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I'm certainly no expert - but Bach named this work "Concerto in the Italian Style." If he'd considered it a suite or partita he would've called it that instead. The Woodland Sketches, on the other hand, are sometimes referred to as a "suite" even tho McDowell himself didn't name it as such. I've seen the Scenes from Childhood referred to as a "suite" along with Papillions - but not works such as Carnival or Album for the Young. Then, of course, we have the Mendelssohn Songs Without Words and Grieg Lyric Pieces - neither of which I've ever seen referred to as a suite. So - it tends to get kind of fuzzy - doesn't it??

Definitions of "suite" seem to fall into three general categories - as summarized below....

SUITE - Music
a. an instrumental composition consisting of several movements in the same key based on or derived from dance rhythms, esp in the baroque period
b. an instrumental composition in several movements less closely connected than a sonata
c. a piece of music containing movements based on or extracted from music already used in an opera, ballet, play, etc.

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

The OP did say that "suite" should be in the title, with exceptions for other pieces with the common dance forms you find in Baroque suites, like From Holberg's Time. That's why Le Tombeau de Couperin is acceptable but Kinderscenen wouldn't fit the theme.

It's probably worth noting that only two of the six movements in the Tombeau are based on Baroque dance forms - and one is based on an Italian folk dance. The remaining movements (Prelude, Fugue, Toccata) harken back to the Baroque period - but aren't dance forms.

Given this, where might Bartok's Six Romanian Folk Dances fit into the great scheme of things????

[...] It's probably worth noting that only two of the six movements in the Tombeau are based on Baroque dance forms - and one is based on an Italian folk dance. The remaining movements (Prelude, Fugue, Toccata) harken back to the Baroque period - but aren't dance forms.[...]

Another question about acceptable pieces - I was toying with the idea of trying to learn a 20th century partita (by Arthur Berger) for this e-cital, and although it is a multiple movement work, none are dances. But, on the other hand, probably emulating Bach, there is an Aria and a Capriccio in it.

So I guess the question I have is - does anything titled "Partita" also fit, or just Bach's?

BTW, I'm not really ready to commit, but thought it was probably better to ask right away, before I spent too much time trying to figure out whether I can actually play it.

There is little difference between the meaning of "suite" and "partita". It sounds to me that the Artur Berger work fits well here.

The OP gave these directions as an attempt to limit the scope of this recital. But I want to be flexible and avoid too much formalism.

Bartok's Romainan Folk Dances is a sequence of pieces with dance rhythms. In fact the word "suite" can also be translated a "sequence". Therefore I would say it fits.

Several of the modern "suites" contain movements without dance character. Suite Bergamasque also has only two "dances", and the main point is that the pieces are intended to be performed in sequence.

Anyhow I we must keep sonatas outside the scope even if they also consist of movements intended to be performed in "sequence". This is because the sonata is a well defined form and the literature is so huge that we can make several "sonata e-citals" later. I would, however, not have any objections to accepting the Italian Concerto in the "sonata" context.

What about Bartok Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythms from Mikrokosmos Vol. 6?

I have studied the two pieces from Feinberg's Suite No. 1, Op. 11 -- Etude no. 1 and no. 4.
I think it will be more than ample time for me to learn the other two pieces.
Please sign me up for Feinberg's Suite No. 1!

The Scenes from Childhood are definitely not a suite.

The evening opened with the belated premiere of Marc Neikrug’s “Passions, Reflected” for solo piano, written in 2008. Structured in 12 sections, the piece was inspired, Mr. Neikrug told the audience, by Schumann’s imaginative suites for piano.

only two of the six movements in the Tombeau are based on Baroque dance forms - and one is based on an Italian folk dance. The remaining movements (Prelude, Fugue, Toccata) harken back to the Baroque period - but aren't dance forms.

A couple of these pieces have never been recorded, to my knowledge, so we may be in for a premiere!

Menuets, Rigaudons and Forlanes routinely appear in French Baroque suites. You're right about the other movements.

Are not Menuets, Rigaudons and Forlanes dance forms? Are you saying, "If it's a dance form, even if it's Italian, it's o.k."? (I think that's what I heard you say...)

Yes! I also support the Sarabande as part of a baroque suite, even though it is from Latin America.

It was a court dance for a couple of centuries before the time of Bach, so there is a long precedent for it. Interesting how a dance that was seen as indecent and vulgar became adopted by the upper crust.