My focus right now (and for several months) is Faure’s 2nd nocturne (B major). It’s still got a long way to go, but it is feeling like the end is in sight!
I’m thinking of re-visiting the last of Barber’s Excursions to include in the Fast Pieces recital. It’s a hoe-down, and I think it would be fun to pair it with the Joropo which I have in the can. I learned the last Barber Excursion in high school. The issue with it is that in an ideal world, I’d spend some time re-working significant chunks of it with different fingering/hand redistribution. I think this would make it feel considerably easier. But I’m not sure that I want to commit that effort, given that I can probably manage it OK if I just play it as I always did.
My dad’s a horn player, and I also need to start looking at some accompaniments so we can play together. The one that’s going to be the most challenging is a Dance for horn and piano by Joseph Canteloube.

@Pallas , Philip Keveren has tons of great arrangements, and several different books at varying levels. If you like Christmas music, I think he has several collections there as well. Poke around on Amazon or maybe the Hal Leonard site and search for his name specifically. If you like Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, his arrangement is very nice!

Ok, @Gooseberry , ok, now I really want to play that Henri Bertini etude! I wonder how hard it is. I never play classical music. I bet my teacher would be floored if I brought that in! 😅

As for me, I am currently polishing three Alexis Ffrench pieces: Wishing, Moments and Bouebird. I’m working his September Song

I’m also working on Reminiscence by Takashi Kako… I wish I could find a video to share, it’s a very unknown piece but I’d love for people here to hear it…

And I’m resurrecting some Einaudi pieces that I let fall out of my fingers. Life is good 😊

Wait!! I found it! Reminiscence by Takashi Kako, it’s mislabeled. It’s the second piece in this video not the first. This link should start on Reminiscence:

@navindra i especially wanted you to hear this, because I think you’d like it. Also, @Pallas and @KevinM and anyone who likes Ffrench, I bet you’d like this too. I tried to play it several years ago and it felt too hard, but now it’s solidly within my range of playability.
ETA the video link starts at a pause in the album, so it’s silent for a moment. This is the composer playing.

ShiroKuro
I've got two versions - one from IMSLP, recommended by Denis Zhdanov in his course on Bertini etudes, but it's not the one in your post, but a "Shirmer's Library of Musical Classics, vol. 137", edited by G. Buonamici and Max Vogrich (I don't know how to add a link to it..., but it's IMSLP #583531). Though the score I'm working with is from the Pianist Magazine (I'm a subscriber) no. 130 (February-March 2023), because it is very clear and nice to read (like all the scores from the Pianist).
The piece is not excessively hard even to a beginner like myself, but it's an etude so it is supposed to teach some technical aspects, which I find a bit challenging and I'm eager to learn. And it is beautiful 🙂

      Gooseberry Pianist Magazine

      Ooh!! I subscribe too. I’ll go see if I can find it!!

        Pallas when I get into a new-to-me composer, I tend to really swim around in their body of work

        I do the same thing!! I have two of his score books and I love listening and reading along!

          A piano version of the Led Zeppelin "Stairway to Heaven".

          Also working on the last 2 pages of the Haydn "Surprise" Symphony 94 - Andante. It's usually performed as an orchestral piece but does have a piano part.

          Gooseberry
          Thank you again for the info! I was able to download the version in Pianist Magazine, which is soo much easier to read than the IMSLP version I found. I am planning on trying it out this evening!

          BTW the recording in Pianist Magazine is really nice. It's slower than the recording in the video you linked above, and IMHO I think the slower tempo really brings out the compelling aspects of the piece. (And no, I'm not just saying that because I anticipate being unable to get the tempo up... although I do anticipate that. 😅

          But also, in the score in the video, it shows the tempo, Andantes as MM=76, while in the Pianist Magazine score, it still says Andante, but the tempo is set at MM=52.

          That's a significant difference, and an interesting one.

          Can't wait to get home and try it now!!

              P.S. I wish there was a way to share that Pianist Magazine recording here... off to Google....

              Ooh this performance is gorgeous.... do you think I need to start a new thread for all of this?? 😅

              Interesting, some of the recordings on YT are under a minute! That must be very fast! OTOH, the Pianist Magazine version is about 1:44 and so is the video I linked here (could it be the same pianist?)

              Anyway, I'll aim for 2 minutes. (she says, foolishly, given that she's not even tried the piece out....)

                ShiroKuro in the score in the video, it shows the tempo, Andantes as MM=76, while in the Pianist Magazine score, it still says Andante, but the tempo is set at MM=52.

                Yes, I've noticed that too. The score in the video is the one from Shirmer's LIbrary (dated in 1884, so maybe it was marked that way originally by the composer?). The Pianist Magazine put it in the Beginner/Intermediate section, and maybe that's why they changed the tempo?

                  ShiroKuro Anyway, I'll aim for 2 minutes. (she says, foolishly, given that she's not even tried the piece out....)

                  I really don't think you're going to have a problem with the tempo! I can play it now at MM=52, but can't keep the sextuplets even throughout... 😟
                  I'm so excited that you're going to learn this piece! Looking forward to hearing you play it! (Now we've hijacked this thread for good 😆)

                      Gooseberry (Now we've hijacked this thread for good 😆)

                      😆 😆 😆 😆 😆
                      I'll report back later tonight (I'm actually in my office right now, in theory finishing up something, but half the time I'm online ... like right now... 😅

                        Gooseberry I'm so excited that you're going to learn this piece!

                        I have downloaded the whole opus as well, to review soon...this is a lovely piece, thanks for sharing it!

                          Yay, after only a few days I can play the first 4 measures of the new piece. I'm super slow but it's not just picking notes, the melody is clearly audible.

                          Only 44 more measures to go. (Of which I already can play 2 but very poorly at this point.)

                          I'm in the last week of a community college class that I've been taking since April. Finishing up the following:

                          Arrangements:
                          Don't Stop Believin' (part of a 4-part piano ensemble arrangement)
                          We Are the Champions
                          Maple Lear Rag (simplified and in C maj)

                          Original form:
                          Burgmuller - Arabesque
                          Petzold - Minuet in G
                          Clementi - Sonatina in C major Op. 36 No. 1, 1st movement

                            I mostly work on blues, so I learn various LH patterns, RH licks, etc., and work on improvising. However, I do learn specific songs as well: some I think of as etudes to build technique, others to play (and sometimes sing along with) for real.

                            Right now, my etude is "Blue Waltz" from The Joy of Boogie and Blues. Here's a nice version by Julian Lambert - to be clear, this is NOT me playing!

                            And then I'm working up my own arrangement of Floyd Rose's "On the Road Again" that I hope to play with my spouse (drummer) and a buddy (guitar). Here's the original, with some really tasty piano, and amazing vocals I only hope to approximate:

                            Enthusiastic but mediocre amateur.

                            lilypad I'm in the last week of a community college class that I've been taking since April.

                            Cool! Is this a one-on-one class or a group-type class?

                                The ABF Fast Pieces Recital is looming, and playing fast is not a strength for me.

                                I've been working on the second movement of Beethoven's Sonata #13 (Op. 27 #1). I first learned it several years ago but I never got it up to performance level. Now with just a few weeks to go I'm not sure I can have it ready in time. Actually I'm not sure if I'll EVER be able to play this piece well enough to share! I haven't given up yet though.

                                As a backup I've been working on Heartsounds by David Lanz. I've played this one before as well. While Heartsounds is much easier than the Beethoven it has a couple of tricky spots. I think I can have it ready in time.

                                As a backup to the backup, I've been pushing the tempo on my improvisations. I may end up submitting a somewhat fast improvisation. 🙂

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