musicians take pride in performing music that may sound downright bad to an untrained ear; as if the musicians are trying to say "if you don't like this it is because it is so difficult and you don't understand it and are not capable of understanding it.  I could play something you would appreciate, or teach you how to appreciate this, but I am a professional musician and that is not my responsibility." 
     Now, this is just my perception.  I perform classical music and frequently attend classical concerts, but when performing I try to tell the audience something about the piece that will give them some reason to be interested in it.  At one of my sister's recitals she performed a piece called "The Storm" (I can't remember who composed it) and her teacher told all of the kids to count how many times they heard the "thunder" crash in the piece.  At the end she gave a prize to the person who had counted correctly.  The kids loved it, and I think most of the adults secretly counted as well.  Since a lot of classical music has no words to demand the listener's attention they don't know what to listen for, but this counting game gave them a very specific thing to pay attention to.  I think someone needs to take responsibility of educating the audience at concerts.  This doesn't have to be the performer, but someone who is knowledgeable should explain to the audience what the piece is depicting, what inspired the composer to write it, some biographical information about the composer, or something.

[amybeachfan]

I live in a rural area where there are very few classical musicians or live artistic performances. However, several towns near here have monthly amateur Bluegrass concerts that are heavily attended. The performances are not great or innovative, and the same performers come back a lot. However, if you walk around the parking lot during intermissions, you will see lots of audience members gathered around somebody's pickup truck, improvising together on their own guitars, banjos, mandolins & fiddles, and singing. The audience is so enthusiastic because they are amateur players themselves. Classical chamber music also has a big network of amateur players who support it. In the past, I think a lot more people sat around their living rooms playing the piano & singing than do now, in the US and Europe. (See Arthur Loesser's book 'Men, women & pianos for an entertaining history of this.) It's still true in my family, but when I was in high school a couple of decades ago, I would take my piano music out of my bag and look at it, and other kids would say, "What are all those little black dots?" I think all the previous suggestions posted are good ideas, but also we need more amateur musicians and music education in schools.