The choice of repertoire and their order for a concert program is an art in itself.
It’s like deciding on dishes and their ingredients for an elaborate course dinner.
The compatibility of each dish with the dish that comes right before and right after.
The variety and balance of the sensual experience each dish offers.
The overall structure.
We want the course to be satisfying without overwhelming.
We want each dish (piece of music) to have its own world, that is at the same time harmonious with the other worlds that other dishes in the course (or, pieces in the program) offer.
Then, there are various performance conditions that changes with each day and the venue, that the music needs to rise above to resonate with that day’s hall, piano and the audience.
Each hall and piano presents different sets of challenges.
Each audience has different chemistry, expectations and mood.
And each day, under the condition of each tour, my physical conditions change.
A well-designed program makes focusing on the pleasure of music sharing at easier.
Last year, I presented a menu of pieces to my audience members. Although the large part of the program had already been set and designed, a few spots in between the bigger pieces, were reserved for the audience’s choice from the menu.
This year, I am asking my prospective audiences to vote on a recital program they’d like me to play out of the three choices I will be offering in this blog post.
With a simple click of your mouse at the end of this blog, you can vote on one of the three presented programs.
If you leave a comment, they would be taken into consideration as well.
No. 1. “Piano Waterscape”
The highlight of my tour will be in Japan during its hottest weeks of the year: late July to early August.
How about cooling off with music with water imagery?
The body of the water will get increasingly bigger from rain drops to ponds to the ocean.
Examples: Chopin’s “Raindrop” Prelude, Debussy’s Pond, Tchaikovsky’s Barcarole, Ravel’s Fountain, Ravel’s Ocean, etc.
No. 2. ”Piano Narrative”
There are movies and novels that use famous piano pieces symbolically. We will consider each piece alongside its significance in the context of the narrative it is being used in.
Examples: Bach’s Goldberg Variations (“Silence of the Lambs,” “English Patient,”), Chopin’s Ballad No. 1 (“The Pianist“), Mendelssohn (“Sophie’s Choice“), etc.
No.3 “The World in Six Songs”
Neuroscientist, Daniel Levitin, asserts in his book, that there have been six types of music that had deep connections with the evolution of our neurology, civilizations and societies. In this program, I introduce each of his six categories of music, as well as his ideas.
#1 Pulsating rhythmic music that instigates physical reaction, and synchronization of our movements, forming bonds.
Example: Prokofiev Sonata No. 3, or No. 7 (1st mov only? Dr. K’s suggestion)
#2 Joyful music that induces Dopamine (“Happy hormone”) production strengthening our communal ties by rejoicing together.
Example: Chopin’s “Valse Brillante” Op. 34-1
#3 Comforting music. Slow music with steady rhythm lowers our pulse and blood pressure and regulates our breathing. It helps us manage stress and pain better. Sad music helps remind us that others have gone through similar challenges and survived. It urges Prolactin production, which has a sedating effect.
Example: Brahms’ Lullaby, Op. 49-4 , Godowsky “Elegy for the Left Hand”
#4 Message/Knowledge Transmission music. Before literacy days, music served as memory aid: poems set to melody stays longer in our memory. Even today, music often is used to deliver our messages with more power.
Example: Ravel “Minuet on the Name of Haydn,” Ravel, “Le Tombeau de Couperin”
#5 Religious Music: Just as we know of no civilizations that have existed without some musical culture, there have been no known civilization without religion. And each seems to have its own musical culture.
Example) Bach-Petri “Sheep May Safely Graze”
#6 “Love” Music
Example: Schumann-Liszt “Widmung”
What do you think? Please vote between the three program choices: “Piano Waterscape,” “Piano Narrative,” and “World in Six Songs.” Share us your thoughts by leaving comments!