I had previously posted a program for a reciatal I was planning, but decided it was too difficult for me to work up in any reasonable time.

Anyway, here is the new program with some less-challenging works:


HAYDN: Sonata in C Major Hob. XVI: 7 (4:30)

CHOPIN: Nocturne in C# Minor Op. Post. (4:00)

BEETHOVEN: Bagatelle in C Major Op. 33 No. 5 (2:40)

SATIE: Trios Gymnopedies - No. 2 (2:45)

--------------- INTERMISSION (10 min) ---------------------

SCARLATTI: Capriccio in G Major (3:00)

KUHLAU: Sonatina in a minor Op. 88 No. 3

DEBUSSY: Prelude Bk. 1 No. 8 in Gb Major
"Girl with the Flaxen Hair" (2:40)

KIRNBERGER: Bourees No. 1 A Major + No. 2 in a minor

-------------ENCORE--------------

E. NAZARETH: "Odeon" Brazillian Tango

OR

D. SCARLATTI: Sonata K. 67 in f# minor.


Now for some questions if all of you knowlegable pianists mightnot mind answering:

Past or present pieces studied (or studying) include:
Clementi Sonatina Op. 36 No. 1
Chopin Waltz in a minor Op. Post.
Chopin Prelude Op. 28 No. 7 (The A Major one)

I think the Kuhlau and Beethoven pieces will be the hardest.

I planned on learning the pieces from hardest to easiest. Is this a good way to do it?

Is it acceptable to perform only parts of the Kuhlau sonatina, or not?

Does anyone know the approximate times to perform the Kuhlau and Kirnberger pieces?

Seeing as I am just an intermediate student, I can't play for two hours. Do you think the total time for performance would be long enough to merit people attending it?

Any sugguestions on the program? Where to perform (what venue)?


Thank you in advance.

Are you saying that you don't know any of these pieces yet? I would not plan a full recital until I had performed some of the pieces I planned on doing, which means collecting pieces over the years. When exactly are you planning on performing this?

Thats just it: I'm going to play the recital when the pieces are ready. Kristian Zimmerman once said something to the efect of "Most people plan a recital date and then learn their selection. Instead, become comfortable with the pieces, then, and only then, give a date for the performance."


So, Morodiene, I plan to give this recital in about 6 months, but if it takes longer, let it be so.

I commend you for planning a recital and for obviously trying to put some planning into it.

Here are a few of my comments.

1) I think that, on the one hand, it might be an interesting idea to alternate the styles in the way that you have done: Haydn, Chopin, Beethoven, Satie, Scarlatti, Kuhlau, Debussy, Kirnberger. That said, variety notwithstanding, it lacks any sense of continuity; it's sort of a musical ping-pong game with out any direction.

2) Considering this,

Scarlatti : 1685-1757
Kirnberger : 1721-1783
Haydn : 1732-1809
Beethoven : 1770-1827
Kuhlau : 1786-1832

your programme seems to me to be concentrated perhaps a little too much in the styles of the late Baroque/early Classical period. There's going to be a sameness to it that three short works by Chopin, Debussy and Satie won't necessarily dispel.

3) Given that Sonatinas are usually quite short works, I would think it advisable to play an entire Sonatina, if you can. Even a Sonata makes more "listening sense" when heard as a whole, and I would think that this would apply even moreso to a Sonatina.

Regards,

I don't think that is what he meant. You accumulate repertoire over time, performing a few at a time at a gala sort of thing. Eventually, you have developed enough repertoire to draw from, in addition to adding a few new pieces to round it out. What you are doing is planning all the music you're going to be working on for the next 6 months (or longer). Don't you have something that you've already learned that you can throw in there in place of something?

Ideally, I think you would want maybe 2-3 new pieces, but the rest be ones that you bring back from learning previously. I really have never heard of professional pianists who work on all the repertoire for a full recital all at once from start to finish! That is really tough to do, and perhaps setting yourself up for failure.

Think of it more like this:

3 pieces that are new, so you haven't even looked at them yet.
3 pieces that you are currently working on that are about almost performance ready
3 or more pieces that have been previously performed and need minimal reworking to bring up to performance level

Learning pieces to performance level takes enormous concentration, and if you are spread too thin (regardless of how much practice time you can put in), there will be a limit to how much the brain can accomplish at once. I urge you to reconsider.

Bruce, thank you for your input. How would you reccomend I remedy the 'ping-pong'-ness of the program? Would you reccomend adding more impressionist/modern works?

Morodiene, thank you too. How would you go about bringing the pieces up to performance level over time? Bring up half of them and perform that half, then the rest and perform the entirety? Help?

I'm not sure I have a good answer to your first question. If you arrange the works in chronological order, the relative sameness of style of the late Baroque/early Classical composers is going to be even more evident. I think this will be particularly so by virtue of the fact that there is no large or major work in either half of your planned programme.

If you were to opt for a traditional, chronological programme, then I would think you would have to eliminate one or two of the earlier composers and replace him/them later in the programme with something from the Romantic, Impressionist or Modern eras.

It's a bit of a dilemma that maybe playing an entire Sonatina would help solve; there you would have three contrasting movements that are nevertheless part of a whole. A complete Sonatina might help give focus to the part of your programme where the Sonatina is placed. I still don't think, though, that I'd want too many works of the same period or style as the Sonatina.

All said and done, however, there is nothing that says you must programme a traditional recital, nor that you have to have a major work included nor that you have to have coherence in programming or variety of musical styles.

I think the most important part of the project is to play works that you can play well and that, by your playing of them, you can show your audience that you have something musical to "say".

Regards,

I would like to put a major work in there, I really would, it's just that I don't know of any that are within my ability.

Are you planning to invite some friends to your recital? Will it be at your house? Are you planning on serving some food? (The recital is far too short to be the only thing on the "program".)

Do you realize that most of the pieces on your new program are considerably more difficult than those in your current repertoire?

Why did you choose a program with so many different composers? The result is lack of coherence or the "ping pong" effect.

Another concern for me is that several of the pieces are by minor composers or minor works by good composers. There are IMHO much greater works of the highest quality by the greatest composers available to choose from.

Have you discussed this with your teacher?