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Maybe just one piece given your time constraints?
Which of those do you feel most comfortable with and excited about recording?

If it isn't too much, it would be interesting to hear both the original Chopin and Godowsky version of the same etude.

We had a Chopin etude last time too. Personally, I cannot imagine any situation in which I would want to perform or record Chopin etudes. But if you folks want to, I will listen happily

Also the Bach jumped out at me -- we don't have any Bach on the program yet.

There is a 15-minute maximum and no minimum.
We already have 9 participants but it looks like a lot of people are not going to use their full 15 minutes, so there's room if you'd like to play something short. Or if you wanted to wait and do something longer for the next one, that's fine too.

Its a dangerous proposition isn't it? And then Godowsky makes the original even more difficult.

Hate is such a strong word, I prefer to reserve that for Islamey.

RE: Chopin Etudes: have a half-dozen half-"baked" now. Op 10 no 4 was only 1/4-baked in the "Fugue" Ecital. The Ponce Fugue was unbaked (cookie dough?). Am working on Chopin preludes now, and Schumann op 32 (my 1st Schumann since "the Happy Farmer").

Around Nov 1, I rediscovered a live recital on tape from 1972 which I had never once played since it was made. It was 2 years into pre-med and practicing once a week, but "old music" buffed up pretty well. I've not digitized it, and no one has heard it but me. If you need anything for the Ecital, I could re-debut something actually baked from this old trove:

Rondeaux from Bach Partita no 2 c minor (rest did not survive)
Beethoven sonata op 109
Turina Danzas Fantasticas Exaltacion
Chopin Scherzo No 3 c# min
Rachmaninoff prelude no 4 D maj
Rachmaninoff prelude no 2 Bb maj



By Jan 15th, I could possibly record one of (y'all pick):

Scarlatti sonatas A maj, and D maj
Rachmaninoff Prelude D maj
Chopin Preludes no 1, 3, 10, 22
Debussy Gardens in the Rain
Beethoven Andante Favori in F maj
Grieg Lyric piece: Gade
Schubert Impromptu op 90 no 2 Eb, Op 142 no 3 Bb, or
Moment Musical Op 94 no 4 c#
Bach Preludes and Fugues XIII in F#, or XV in G

Strong emotions such as those displayed by Hakki deserve strong words to describe them with

Doctor S, pick whichever piece you like, but from what you listed I'd have to say I have a soft spot for the Rach Prelude in D major. Also, the Schubert impromptu op.90/2 is great, if you have time to do it by the 15th.

On a side note, how did you manage to play pieces such as the 3rd scherzo and beethoven's 109 during pre-med? Right now I'm in my first year of med school, and I can barely practice or play pieces! I feel like I'm going to lose my 'ability' to play well if this goes on like this. I keep worrying about getting good grades and preparing for the USMLE step 1 as soon as possible, and the piano seems to be slowly fading into the background

Doctor S - You have a lot of great stuff to choose from. I will put a vote in for the Rachmaninoff Bb prelude. It seems to me that it was written for those with superhuman ability!

Pover: to be sure I did not learn those pieces in pre-med, but took "lessons" to get rights to a practice room, and continued to play intermittently through med school. Someone was nuts enough to make me a church pianist; I bought a Rhodes 88 electromechanical keyboard for earphone practice in my room. It was actually harder to maintain during residency and post-residency, but not hopeless. (I wonder if typing all day helps maintain piano technique?) Note that several winners of the Van Cliburn Amateur Piano Competition have been physicians. I met one: Barry Coutinho from Pittsburgh who is a full-time teaching family practice doc. Whatever I named he played for me: Chopin Etudes, Ravel Jeux d'eau, Gershwin I Got Rhythm. I don't have his brains but I got his piano tuner. In limited practice time I would advise you to emphasize technique, and slow practice of pieces that emphasize technique as suggested by Ruth Slenczynska, who used the Chopin Etudes to maintain her technique during years when she had little time to practice.

Vid: The Rach Bb prelude now would be overreaching...but if you want to hear that 20-year-old I'm jealous of, I'll dust off the tape. OK for audio archeology in this Ecital? Would still want the best match for the other pieces. Not sure I have the feng shui for that.

Doctor, so I guess there's just no way around it. I find myself playing less, and thinking more about what I can do in terms of extracurricular activities which might help me later on, when I do the elective (in the U.S.A, since I have to do it there if I want to do my residency there). I'm hoping to get accepted in Mayo Clinic, but we're talking about 5 years into the future...

For some reason, this ambition I have is turning into a curse, because all I think about is how I can become better, or what I can do to enrich my experience, so I join all kinds of activities, IFMSA, research projects, and everything I can get my hands on so I start becoming a good applicant from now. I guess inevitably, piano is going to have less time, but I wonder if this will pay off later? Will I actually have more time to enjoy it after all is said and done? Let's hope so :P

Not a med student, but during college I have done very little new-piece-learning and I go weeks without practice at times, but my learning speed is much faster now than it was in high school because I worked on so many etudes.

I have some original short preludes I'd be interested in sharing, solo piano, if you would like to have them included on your recording! They would not take the full 15 minutes, each is around a minute or so and I'd probably play 5.

Ethan

trigalg, sorry I got back to you so late, I haven't been able to get on here and didn't see the post earlier. Do you think practicing something like Chopin's etudes at a slow speed will benefit me? As opposed to learning a Mozart sonata or something like that?

I think the best way to figure out technique is to play things that are hard. Yes, do Chopin etudes at slow speed. If it's hard, you're forced to pay more attention while practicing. I really was not that good in high school, I couldn't get through any pieces I was playing at the speed I wanted without having a major screw-up, and I think really focusing on technical challenges has been the best use of my time, because now I feel so much more secure at the keyboard, and I learn difficult pieces way faster.

^ this is good advice, but not for someone who is self-taught with 3 years of study. If you have never learned a couple Mozart sonatas, a couple Haydn sonatas, a smattering of etudes by Burgmuller or Heller or similar, and one or two smaller Chopin pieces, bringing them all up to the level of complete mastery, those would serve you better than struggling through Chopin etudes. There are technical challenges in the above pieces that will be plenty hard enough for a 3-year self-learner!

Program in current state.
Draft recordings due Jan 15, concert recordings due Feb 15.

DEFINITE PIECES
BruceD: Brahms intermezzi Op. 117
hreichgott: Barcarolles #4 and #6 by Fauré
Pathbreaker: Mozart C minor fantasy
verqueue: Chopin F minor Ballade

UNDECIDED, OR NEEDS MORE INFORMATION
Francisco Scalco: Pieces by Guarnieri (Titles?)
Vid: Scarlatti sonatas (Which ones?) + Bartok Diary of the Fly + Work by a former teacher (Title and composer?)
Pover: Chopin, Debussy, Tchaikovsky or Mozart
trigalg693: Godowsky? not sure if you agreed to this but it seems to have the most enthusiastic support
doctor s: Audio "archaeology" wasn't the purpose of this project but it is awesome that you found that old tape, and everyone wants to hear your Rachmaninoff Might be fun to include that. I'll put in a vote for (a new recording of) Beethoven Andante favori or one of the Schubert pieces, depending on how many pieces you want to submit, and depending on time.
TwoSnowflakes: any ideas?

Beethoven Andante Favori and Schubert Op90 no2 for this recital, fine. Will put an historic recordings on members recordings (someday)...

Scarlatti Sonatas: K. 118 D major, K. 235 G major
"Invitation" by Denis Khvatov

Thanks Vid and doctor s Happy New Year