@pseudonym58 That sounds wonderful!

The only trouble with what you've described is that for adult piano learners, they often don't have someone who can do that kind of score modification for them. I'm lucky in that there's a lot of music (both solo and for piano and strings) that matches my playing level -- well, not lucky, I've just been playing long enough at this point. But it can be hard for adult musicians with less playing time under their fingers, even more so if they don't have a teacher or don't have a teacher who can (or has the time to) modify scores like that.

ShiroKuro I am pleased that opportunities may be opening up for you to play with other musicians. This afternoon I have been attending a meeting of a piano group and although, on this occasion, everyone was playing solo pieces it does provide important social interaction. For the next meeting I am hoping to play a duet with a friend.

    @keff thank you !! What did you play this time?

    I am working on a piece that can be played solo or as violin+piano, so if I have the chance for piano gatherings, I'll be ready!

      @ShiroKuro
      Take a look at the "Sonatine" for violin and piano by Dvorak. I've played the piano part with my daughter, and I've also played the violin part on the cello (an octave lower than written).
      I don't remember the piano part as being difficult, and perhaps you might find a violinist or cellist that would be willing.

      ShiroKuro Following a request I played "Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" which was also the piece submitted to the PT recital. I had another piece (just about) prepared but there wasn't enough time to squeeze it in.

        @pseudonym58 this one? I don’t usually play classical music, but it’s quite nice. Which movement did you play? I think I could probably do the first two, but the last two would probably be a stretch.

          @keff awesome I bet that was a big hit!

            ShiroKuro It was quite a few years ago, but I know we played the first two movements at least. When I played it on the cello, it was part of a recital of violin music that I transcribed, which included movements of the Bach E major partita, the Debussy violin sonata and the Dvorak.
            But you might consider the whole thing, especially if you look at the music and see what you might be able to leave out if it's too complicated to play everything. Sometimes you can do things such as playing a single note bassline instead of successive octaves, sometimes it's thinning out a series of chords that are hard to play in succession. You can let your ear guide you as to what sounds convincing enough. I would bet that most non-professional pianists make some adjustments to anything complicated that they play.
            I've had my cello students sometimes ask me "What do you think the composer would have wanted here?" to which I usually answer "Never mind those details. Back then, the priority would have been to have sold another copy of the sheet music, so that the publisher would have been encouraged to give [him] an advance on more compositions!"

              @ShiroKuro By the way, The YouTube link that you referred us to features a very fast performance. You can play it considerably slower than that and still have it be effective!

                ShiroKuro Thank you. I do tend to downplay any achievement that I try to pursue be it music, career or many years ago academic work.

                  pseudonym58 You can play it considerably slower than that and still have it be effective!

                  This is always something to remember!

                  I'm working on a piece with my teacher right now, and I have the tempo of the original in my head (it's contemporary, so I mean, the original as played by the composer) so that's the tempo I want to play it at. But my teacher is always saying things like "You can play that slower" and "I think it works really nicely at a slower tempo" 😅

                      ShiroKuro
                      I previously wrote without explanation:
                      "...sometimes it's thinning out a series of chords that are hard to play in succession..."
                      Practically speaking, this could involve looking for notes that are doubled at different octaves, or just trying it out by ear and seeing what you can leave out and still have the essential character of the chord intact.
                      For instance, in a chord that includes the scale degrees 1 3 5 7, or 1 3 5 6, or 1 3 5 7 9 (not necessarily in that order), look for replications of 1 3 and 5 especially, those are usually what I first remove, and then I see if it still sounds good.

                        I'm pretty good at those kinds of modifications

                        I generally consider myself an intermediate player, but I maybe should say that I've been playing piano for 25 years now... I just don't generally play classical music because I tend to prefer contemporary solo piano.

                        @ShiroKuro I think that as I have unintentionally hijacked this topic a bit, perhaps I should start a new one under a different topic.

                        I'm ok with hijacked topics, but new topics are good too! 🙂

                        Ok, I am scheduled to meet a cellist in two weeks... guess I should start practicing that piece.... 😅

                        @ShiroKuro I have got to start practicing piano music way in advance, since it takes me a long time to drill anything into my fingers. I'm very envious of people that can sit down and read off the page what would probably take me weeks just to play half as well.
                        Luckily, I don't have to work under short deadlines.

                        I suggested something I’ve already played 😅

                        It’s been several years but it’s super easy and I just played through it and it should come back into my fingers quickly.

                        The cello part is divine, and the piano part is so simple that it’s a piece to really enjoy the sound.

                        I also have a few pieces to suggest that I have either played before or that I know I can bring into my fingers quickly.

                        Anything else, and yeah, I probably it need weeks or months depending on the difficulty level!

                        Ok I’ve been working on this piece, and the cellist has been working on her part as well.

                        I was thinking that is been so long since I played with another musician, last time was pre-pandemic, it’s really good I picked this easy (and familiar to me) piece to start with.

                        I have a few other pieces to suggest we work on, but just getting used to playing with another person again will be the first order of business.

                        Recently a new ensemble group started across town that focuses on Baroque music. During the first rehearsal we were asked to re-tune the instruments to A=415 instead of 440 to give an authentic Baroque sound. The 1 instrument we don't see very often is a recorder along with violins, violas, cellos, transverse flute. The 1 instrument we don't have is a harpsichord.

                        When it comes to music performance, I attneded a church fundraising event yesterday with an hour of Gospel music. A lot of singing on top of various instruments including keyboard, guitar & drums. The congregation joined in the singing. Different phrases in a song were repeated many times in an improvised manner. Each time the singing would get louder and more exciting. When singing traditional church hymns you'd do the verses of a song in order just once.

                        Next is an upcoming piano solo performance in my area for students who wanted a chance to perform in public. It's a small group up to 20 people at most. Anybody from an absolute beginner can participate. The program is not decided ahead of time. During the performance, students would take turn going to the piano and announce the piece(s) he/she is about the play. The last time I went to a gathering, some people played pieces above their level. Instead of playing a piece through they'd hesitate in certain places and restart certain sections. A gathering like this is not for showing off your technical abilities or how good you can perform. It's a chance for people to play in front of an audience to get rid of performance anxiety (stage fright).