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Hi everybody, I am preparing the program for my freshman year recital, and was wondering what you all think of it. Currently, I am thinking of doing:

Mozart K330
Chopin Op.27 No.2 Nocturne
Balakirev Islamey
Bach WTC 22 Book 1
Schubert Wanderer Fantasy

I also learned and polished Albeniz Triana last semester, but it doesn't really seem to fit on that program.

Does this program look pretty good/balanced? I have no experience preparing programs, but it seems to have good contrast.

Welcome, and nice first post!

I think it's a great set of pieces, but I'm not sure of that order. I wonder particularly about the positions of the Nocturne and Islamey. I think it's good that you're not just going with a chronological order, which has nothing wrong with it but which IMO usually isn't that interesting. But nevertheless I think I would order these pieces in mostly a chronological way. I played around with the order a bit, and was surprised that what I wound up with was exactly what you have, except for moving the Bach to the beginning.

Bach WTC 22 Book 1
Mozart K330
Chopin Op.27 No.2 Nocturne
Balakirev Islamey
Schubert Wanderer Fantasy

By the way I think Triana works better with those other pieces than Islamey does. If that substitution were done, I'd put Triana at the end, after the Wanderer Fantasy, as sort of a dessert and built-in encore. And kudos to you that you can just play these pieces!

I wouldn't put the Balakirev and Schubert next to each other as both are overtly virtuosic and somewhat bombastic. I'd do something like Bach, Mozart. Balakirev, Chopin, Schubert or Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Chopin, Balakirev. The latter has the (possible) virtue of being exactly chronological which at least puts some logic in the ordering.

Your order is fine by me also. For me the main considerations would be finishing with either the Schubert or Balakirev and not putting those two pieces adjacent.

I felt the same and it's a big part of why I think the Albeniz works better than the Balakirev, but with the indicated list, I think it's still best with those two next to each other and at the end.

Triana after Schubert Wanderer Fantasy would be a disaster.

If I had to put together all those pieces in a recital my order would be:

1st part: Mozart, Schubert
2nd part: Bach, Chopin, (Albeniz,) Balakirev

I think this sounds great!

Well, I think it would be good. (Provided it's played well.)

You say disaster, I say good. There's some distance between those.

Why disaster?

Freshman year recital?

I wondered the same thing a little bit.

Translation (I think!): Some very ambitious pieces there for a freshman recital.

(Or is it just the idea of there being a freshman recital at all....)

Because the Wanderer Fantasy is an enormous test of stamina and clarity and Triana is murderously complicated and difficult.

Fun for the audience perhaps, but unless you've played Triana several times and can dash it off without too much trouble, putting it after the Schubert would be asking for trouble.

A big part of recital planning is managing the mental and physical stamina of the experience. Eating a steak after a salad is one thing. Eating a steak after eating a steak is something completely different.

Oh OK -- you meant about just playing the danged pieces.

You know better than I do but it's hard for me to see it that way, because someone who can just play these pieces at all (including Islamey), assuming he can play them reasonably well -- and for the purposes of this thread I'm assuming it, because otherwise the whole discussion isn't too meanintful -- is someone who I wouldn't think would have an issue with what you said. And if the person can't play the pieces well (and reasonably comfortably), then that's the issue, not an issue of what order to put the pieces in. I know that this isn't an "either/or" thing; I know it's more complicated. Like, if someone can 'just barely' play the pieces, then yeah. But for the most part I would think that playing the pieces consecutively wouldn't be a significantly greater challenge than playing them at all.

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'll consider the suggestions and see how they work. We aren't required to give freshmen recitals at my school, but since I hope to be a performer I'm looking for every chance I get to get experience. I agree that the Schubert can't really be followed up -- one because it is such a huge piece (not necessarily length wise, but just the virtuosity and unyielding nature of the 4th movement on top of everything else) but also because like Kreisler said it is extremely exhausting. By the time I get to the c major arpeggios at the end I can hardly move my fingers. I have actually performed Triana several times in public and it has always gone well (although I've always struggled with the left hand in the fortissimo refrain of the melody near the end when playing for others). I am also debating about whether or not to have an intermission -- it would probably be helpful but the program is not particularly long.

I thought about suggesting one and laying it out with an intermission because I think even short recitals benefit from them, but I didn't see how to divide this repertoire very well into two parts.

I would do:
Part 1: Bach, Mozart, Balakirev
Part 2: Chopin, Schubert.

I'm glad to hear that you're doing a freshman recital! I'm doing one this year too for the same rationale. If the name of my major is piano performance, I should be performing a lot more than a junior half recital and senior full recital. I also suggest that you talk to local churches and piano dealerships to see if you can schedule more recitals throughout the summer break. I did that last summer with my high school senior recital program, and it helps to get your name out into your local area. It's led to many more performance and accompanying opportunities for me, and it should do the same for you, especially with your ambitious program.

Best of luck!!

Donald Lee III

Y'know, that's good!
With the intermission. I don't think it's real good without it.

Definitely with the intermission. I think all recitals should have an intermission, unless it's extremely short. I went to a cello recital yesterday with no intermission, and it became a bit of a drag. I also think multiple intermissions are appropriate at longer recitals (such as some of Lisitsa's, she can go on for 3+ hours per recital).