On choosing pieces - generally and for recitals
BartK Before I did some pruning, I had around 6 or 7 times that amount.
pianoloverus Before I did some pruning, I had around 6 or 7 times that amount.
Will get there, no worries. 
And the forscore library on the ipad lists 790 items - a lot of duplicates of the printed scores...
As far as choosing new pieces, I have dozens on things on my bucket list. Great sources of material are the online recitals (you can hear what your peers are playing) and my local piano groups. I also like to explore "classical" piano pieces that no one else plays - the unsung heroes. Most amateur classical players rarely venture beyond the well worn path of Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, Schumann and so forth.
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Sam I also like to explore "classical" piano pieces that no one else plays
Me too! I enjoy things that are off the beaten path. I think part of it, for me, is a feeling that these pieces have been less explored, so maybe thereās something I can find in them that hasnāt quite been found before. But maybe itās also the comfort that theyāre not well-known, so oneās choices (and mistakes) are less likely to be scrutinized.
ShiroKuro Maybe itās partly because this is an easy piece and I have several pieces on my āplay nextā list that are going to be more challenging and that I am excited to get to.
I tend to gravitate towards things that are substantial challenges. I find that if things are on the easier side, I lose interest in them pretty quickly. Iām actually hoping that will change one day!
Sam And the forscore library on the ipad lists 790 items
Ok, I checked my forScoreā¦ I āonlyā have 493 pieces in forScore.
What?! Good grief, how did that happen?! I do have a sheet music problem! 
Now Iām gonna have to go and take some photos of my music shelvesā¦.
Weāre gonna need to start a SMA groupā¦ Sheet-Music-Aholics!
I dunnoā¦ I guess I donāt have thaaat many music booksā¦ 
One:
Two:
Three:
Plus 493 scores in forScore
BartK That's similar to what I have now.
pianoloverus That's the size of my gardening book collection. As my sheet music collection grows, I've been weeding out (pun, sorry) some of my gardening books to make room for the music books.
My bigger concern at 75 years is what Sam has described at M.A.B.L.E. or Music Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy.
Well, I got off the "Must Play Harder and Harder Pieces" train about 9 months ago - shortly after I broke my femur. At age 71. I struggle enough with about grade 7 to make it seem like I am accomplishing something. I realize that I will never play the really difficult things. I could hack away at them and play them under tempo with lots of mistakes, but that is not very attractive for me. I want to play for others, either live or virtual, so I like to pick things I can play without being too ashamed of my efforts. I don't mind spending several moths on something if I really like it and I am making progress. When progress stops or becomes too agonizingly slow I have to set it aside and try something else. Bach's Italian Concerto is one such piece - I have tried several times to make progress but stall and lose interest. On the other hand Grieg's Wedding Day came together fairly quickly (90 days or so).
Luckily there are tens of thousands of pieces I can choose from. I keep a database of every piece I have performed either online or in person - up to about 150 now...
Sam I realize that I will never play the really difficult things. I could hack away at them and play them under tempo with lots of mistakes, but that is not very attractive for me. I want to play for others, either live or virtual, so I like to pick things I can play without being too ashamed of my efforts. I don't mind spending several moths on something if I really like it and I am making progress.
Yep, the trick is to find the sweet spot.
For me, I've spent the last few years with mostly pieces at or below my level. I had a lot going on with work (going up for tenure, applying to a new institution and getting tenure here, moving and getting into the new position)... so keep piano do-able helped me to be able to keep up with it all...
Now that things are calmer (ish, my job is never going to slow down...) I want to add back in some more pieces that are at or just above my level.
Again, the trick is the sweet spot.... Too hard isn't going to benefit me. Or having only challenging pieces on my practice menu. There needs to be a balance.
And like you, I want to be able to play for others, so if I were only working on things way out of my league, it wouldn't be do-able...
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Iāve collected a stack of books like many people. Iāve also backed up a lot of PDFs & MuseScore files on my computer. Partly because I travel a lot the past few years and rely on a travel keyboard to practice. The books would to stay home.
The last pieces that I downloaded are arrangements for piano. Still working on them and adding finger # on the computer before printing a copy.
Wow! Based on what you all have posted my sheet music collection is tiny! Yet I think I'm already at MABLE. I have the complete Beethoven Sonatas, out of which I think I've played maybe 4 movements. Yeah, I don't think I'll play them all. Also complete WTC. I've learned maybe three preludes and two fugues.
But I get it! It's really cool to have the scores for all that great music!
In looking at my shelves, I can see a lot of sheet music books I bought while we lived in Japanā¦ I sort of forgot about that. And I got rid of a lot of music books when we moved from Japan back to the U.Sā¦ so I would probably have even more if I hadnāt donāt that culling back then.
Ahh, sweet addition! 
Choosing a recital piece, for me, is hit & miss. I get them from books, online sheet music sites, YouBoob, and so on. I try to pick pieces that are in my skill level range. Sometimes I miss that mark but the idea is to always be in my level or stretching just a little bit.
Recitals shouldn't be a contest of will between you and the music. It should be a performance showcasing your abilities as they are at the time. So, pick something you can play, and that you want to play, and play it.
I like to structure recitals around a theme! Often, that will start with a piece that I really want to include in the recital ā from there, I figure out a theme and fill in the rest with a preference towards music I already know, so I don't end up with a program that's majority new music to me. Other than that, I like to have lots of contrast (eras, styles, moods, etc. vs. e.g. playing a whole Schubert sonata), and either end big or end sweet. Some examples:
Jr. recital many years ago: Eine Kleine Tanzmusik (dance-themed music)
- J.S. Bach - English Suite No. 3 in G minor, BWV 808
- Chopin - Polonaise in F-sharp minor, Op. 44
- Liszt - Mephisto Waltz No. 1
Note: (this program was somewhat incomplete due to not being able to learn enough music in time lol, would have filled in some smaller e.g. Brahms/Schubert waltzes or Chopin mazurkas for additional contrast)
Half recital coming up: Works by French composers
- Franck-Bauer - PrƩlude, fugue et variation
- Lili Boulanger - Dāun vieux jardin
- Dutilleux - Piano Sonata: iii. Choral et variations
- Debussy - Clair de lune
Some other ideas I've had: "Heaven and Hell" (religious and demonic inspired music), "The Criminal Piano" (recital of all transcriptions/arrangements), "TheBoringPianist chases the American Dream" (American music), something nature-themed, etc.
"You're a smart kid. But your playing is terribly dull."
TheBoringPianist I like to structure recitals around a theme! Often, that will start with a piece that I really want to include in the recital ā from there, I figure out a theme and fill in the rest with a preference towards music I already know, so I don't end up with a program that's majority new music to me. Other than that, I like to have lots of contrast (eras, styles, moods, etc. vs. e.g. playing a whole Schubert sonata), and either end big or end sweet.
Thanks for posting this! Iāve been trying to put pieces together that āgot together,ā as in, they sound nice played back to backā¦ But that hasnāt been going very well. :/ I also have a series of pieces that all have āSunā in the title, that might sound silly but I thought it would be nice to have a āSun series.ā However, that set of pieces played together would be too long for the recital next month, so I have put that on hold for another time.
But I really like the āend big or end sweetā and as it happens, that helps me assess my options (pieces that will be playable by end of April) in a different way. So maybe Iāll pick the main piece and then choose the first piece based on that.
My lesson is Wednesday, this is the first lesson after two weeks off because of my business trip and the schoolās spring break, so I plan to have a few different options ready to discuss with my teacher and then decide (well, re-decide, since I had already decided!)
This video from Tonebase about Vikingur Olafsson has an interesting segment on programming. In this case for an album, but it applies to recitals as well:
Oh, thanks, Iāll check this out. 
