Piano repertoire goes through style changes just like fashion. What’s all the rage one year might not appear on any recital program the next year. I remember one audition where I announced I’d be playing Debussy’s L’Isle Joyeuse and one of the jury members rolled his eyes and asked his colleagues “Again? How many times have we heard that one today?”
These days my practice time is limited and I’m always on the lookout for new short pieces of substance. This is one reason why I love to listen to emerging artists – for their repertoire choices. For example, this performance of James Rhodes playing Bach’s transcription of Alessandro Marcello’s Concerto for Oboe and Strings in d minor has gotten me hooked on this beautiful piece. I can’t believe I hadn’t heard it before this. Thanks to the Petrucci Music Library I was able to download the PDF and play it and add it to my piano stack.
What else is in the stack? Of course there are the ever-present Chopin Nocturnes, Waltzes, Etudes and Impromptus – in preparation for my upcoming Chopin Salon recital. But I’ve also added some Schoenberg and Berg songs in anticipation of our next Theramin and Piano event, a couple of Etudes by Moszkowski, (to get the fingers moving, again thanks to James Rhodes), a waltz by James Ricci, and the beautiful Rachmaninoff Etude Tableau Op. 33 No. 2 (just because I love it!)
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