Today I have been working on putting a programme together for a forthcoming concert. I enjoy trying out pieces and seeing which ones work well together. There are several points to think about: Do I give the programme a theme? Do I feature the works of just one composer? Do I programme the pieces chronologically?
A concert I gave last year featuring just one composer was a Mozart lunchtime recital which began with his Fantasia in C minor then the Sonata in G and finally the Varations in C on Twinkle Twinkle. This worked well as showed different aspects of Mozart's piano works and each piece had its own character.
Theme and Variations were the subject of another concert programme which opened with Mozart's Sonata in A and was followed by Beethoven's Op. 109 where the final movement is formed from theme and variations. The finale to this concert was the virtuosic Variations on Paganini by Brahms.
However, for the concert programme I was working on today I've decided to go with a variety of composers and pieces and will open with two Preludes and Fugues by J. S. Bach. The main work will then be a Mozart Sonata and this will be followed by a selection of Grieg's beautiful lyric pieces. The finale will be Chopin's Scherzo in B minor.
A programme certainly needs variety with each work having its own character and demonstrating a different aspect of the piano repertoire. Its also important to use a variety of keys (major and minor). Although the finale is often a fast and virtuosic piece, a gentle more reflective work can also work well to end a programme - I enjoy performing Schumann's Traumerei as a final encore.
So there's some of my thoughts on programming but please leave comments with your ideas and perhaps giving examples of programmes you've performed or listened to.
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