Piano Forum

Thank you all for the tips. I didnt know heller etudes they are nice. But maybe I like composers that are famous more Do you have more tips from famous composers?

Well, I can't really guess your "level" of ability.

Why not just the D minor fantasia of Mozart?  You know, play it really well, and add a bunch of energy to the D major section at the end.

Either of the Beethoven bagatelles from Op. 126 cited above.

What, exactly, are you trying to gain, and who are you trying to impress, exactly?  If you played the B minor Beethoven Op 126 bagatelle, who exactly would not think "yeah, that kid can play that!"  It's not that difficult, IMO.  The Gm from the set is more difficult, as is the last piece of the set.  And there are any number of fragments or entire movements from Beethoven sonatas that you could use.

There's a lot of music out there, and what I think sounds fancy may not sound impressive, or it may not be capable for you.

Do the Mozart, the CPE Bach, and the Beethoven. 

If you can't play those, then, I'm sorry, but you can't play anything else that I can suggest.  Certainly not Brahms or Prokofiev.  Probably not even the Bb Bach WTCI prélude.  Which sounds sick, BTW, played right.

There's an entire set of posts above with plenty of suggestions.  I like the gigue from the Schönberg Op. 25 as well.  The final prélude from Scriabin's Op. 74 is not very difficult, mechanically.  The first prélude from Chopin's Op. 28. 

Not really a joke.  The Schönberg might be a bit of a stretch, but either of the Chopin or Scriabin are fairly brief and can be learned.  If I can play those, I'm pretty sure hope is not lost for some rando.

Or the Bach E-minor fugue from WTC.I:  not difficult.  I think it sounds cool, played at full speed.  For that matter, the two-part invention of Bach in C (played at maximum speed, as fast possible), backed with the C Chopin prélude:  back to back, as quickly as possible, that would impress me.

Hyppytyynytyydytys.



edited:  Any piece can sound impressive when done well.  The Scarlatti K1, or the Bach 2-part invention in C, or his sinfonia in the same key.

I don't mean to sound like a guru, but I have a fairly dim opinion of audiences:  they can be fooled by anything. 

So, it depends on your intention and your authority as an artist.  You're driving the show, and it's really up to you.  Glenn Gould playing the little A minor two-part invention at about Mach 3 million:  yeah.  People will dig that and be like "Yo, that kid can play!" 

I don't mean to sound cynical, but a good musician can make anything sound impressive.

If it's a matter of establishing your "bona fides," when addressing the keyboard, just learn some little flourish based on diminished chord, scales and fast arpeggios, and then play music like how you want.

Trust me, audiences are generally stupid, and even when they're not, a little flourish or several puts them at ease that their ears are not being abused.  Hell, the first Liszt Transcendental étude in C.  All kinds of  options

Then you can play what you want.

There's just so much music that can be (i) played by regular people and (ii) would make most audiences be like "what?  Is that a witchcraft or sorcery?"

But, one must know one's audience.

Trust me, if you can't play the Heller or the Mozart, Beethoven, CPE Bach, JS Bach, Chopin, Liszt, and the rest, you're not going to be setting the world on fire. 

I can't play a lot of Liszt, much of Debussy, much Chopin, or lots of stuff.  But, I know what I can play and know how to learn what's needed and somehow it's all right.  Not a world catastrophe. 

Maybe just work on being a good musician.  I like to show off as well, if necessary, even for the practical necessity of reassuring the audience that there's an "actual card-carrying musician" on stage, but I actually know how to play Heller and all of the above (with maybe the exception of the Prokofiev...that is a ball-buster, if one is not used to using the piano as a percussion instrument, but I still say say it's not that difficult, aside from the strange rhythm).

Ei kysyvä tieltä eksy.