20th Century selection

Welcome to Piano Society! How long and how difficult does the piece you're playing need to be? The "Tango" by Stravinsky is fun, and you might want to look into some of the works of Poulenc (I'm working on his Intermezzo in A for a recital, a 4-5 minute piece that's not very difficult; his Nocturnes and Three Novelettes are shorter pieces that are very interesting too). Bartok's Allegro Barbaro is a boisterous, impressive piece, fairly difficult but not very long. He has a lot of other pieces that fall into the latter category.

Hopefully some of the other members here will have suggestions. Best of luck in your audition!

 

I'm so glad! If you like Poulenc's A-flat Intermezzo (oh, yes, it's in A-flat, not A! ), you probably would like his first Nocturne too. It's one of my favorite Poulenc pieces. I'm with you - I'm not into that modern music very much. The serial and atonal stuff gets irritating.

 

Well, like Sarah said not sure how long of a piece you need... I LOVE the prokofiev sonatas. The 3rd one is only 1 movement, so it lasts about 8 minutes or so I think. It's a great piece! I'm not sure how difficult it is since I've never seen the score, but the 1st Vine sonata (published in 1990 I think?) is an awesome piece. Recordings I've heard are around 15 minutes. It sounds realllllly difficult though.

Or, if you want to kill yourself, there's always the three movements from Petrouchka or Corigliano's "Etude-Fantasy" XD

 

Sorabji's Quasi Habanera is serene, interesting rhythmically, and full of great chord progressions. It lets rip a few times, but is easier a majority of the time. It's no Medtner concerto or Alkan Overture, so it is manageable even in the more difficult sections. Just my few coins in the well. Have a good time with whatever you play.

 

Wolfgang Rihm : Klavierstück 5 and/or 7 - your audience will fall off their chairs !