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Topic: Repertoire help (Read 924 times)

png100

PS Silver Member
Newbie
Posts: 1

Repertoire help

on: June 22, 2022, 04:43:30 PM

Hi everyone,

I wanted some help/recommendations so that I can have a balanced repertoire for competitions. I am 17 and have 11 years of piano experience, and I most recently have been working on getting Chopin Etude Op. 10 No. 4 (Torrent) performance-ready. I am currently considering the following pieces in addition to the Chopin Etude:

Beethoven Sonata No 17. in D minor (Tempest) 1st movement
Liszt Un Sospiro
Rachmaninoff Etude Tableau Op. 39 No. 6 in A minor

I wanted to reach out because I was unsure if these pieces would contrast well and highlight different areas of my piano ability and also because many of you are far more experienced than me in regards to repertoire and competitions. I am aiming for my repertoire to include 3-4 pieces that are similar in difficulty to the Chopin Etude and with a total length of 15-25 minutes. Any opinions or recommendations on the pieces above or other pieces that would be better additions to my repertoire are greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

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anacrusis

PS Silver Member
Sr. Member
Posts: 814

Re: Repertoire help

Reply #1 on: June 22, 2022, 09:42:37 PM

I think there's a nice contrast in character between those selections. I think you could add something counterpointy/baroque-y, something more classical than the Beethoven sonata (Mozart/Haydn) and perhaps something after the romantic era which is more percussive/rhythmic (Prokofiev? Bartok?) to cover more stylistic ground.

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hmoll53

PS Silver Member
Jr. Member
Posts: 52

Re: Repertoire help

Reply #2 on: June 27, 2022, 09:30:23 PM

Hey, great set of pieces. I think it needs a bit more balance for a competition.
Beethoven's Tempest is a nice Sonata, and if you haven't learned it, I suggest swapping it with something else. It's beautiful, but very overplayed so if you are going in, you might need an extra good rendition to make yourself stand out. There's tons of B. Sonatas to choose from, but if you really want the Tempest, then go for it. I suggest learning all 3 movements, but if the competition doesn't require, just learn the first movement.
Chopin and Liszt are in the same vein as they are both "concert" Etudes, though Chopin's is much harder in my opinion. There's some other Liszt pieces that are very lyrical and beautiful that aren't Etudes, an easier option would be the 2nd Petrarch Sonnet, or something harder could be the Dante Sonata though that's a warhouse for sure and probably too long. Take a look at The Years of Pilgrimage for some nice works e.g. Orages OR the Harmonies poetiques et religieuses.
Rachmaninoff's Etude is also a tricky piece to pull off, and it's similar to the Op.10 No.4 in my opinion, though more grotesque and "Prokofievian".
For diversity, I think some of your bucket list pieces probably shouldn't be pieced together for a program.
I suggest a Bach Prelude and Fugue for one of the pieces, highlights your phrasing, articulation, clarity as well as balance. Most of them aren't too long either way.
Hope this helps!

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Some Current Repertoire:
Scriabin: Sonatas 2,4 and 5
Chopin: Ballade 1,4, Scherzo 1
Rachmaninoff: Concerto 3
Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit
Barber: Sonata
Beethoven: Appassionata

lelle

PS Gold Member
Sr. Member
Posts: 2247

Re: Repertoire help

Reply #3 on: June 28, 2022, 11:09:13 AM

Quote from: hmoll53 on June 27, 2022, 09:30:23 PM

Hey, great set of pieces. I think it needs a bit more balance for a competition.
Beethoven's Tempest is a nice Sonata, and if you haven't learned it, I suggest swapping it with something else. It's beautiful, but very overplayed so if you are going in, you might need an extra good rendition to make yourself stand out. There's tons of B. Sonatas to choose from, but if you really want the Tempest, then go for it. I suggest learning all 3 movements, but if the competition doesn't require, just learn the first movement.
Chopin and Liszt are in the same vein as they are both "concert" Etudes, though Chopin's is much harder in my opinion. There's some other Liszt pieces that are very lyrical and beautiful that aren't Etudes, an easier option would be the 2nd Petrarch Sonnet, or something harder could be the Dante Sonata though that's a warhouse for sure and probably too long. Take a look at The Years of Pilgrimage for some nice works e.g. Orages OR the Harmonies poetiques et religieuses.
Rachmaninoff's Etude is also a tricky piece to pull off, and it's similar to the Op.10 No.4 in my opinion, though more grotesque and "Prokofievian".
For diversity, I think some of your bucket list pieces probably shouldn't be pieced together for a program.
I suggest a Bach Prelude and Fugue for one of the pieces, highlights your phrasing, articulation, clarity as well as balance. Most of them aren't too long either way.
Hope this helps!

Very interesting insight! Do you have a lot of experience from competitions?

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hmoll53

PS Silver Member
Jr. Member
Posts: 52

Re: Repertoire help

Reply #4 on: June 28, 2022, 03:33:46 PM

Quote from: lelle on June 28, 2022, 11:09:13 AM

Very interesting insight! Do you have a lot of experience from competitions?

I have a few

, but some of my friends and teachers have also different experiences from conservatories and other competitions, I get my insight mostly from them. Though the web is a great place for researching into these things.

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Some Current Repertoire:
Scriabin: Sonatas 2,4 and 5
Chopin: Ballade 1,4, Scherzo 1
Rachmaninoff: Concerto 3
Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit
Barber: Sonata
Beethoven: Appassionata

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