# Looking for repertoire to fill out college recital



## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

Hey everybuggy, I'm giving my senior college recital next semester and I'm looking for something I can use to fill in about a 15-20 minute slot. This is my program so far..

Prokofiev - Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major

--Intermission--

[15-20 minute slot]

Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major

I don't know what to put in this slot.. It needs to be about 15-20 minutes because the total time for the recital is 60-70 minutes in length. It would also need to be something that contrasts with the bouncy and chipper Prokofiev and fits well before the more serious Beethoven. I was thinking of doing a few movements of Albeniz's Iberia, but I just don't like Spanish music that much.

Another serious contender I was thinking of was Chopin's Ballade No. 1, since I love that piece so much. But would it fit in with the Beethoven? I'm not sure. Any recommendations are very helpful 

Also, I can use more than one piece to fill the slot.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Hmmm, lets see here _Ravellian_ I guess you could ummm... Let me think here, its on the tip of my brain --> Do a piece by Ravel!!

His piano music is fantastic! Plus its not really too far removed from the Spanish sounding Iberia. Maybe Jeux D'eax, and Alborada del Gracioso and a movement from Le Tombeau De Couperin , or if you can manage it --> Gaspard De la Nuit.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

My second recommendation would be Joaquin Rodrigo's suite para piano (1923). I think its one of the more under-rated suites for solo piano, it has 5 movements, the whole thing is under 20 minutes, it has dark, reflective and lighter movements and it also doesnt really sound Spanish.


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## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

Thanks for the recs tdc, I will check out that Rodrigo piece. However, I'm staying away from Ravel because I have performed many of his works already... including the _Gaspard de la Nuit_ last year and the _Jeux d'eau_ a couple years ago.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Ravellian said:


> Thanks for the recs tdc, I will check out that Rodrigo piece. However, I'm staying away from Ravel because I have performed many of his works already... including the _Gaspard de la Nuit_ last year and the _Jeux d'eau_ a couple years ago.


No problem, and you're my hero. :tiphat:


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Found this on youtube, the recording isnt the best, but these interpretations are decent. It clocks in a little less though than I remembered, just under 10 minutes. The 2nd and 5th movements are my favorites.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Wow, you can play that concerto? Is there any chance you will post a vide?
Whos accompanying you?


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Ravellian said:


> Hey everybuggy, I'm giving my senior college recital next semester and I'm looking for something I can use to fill in about a 15-20 minute slot. This is my program so far..
> 
> Prokofiev - Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major


With accompaniment too??


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## Webernite (Sep 4, 2010)

A Schubert sonata?


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## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

Yes, of course with accompanist! My accompanist will probably be my professor. He's very old (almost 80) but he's still a phenomenal player. Actually it's nice to be playing the Prokofiev concerto, since it's much less of a physical strain than the Tchaikovsky (those octave passages are killer...)

And I will certainly be recording it this time. If I am able to make a video recording, I will post it here.

I suppose a shorter Schubert sonata is a possibility, perhaps the one in A minor that begins with bare octaves? Hmm, I shall have to think about this.


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## Webernite (Sep 4, 2010)

There's also the Wanderer Fantasy, although that might be a bit more than 20 minutes, depending on what tempo you take.


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

Small question out of curiosity, how do you play the rolling double-note scales in the third movement of the Prokofiev? Two keys to a finger? Crossing over of the hands (and what fingering)? Glissando approximation?


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Couchie said:


> Small question out of curiosity, how do you play the rolling double-note scales in the third movement of the Prokofiev? Two keys to a finger? Crossing over of the hands (and what fingering)? Glissando approximation?


Thats a really interesting question, I presume youre talking about this bit:










Perhaps the fingering (which I assume originates from the composer) gives a clue. There seems to be only one finger written per 'cluster'


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## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

Couchie said:


> Small question out of curiosity, how do you play the rolling double-note scales in the third movement of the Prokofiev? Two keys to a finger? Crossing over of the hands (and what fingering)? Glissando approximation?


Good question. I haven't decided on a final fingering yet, but my teacher has a suggestion for it. If you look at the part emil posted, the fingering would go like this, on the upward sweep:

LH: 4 - 3/2 - 1 - 4/3 - 3/2
RH: 1/2 - 3/4 - 1/2 - 3/4 - 5

For example, 3/2 means playing the third and second fingers at the same time. This way each finger plays a separate key and you don't have to double up keys to one finger. It also involves very rapid side-to-side motion of the wrist. The problem with Prokofiev's fingering, doubling notes to one finger, is that it makes the end result too light; it sounds like a harp. It has to have more weight to it, and that is why my teacher made this suggestion.

I'm hesitant to do it this way because it will take a long time to practice and perfect, but if the end result is better than a simple arpeggio approximation, I'll probably do it.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

From the score excerpt I posted, it seems Prokofiev suggested using one finger to press 2 keys.
This would be probably be easier than the wrist-killing movement your teacher suggested and is better than an approximation - no?


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Ravellian said:


> Yes, of course with accompanist! My accompanist will probably be my professor. He's very old (almost 80) but he's still a phenomenal player. Actually it's nice to be playing the Prokofiev concerto, since it's much less of a physical strain than the Tchaikovsky (those octave passages are killer...)


Oh! I thought you were going to do it with an orchestra.



> From the score excerpt I posted, it seems Prokofiev suggested using one finger to press 2 keys.
> This would be probably be easier than the wrist-killing movement your teacher suggested and is better than an approximation - no?


Prokofiev had arms/fingers of steel. "Obviously if I can do it, so can every other pianist!"


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

emiellucifuge said:


> From the score excerpt I posted, it seems Prokofiev suggested using one finger to press 2 keys.
> This would be probably be easier than the wrist-killing movement your teacher suggested and is better than an approximation - no?


I'd say as-written is the hardest way to play it, unless you have long, thick fingers (most people have one and not the other). In fact Lang-Lang is the only one I've seen play it as written, and he doesn't do it particularly well. Most professional pianists seem to use a fingering similar to what Ravellian proposed, and frankly few of them play it very cleanly at the insane speed required. Most amateurs will just play glissandi with the knuckles or fingernails, which is a very easy cop-out, but really still sounds great on top of the orchestra. I think the worst thing you can do is not play it at the required _ff_ intensity, no matter how accurate.


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## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

Also, Prokofiev does not always write... practically for the piano, the above passage being one case of that. Another Prokofiev piece I have performed in concert is the Toccata in D Minor, Op. 11; if you look at that piece there are similar passages where it is nearly impossible to play what is written.










Because this is taken at a fast tempo, most pianists approximate the last two measures here the best they can - it's nearly impossible to be 100% accurate.. also, this passage occurs twice, and it's _more_ difficult the second time. And, in the third piano concerto, most pianists ignore Prokofiev's suggested fingering because it's too weak. Instead, they approximate, or use a completely different fingering. The point is, we pianists sometimes have to be creative to make it through his pieces alive. 

Rachmaninov, in contrast, may have written things that were very difficult, but they were always always playable. It probably helped that he was a concert pianist himself and premiered most of his own works.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

When I listen to some of Prokofiev's music, once in a while I have a feeling he was just writing notes down in some specified pattern without thinking about what it really sounds like, or if it's even possible to play. That's some good Impressionism there. 

I love looking at that blur of notes. I can already tell it's wonderful. Even if it kills the pianist.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Okay well youre the expert!


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## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

I think I've got a final version of the program, finally:

Prokofiev - Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major

--Intermission--

Chopin - Ballade No. 1 in G minor
Faure - Barcarolle No. 1 in A minor
Scriabin - Piano Sonata No. 5


I decided to not do the Beethoven 30 because (a) It sounds a bit similar to the Chopin and (b) I wanted a more modern-sounding work. The three pieces in the second half of the concert will contrast very nicely with each other.  Also, looks like the concert will happen October 11-12th this year.

God, the Prokofiev is so much fun to play! It's extremely rhythmically steady throughout, there aren't any sections requiring impossibly difficult physical feats, and the coordination between the orchestra part and the solo part is straightforward. The only really tough part is memorization.


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

I have to say that is a very _impressive_ lineup with the Scriabin No. 5! I hope you're charging admission. Will it be recorded?


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## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

Yes, it will be recorded. I'll try to upload it to youtube or something else if I can.


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