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...

      Iā€™ve collected a stack of books like many people. Iā€™ve 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 hadnā€™t donā€™t that culling back then.

      Ahh, sweet addition! šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚

      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 - PrĆ©lude, fugue et variation
      • Lili Boulanger - Dā€™un 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! Iā€™ve been trying to put pieces together that ā€œgot together,ā€ as in, they sound nice played back to backā€¦ But that hasnā€™t been going very well. :/ I also have a series of pieces that all have ā€œSunā€ in the title, that might sound silly but I thought it would be nice to have a ā€œSun 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 ā€œend 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 Iā€™ll 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 schoolā€™s 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, Iā€™ll check this out. šŸ™‚

          ShiroKuro How do you choose your pieces?

          Just the other day, my teacher praised me for finding very different pieces to practise. I prefer playing calm, melodious pieces, but actually, if I only would play calm melodious pieces, I would probably get bored. I try to make sure that regularly play a baroque piece - but I can't do more than one at the time. I have just started with a new piece called Anger - and I am quite surprised at how cheerful it makes me to play those unusual tones.

          *
          ... feeling like the pianist on the Titanic ...

              Animisha I have just started with a new piece called Anger - and I am quite surprised at how cheerful it makes me to play those unusual tones.

              That sounds interesting! Is a contemporary style?

                Yes! From Emma-Lou Diemer. With strange harmonics, E major and B diminished on top of each other.

                *
                ... feeling like the pianist on the Titanic ...

                  Yes! I don't think that I will be able to play it that fast though.

                  *
                  ... feeling like the pianist on the Titanic ...

                    Animisha I don't think that I will be able to play it that fast though.

                    Same!

                      By the way, to get back to the original reason i posted this thread, I had my lesson yesterday and my teacher agreed with my new selection for the recital, so that was good! šŸ™‚