I recently had a mini-piano party at my house, with two friends. I played 6 pieces (and they were kind enough to ignore my sloppiness!)

For some reason, this time I had a really hard time deciding on the order the pieces should go in, and ultimately, even as I was playing for my friends, I felt like the order should have been different. One of the things I did was go back and forth between longer and shorter pieces, and I went for sort of slow quiet pieces into more energetic pieces, and ended with my "eipc" piece (and I use that term loosely! :rolleyes: )

My "epic" piece is good to end with I think. It's long-ish, it has several sections that are sort of distinct, tempo changes and that sort of thing. To my ear, it tells a more complex story, whereas some of the other pieces are more straightforward, expressing one thought. If you know what I mean. I personally think this is a good piece to end with. (I'm guessing most ABFers haven't heard it, but the piece I'm talking about the is the full version of Joe Hisaishi's "Summer.")

So my first question is, am I write in thinking that the more "involved" or "dramatic" piece is good to end with?

My second question is, is my idea of going back and forth between longer and shorter pieces a good idea? I was acting on the assumption that my listeners would not be familiar with the music, so I wanted it to be "easy on the ear."

My third question is probably ultimately one of preference, but I still would like to hear people's thoughts. Do you prefer to start with quiet, slow music and move to more uptempo energetic music, or the other way around?

Oh, actually, some of you will know some of these pieces, so here is the order I played in at my mini-piano party. Songs 1, 2 and 4 are still on my webpage, and song 3 is of course on David Nevue's web page. I've been surprised to see that a lot of Japanese people post videos on YouTube (I've found some Japanese composers or composers popular in Japan there.) So I should look and see if someone has Haru Yo Koi or Summer on YouTube. Anyway, here's what I played last Sunday:

1) energy flow (Sakamoto)
2) River (Yiruma)
3) While the Trees Sleep (Nevue)
4) Overcome (Nevue)
5) Haru Yo Koi (Matsutoya)
6) Summer (Hisaishi)

When going with new-age, I'd rather go with feeling rather than date of composition.

Which ones stick out? Which ones flow easily?

I like to begin with a peaceful piece and end in a pieceful piece.

IMO,
Matt

Hey Matt, that's something I didn't think of, start peaceful, move into more exciting pieces, and then end with a peaceful piece. I'll try to play my 6 pieces in a different order that aims for that affect and see how I like it.

And, um, all the pieces on my list have been composed probably within the last... at the most 15 years.

Ok, keep the ideas coming.

From a purely pragmatic viewpoint, I like to start off with my "safest" piece, i.e., the one that's easiest to play and that I know backwards and forwards. It's really important to me that I don't mess up right at the beginning because it destroys my confidence and everything goes to hell from that point on.

That's probably not the best way to order a mini-recital, but that's how it has to be for me.

For similar reasons, I would probably play the Yiruma piece a little later in the list just to make sure my fingers were all thoroughly warmed up for those fast ornamentations.

I like starting slow and peaceful (so I'd probably go with the Nevue piece to start), but I think I'd differ from Debussy20 and want to finish up with a lively energetic show-stopper.

Well, Shiro, the truth is I can only play 6 pieces right now, and I play them in the order I learned them, easier to harder, so to speak.

So, I am replying as a listener, not a performer.

I tend to like the slower, moodier pieces. I like Matt's idea of starting/ending with peaceful works. I want to be totally ingulfed in the music, and fast pieces, at least for now, are not as enjoyable for me.

It is no accident that my favorite popular recordings are "Dark Side" and "Days of Future Past", both start and end on slow, beautiful pieces.

As a listener, I want to be able to dream the music, and to leave a concert with a melody that floats in my thoughts.

Little Matt is wise beyond his years.

Thank you!

Matt

I think it's a good idea to start and finish with pieces you do very well. It's more common to start with something less dazzling, but I've really enjoyed concerts that started with a bang, as if the player couldn't wait to come out all guns blazing. Of course, you have to be comfortable with the piece. Depending on the length of your set or concert, I think it's a mistake to put too much quiet music together.

It's a matter of choice, but from concerts I've been to, it's more common to end with a short, lively showstopper than a quiet piece (the last piece could be an encore piece that you expect to play after your final "epic" piece.