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Hi everyone,

I'm new here and this place looks really neat. I'm a college freshman piano major and I have to learn an American piece for a competition.

Any suggestions???

I love romantic/late-romantic music, but don't get as much into the Impressionistic or atonal sounding pieces. I'm looking for a gorgeous, lyrical, slower, tonal piece by an American composer.

Thanks everyone.

It would be helpful to know what other repertoire you are able to play right now, so that we can suggest things that are the right level of difficulty.

...and you misspelled Beethoven?

Anyway, try the Barber Nocturne.

For my college audition, I played the 3rd movement of Beethoven's Moonlight, Bach prelude in b minor, and Chopin Nocturne in b flat minor.

Let's see... piano concertos for competitions: Haydn D major 1st movement, Mendelssohn g minor 1st movement, Mozart in G major 1st movement, Saint Saens g minor op. 22 1st and second movements (I will learn the 3rd mvmt. and hopefully compete with the whole concerto)

For my juries right now I'm working on the first movement of the Waldstein, Chopin Polonaise in f# minor, Bach prelude and Fuge in C major BWV 870. I'm also working on Paganini Variations for Two Pianos by Lutoslawski, a Scriabin etude (#5 op. 42) and an Intermezzo and Ballade from Brahms' 6 Klavierstucke op. 118.

Lol that was probably more info than you needed...

wow thanks for the quick response!

Brendan,

om gosh... oops! poor Beethoven. yeah that's sad. I will correct it asap. I registered in a few seconds like midnight last night and with my busy class schedule and homework stuff my brain has been fried, believe me.

Living proof of what college can do to you. ;(

American, romantic or late-romantic, gorgeous, lyrical, slower, tonal. Both MacDowell and Nevin have pieces that would qualify here. My web site has a convenient MIDI sampling of piano pieces by MacDowell and Nevin.

http://www.angelfire.com/ks/landzastanza/

If any of these pieces are what you are looking for, sheet music for MacDowell is much more available than for Nevin.

Try a Bolcom Rag or a Gottschalk piece. Gottschalk can be considered the American Chopin.

That's easy. Play something by David Thomas Roberts. His is a very remarkable voice in American piano music; well, a remarkable voice in world music, in my opinion.

Macdowell or Barber hands down.

How about Amy Beach?

In my book the greatest US composer has got to be George Gershwin.

It would probably shock the formal school to the core at the suggestion of “Rhapsody in Blue” ... but this work ... which so vividly captures the raucous, energetic and pulsating lifestyle of New York of the 1920s ... once regarded as mere jazz ... is now the darling of the classical radio stations throughout the world.

Barber and MacDowell (with due respect) sound passe in the circumstances ...

But if Sergei Rachmaninoff took out American citizenship between the time of his arrival in the US in 1917 and his death in 1943 ...
the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 becomes a formidable challenge.

“I'm looking for a gorgeous, lyrical, slower, tonal piece by an American composer.” ... whoops!! ... at least the second movement is “slower”!!

Surely there’s something by Leonard Bernstein that meets the bill.

What of Aaron Copland?

I do like Gershwin, but being the 'darling of the classical radio stations' counts for nothing in my book. My personal preference leans more towards Barber - I wouldn't describe his music as "passé" at all.

Hinson's book contains an index of composers by country. That would be a good place to start doing your own research.

Try the Piano Sonata by Aaron Copland. It's not atonal, but has a lot of harsh dissonances in it. I like it because it sets up a beautiful contrast with tender lyrical sections of the piece.

If you want to see a performance of the first movement, check it out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qayOjs85hY