What's your favorite repertoire right now? (last post wins)

[anacrusis]

Hey y'all,

What's your favourite repertoire to either listen to or play right now? I know we all have some favorite pieces of all time, but I find that I also have different pieces I like, play and listen to more during certain periods. So I'm wondering what yours are this current moment? I need some inspiration for new things to play.

I inserted an obligatory "last post wins" because it seems popular here these days

[liszt-and-the-galops]

Been listening to a lot of:
Ballade no. 1
Grand Galop Chromatique
Feux Follets
La Campanella (Busoni version)
Ballade no. 4
Islamey
as of late.
Totally doesn't have anything to do with a tournament I'm running right now.

[jaquet]

my favourite piece for solo piano is bach partita in  eminor. however i dont usually listen to it now. Right now im listening to a compilation of around 20 differnet pianists playing the 1st ballade coda because im performing it later today. Ive also been listening to alot of opera instead of my usual piano music. mostly Montserrat Caballe.

[brogers70]

I just finished listening to all of Beethoven's opuses (yes, I know the correct plural is opera, but then most people would think I just meant Fidelio). I takes a while, but it is very interesting to listen to a composer's works in (mostly) chronological order. There were loads of interesting pieces I'd never have listened to if it were not for trying to hear them all. I've done similar things for Mozart's piano concerti and Bach cantatas. It's always been interesting. One big thing I noticed going through the Beethoven is that his most commonly played pieces are not necessarily representative of his complete output. In particular, the tragic struggle mood is a lot more common in his most famous pieces than in his works overall. There's a lot of joy and good humor and love of nature that may be, at least somewhat, underrepresented in the things that are performed most often.

[pianistavt]

I recently discovered the piano sonatas of Feinberg; there are 12 sonatas.  I've listened to sonata 3 the most - a work of compelling musical mastery and art - should be in the standard early 20th century repertoire.  In the same category (of suppressed/harassed soviet composers of the stalinist era), I started to listening to Nikolai Roslavets sonatas this past weekend - not as emotionally visceral as Feinberg, but top notch imagination and compositional craft.  These composers' starting point is Scriabin's sound world.  I started working Scriabin's 2nd sonata past few days.

[transitional]

Prokofiev Sonatas 5 and 9, and Schumann Papillons and Humoreske have been growing on me recently.

[nicholas c. duval]

To play: Scriabin’s fourth sonata — I feel that there’s something magical about the first movement (although it’s difficult to make it all sound effortless and flowing).

To listen to: I have recently become addicted to Liszt’s years of pilgrimage, specifically the first and second years. Perhaps the third year will grow on me. The three Petrarch Sonnets are my favorite of the entire set.

[thorn]

I recently had a Scriabin Sonata phase, since they're popping up a bit, but my current one is Spanish repertoire. French Impressionism and flamenco are such a great mix and I think it's one of the big tragedies of music history that Ravel didn't get to orchestrate Albeniz's Iberia (he'd already promised it to someone else)

[pianistavt]

I get a lot of my leads for new pieces to listen to from this guy:

&t=653s

He's quite entertaining - such a New Yorker!
In this particular video he mentions Martinu's P.C. #4 - so I gave the recording below a listen.  I've listened to all 5 just in the past few years but didn't remember #4 being such a virtuosic piece.  I don't think the virtuosity matches the subject matter / scope, so not sure why he chose it above #1 which seems more carefully conceived/architected.

[xdanielyj]

I listen to a lot of Beethoven and Schubert, with occasional Brahms. And this doesn't really change even with change in circumstances or feelings.

Right now though,
Beethoven Sonatas Nos. 3, 4, 26, 29
Schubert Sonatas Nos. 3, 4, 13, 19, 21
Brahms Concerto Nos. 1 and 2

The music I wrote above have been my go to for the past week

[transitional]

I listen to a lot of Beethoven and Schubert, with occasional Brahms. And this doesn't really change even with change in circumstances or feelings.

Right now though,
Beethoven Sonatas Nos. 3, 4, 26, 29
Schubert Sonatas Nos. 3, 4, 13, 19, 21
Brahms Concerto Nos. 1 and 2

The music I wrote above have been my go to for the past week

AMAZING taste. Les Adieux is my favorite Beethoven sonata. D 960 is ethereal and all the Schubert sonatas are great gems. Love the tarantella of 958. I should listen to the Brahms Concertos right now because I've surprisingly never heard them, and you seem to be listening to the right stuff.

[lelle]

I'm really feeling the Chopin Preludes right now after not having listened to the much for quite a while. Might tackle them as my next project...

[pianistavt]

AMAZING taste ... you seem to be listening to the right stuff.

I think this is AWESOME (and I know it's not the right stuff for everyone):

[jaquet]

My go-to solo piano piece used to be Bach's Partita in E minor, but lately, I haven't been listening to it much. Currently, I'm immersed in a compilation featuring around 20 different pianists playing the 1st Ballade coda since I'm performing it later today. Additionally, I've been exploring opera more than my usual piano repertoire, particularly enjoying the sublime voice of Montserrat Caballé.

are you real?

[busondelssohn]

I'm really into Chopin second and fourth ballades right now. Amazing pieces. Wish I could play em

[busondelssohn]

Did I win?

[pianistavt]

I just discovered Alexei Stanchinsky (or Stanshinsky)
Short life, sad story.
His music has a Beethovan-like sense of architecture and thematic development.  Definitely not a late romantic, like Scriabin and Rachmaninoff.
Just listened to his second sonata.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexei_Stanchinsky

[frodo4]

I just discovered Alexei Stanchinsky (or Stanshinsky)
Sad story, short life
His music has a Beethovan-like sense of architecture and thematic development.  Definitely not a late romantic, like Scriabin and Rachmaninoff.
Just listened to his second sonata.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexei_Stanchinsky

I’ve listened to this a couple times now.  This is the first I’ve heard of this composer – who died in 1914 at age 26 – 2 years after he wrote this 2-movement sonata. This is a very fine work.  It is a tonal composition in the key of G major, although the fuga has progressive tonality where it ends in the different key of E major. The first movement is a fuga in essentially 3 voices. His life story is very sad indeed. 

From the notes of the publisher on youtube:
"Provocatively, the two movement Second Sonata in G combines old-world Beethovenian baroque homage (a slow opening 6/16 "progressively tonal" Fuga) with new-age assault (a brilliant closing "toccata" in 11/8 - the "modo russico" of Mussorgsky's Pictures."

Thanks for sharing!

Edit: I am a little confused.  "In music, accidentals apply to the notes that follow them on the same staff position and line or space for the rest of the measure in which they appear, unless another accidental explicitly changes them. However, the effect of an accidental ends once a barline is passed, unless a note affected by an accidental is tied to the same note across the barline.

In this sonata, the 2nd movement ends with a G-major chord according to the score, but the performer ends with a G-minor chord.  Where did the B-flat come from?  A couple measures earlier?  Can anyone explain?  Never mind.  I think I figured it out.  General rules are not always followed.  Also, G-minor certainly sounds right.

Edit2: I've noticed this same kind of accidental problem looking at Prokofiev piano scores and other Russian composers of this era.  It appears that they do not have consistent rules making it tough for the performer to figure out the notes intended.

[transitional]

I thought my Schubert obsession would die down eventually, but I heard the D 960 sonata again today and it sounded as fresh as ever. Really amazing sonatas that draw me in immediately, have me on the edge of my seat every time, and make me continue listening again and again.

[pianistavt]

I thought my Schubert obsession would die down eventually, but I heard the D 960 sonata again today and it sounded as fresh as ever. Really amazing sonatas that draw me in immediately, have me on the edge of my seat every time, and make me continue listening again and again.

You oughta play them ...