Choosing a piano concerto-help please???

[pianogirl0406]

Hi all!:)
So, I am going to be playing at the concerto competition in November, and I need help choosing my repertoire.

Here is a list of what I have played recently.
1. Beethoven Pathetique Sonata first movement
2. Chopin etude op.10 no.8 in f major
3. Mendelssohn Rondo Capriccioso

I have played Haydn Concerto in d major before, and now I want to play something more advanced.

Any suggestions? Oh and I have small hands, so octaves are my major weakness.
(I'm thinking of Schumann in a minor, or Chopin in f minor, maybe Grieg in A minor, Saint Saens no.5 what do you guys think of them?)

[asiantraveller101]

Beethoven #1 or 2, or some simpler Mozart concerti.

[pianogirl0406]

Yeah I've thought of Beethoven Concerto no1..but I wish to do something more technically advanced to challenge myself. any other suggestions?

[asiantraveller101]

Not to be discouraging to you, based upon your current repertoire, Beethoven no. 1 (or 2) is a good choice. It is much longer than any of the pieces you are tackling now. Moreover, your only concerto experience is Haydn D major, which is considered an easy one. Well, if you are not convinced and you really want to challenge yourself, try any of the late Mozart concerti. You may also want to look at Kabalevsky no. 3, and Mendelssohn no. 2. The only problem with Mendelssohn no. 2 is that it does not have a break in the first movement, it goes directly into second movement. But it is good one if you are playing the entire concerto. Mendelssohn no. 1 may be pushing your limit too.
(BTW, most concerti require at least a comfortable octave playing, either blocked or broken.)

[mjames]

What's with experienced pianists being unable to choose a concerto for themselves? lololol

And woah, NOVEMBER? *counts with fingers* Isn't that like in 3 months? You're going to learn an entire concerto, POLISH IT, and get it ready for performance in 3 months? O_O

Impressive.

[pianogirl0406]

Hey mjames, your response was not helpful or delightful, and I respectfully ask you to have some maturity What's with experienced pianists being unable to help another out with such simple things like repertoires?

[visitor]

Hey mjames, your response was not helpful or delightful, and I respectfully ask you to have some maturity What's with experienced pianists being unable to help another out with such simple things like repertoires?

i actually thought the the comment was spot on.  Rather delightful really

Good luck w the prep. Fastest ive ever been able to put a polished concerto for perf w an live conductor and ensemble is 7 months w the first three being intensive 6+hr per day deals.  I didnt want to even want to hear the word concerto for 4 months or so after.

[schumaniac]

Unfortunately, I'd have to agree... that 3 months is waaaay too little time to learn a concerti and be able to compete (and do well, that is). 6 months-1 year is more realistic.
And this is ESPECIALLY if you are playing a complete concerto... with one movement you might be able to manage; with a complete concerto, you're probably not going to be able to. I know this from experience- I competed once with a complete concerto that I had rushed to learn, and I was playing wrong rhythms and having memory slips all over the place.

To answer your question though, I think your concerto suggestions probably aren't the best for your situation, although if you shoot for next year, I think Schumann would work very well for you (looking at your repertoire).
Your solo repertoire is pretty advanced, but Haydn D major is one of the most entry level concertos (so I presume you learned it when you were 9, 10). So you'll probably need more experience with the form and with playing with other people to learn a huge concerto. I'd recommend then, Mozart 12th or maybe Bach D minor, or Kabalevsky 3rd (if you have a choice, the 3rd movement is what everyone plays). And some more advanced ones: Beethoven 1st concerto, 2nd concerto (esp. the 3rd movement if you're playing a single movement), Mozart 17th, 19th......

TL;DR 3 months isn't enough/a lot of time to go compete; maybe shoot for next year? learn early Beethoven or middle Mozart, or Bach, or Kabalevsky 3rd (it's called the "youth" concerto)

[pianogirl0406]

Thank you for your suggestion!
I understand it is very short time to prepare, but I only need to learn one movement, and I am devoting all my time to it, so I guess it could work out.

I decided to do Grieg's A minor, what do you think about it?
Do you think I need more experience or do you think it could be suitable?

[chopinlover01]

Grieg A minor in 3 months?
If that's your plan, good luck. You'll need a lot of it, and a practice room to lock yourself in, as well as a garbage can for the key.

[pianoman1349]

You are more than capable of playing the Grieg A minor, first movement.

I would recommend you starting with the Cadenza first, as that is really where all of the difficult moments are.  Other than that, most of the concerto is quite straight-forward.

Good luck

[pianoman1349]

if you want to do the third movement, it's also not that bad as it is quite repetitive...harder than mvt 1, but not that bad.

Also, don't worry about the time frame ... three months is enough time to learn a single movement of a concerto, especially at the level of the Grieg.  There are much worse deadlines out there, so don't stress out too much about it.