Piano works I love to play:
Just for the record, some of these are of a difficulty level that I have to practice a great deal to get them close to where they were when I performed them, so if you're with me and we're near a piano, don't think I can just sit down and play them. While I would love to have that kind of retention, I don't, and after I received my last performance degree I stopped practicing four to six hours daily. However, when I performed these pieces I never grew tired of them, and when it takes months to prepare a piece for performance, that's saying quite a bit.
Also, just because I love playing a piece doesn't necessarily mean I love listening to it. No--I can't explain that. I've tried to link to a quality performance of each piece.
1. Prokofiev, Toccata op. 11
2. Debussy, Reflets dans l'eau
3. Debussy, Mouvement
4. Gershwin, Three Preludes
5. Chopin, Ballade
6. Bartok, Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm, VI
7. Beethoven, Sonata in C Minor, op. 111
8. Brahms, Zwei Rhapsodien, op. 79
9. Bach, Partita No. 1 in B-flat Major
10. Liszt, Mephisto Waltz, No. 1
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You know, I still need to hear you play sometime. I am sad that I haven't been able to go to any of your performances thus far. And I'm with you on not necessarily liking to listen to what I like to play. Piano music has to be really excellent to make up for only listening and not getting to do anything interesting with my hands.
ReplyDeleteIt's a misnomer on my part, really, because it's vital to listen to what you're playing in order to create the best performance. But I suppose I mean that the pieces on the list are always fun to play--they feel good in the hands and sometimes it's exhilarating to recognize that what I'm playing is very difficult--but perhaps I'd choose a different recording to listen to in my leisure time. Most of the listed pieces do not inspire relaxation, although I do have to say I could listen to numbers 2, 4, 5, and 8 any time. :)
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