What piece(s) are you currently trying to learn?

The topic title speaks for itself, no?

Myself i'm learning beethovens ''rondo a capriccio'' (often called ''Rage Over A Lost Penny''). It's very difficult for one at my skill level, with a lot of fast runs and such!

Soo, let me hear it! ;)

These are the pieces I'm working on right now - I'm a BM in both composition and piano performance, so I've been working hard on repetoire over the summer!

Partita no. 3 in a minor by JS Bach

Sonata op. 90 by Beethoven

Paganini etudes 3-5 by Liszt (ahhh!!! These are killing me! Well, just #3.)

Sonatine by Ravel

Barber's piano concerto

20th etude by sor

1-24 caprice by paganini

You know, this is quicly going to turn into a very spammy thread if you peoples don't tell us a little about the pieces! :)

You know, this is quicly going to turn into a very spammy thread if you peoples don't tell us a little about the pieces!

Well, of course my pieces and Zwiebelmeister's pieces are piano pieces (ranging from Baroque to 20th-century styles). I'm guessing that BitterDuck's pieces are violin solos. I also know that apparently those Paganini Caprices are supposed to be fiendishly difficult, good luck! Actually, the Paganini Etudes I'm learning (for piano) are based on themes from those Caprices and one of his concertos.

Nope, I guess BitterDuck is playing those on guitar. Now that sounds interesting.... I would like to hear the Paganini caprices on the guitar.

"End Credits" performed by John Williams for E.T.

Triplets rock. :)

Chris

Right now, i'm working on "Variations on the Theme from the Celebrated Canon in D" by Pachelbel. It's a fairly common piece and my book tells me it was "used as background in the film "Ordinary People," and has been heard in many different settings, in supermarkets, movies, radio, and televesion productions." When i was playing it on my piano, my mom came up to me and she said she recognized it! I really, really like this piece. Probably, part of the reason is because my left hand doesn't have to do so much work! :)

I'm also working on "Danny Boy" which is an Irish Song. I played it in my school band on the flute and am now learning it on the piano. It's really a beautiful piece.

I'm learning some songs by the Bach family ( i have a book that has only the Bach family's compositions)

And, finally I'm learning "Lover's Greeting" by Sir Edward Elgar. I don't particularly like it that much, though. It has a few dissonents and stuff that make me cringe.

Nope, I guess BitterDuck is playing those on guitar.

Wow. Some of you are really working on advanced repertoire.

The 1-20 etudes of Sor are one of the original guitar etudes that actually had some merit. The pieces are a real work out and usually required for entrance into any college of music for the guitar.

BitterDuck, I just LOVE those Sor Etudes! I actually arranged one of them (Op. 29 No. 1, a.k.a #13 in B-flat) for piano, and it works...which sort of illustrates how much is going on for the guitar in that piece. The etude that's all harmonics is exquisite...don't remember which it is.

I'm normally a violist, but to give myself a challenge on the violin, I'm learning the violin solos in Bach's "Mass in B minor." I'm hoping to make myself ready to accompany the choir or soloists at my church if needed.

As I think I said elsewhere, I've also been asked to learn "Olim Lacus Colueram" (a.k.a. The Roasted Swan Song) from Orff's "Carmina Burana" for an audition. It's easily the ugliest thing ever written for tenor (and it's supposed to be...the swan is singing from the rotisserie about how miserable he is).

I would love you(J. Lee) forever if you put up a recording of you singing Colueram!! No kidding, I happen to love that piece. Of course, my favorite is the baritone solo, Estuans Interius, but I must get a high A before I sing that 'cause I have to sing the A!!

But you must tell us whether you're planning on going mostly falsetto or squeaky! :)

Hmm...I'm trying to learn Psalm 38, by N. Werner, so I can sing it at church soon. It has a 7/8 part in the middle that can be hellish if you're not paying attention to the text...

I'm also singing 'Simple Song', from Bernstein's Mass, a couple of C. Ives' songs, and of course I'm gonna have to relearn my audition repetoire: L'Invitation au Voyage (H. Duparc), Elfenlied (H. Wolf), Roadside Fire (R. V. Williams), and some crazy Italian song.

As for piano? Uh...I learn things only when I'm accompanying for something or doing a recital or something, 'cause I'm no concert pianist.

Organ? I'm trying to teach my fingers the damn Widor Toccata, you know the one...it's hard.

I guess I should learn an easy mallet percussion piece so I can audition for the Peabody band or something...or I'll just go in there and bang on a drum or something...

Is it a sin to not like classical music? :unsure: :P

Chris

Violin: Vivaldi's Violin Concerto in A minor

Piano: David Lanz new age arrangement of "What child is this"

MacPherson's Lament

My own piano piece ironically, don't you hate it when your brain thinks ahead of your fingers?!

Originally posted by J. Lee Graham@Jul 24 2005, 07:59 PM

Wow.

I wouldn't mind seeing that arrangement for the piano.  Perhaps you might be able to send it too me?  Hopefully.

I'll do ya one better and post it below. Finale, MIDI & PDF.

I also agree with nickthoven, you should post an attachment of you singing. :unsure:

Well, if I actually WIN the audition, I'll performing it with the Pacific Symphony and Chorale this year...with any luck they'll give me an archival recording.

In the meantime, let's see...what do I have handy...not much...hmm...

OK...I'll also attach a link to a recording of the sort of thing I do more regularly. It's a piece of Anglican service music written by James Buonemani, Director of Music at the church I work for (St. James' Los Angeles). I'm the cantor in the recording, and the choir is the church choir, recorded in the chancel of the sanctuary. It's not my full voice, but it gives you an idea of what I sound like. These responses are really beautiful...hope you like them.

I'm working on Beethoven's fifth Violin Sonata, "Spring".

Originally posted by J. Lee Graham@Jul 25 2005, 04:09 PM

I'll do ya one better and post it below.

Wow amazing stuff.  After I played it on my piano I had to go play it on my guitar.  It's pretty cool. :unsure:

:P I'm very glad you feel that way. Much pleasure may it give you.

I bought a recording of the complete Op. 29 along with some other guitar pieces by Sor one day, and when this piece started playing, I was just parking the car to go in and renew my driver's license.

The MIDI doesn't nearly do it justice, of course. I wasn't expecting it, and I was stunned by what I heard. As if the music itself were not enough, it was an exquisite performance (Canadian guitarist Jeffrey McFadden)...it was one of those moments where I spontaneously started crying, what I heard affected me so much.

I listened to it over and over until I had nearly memorised it, and after I had done my license business, went home and wrote that piano arrangement - by ear. It's not easy to find the sheet music...I'm still looking to make sure I got it all right. It's interesting because you don't find much classical guitar literature in flat keys - I guess that's one of the challenges of this particular etude, along with doing enough on the guitar to keep a pianist busy.

Fernando Sor is yet another composer who gets short shrift because he lived at the same time as Beethoven. It's a disgrace, really.

Originally posted by J. Lee Graham@Jul 25 2005, 10:18 PM

:happy:

Right now I'm learning:

+ Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue

+ My own Starlight Waltz (I wrote it too difficult! :happy: )

+ A Beethoven Sonata, I think Op 14 No 1?

+ Debussy's The Snow Is Dancing, #4 from the Children's Corner

The first three are for my senior recital. I don't remember which one, but I know there's one more piece, probably Debussy. I guess I haven't practiced it in a while! Got Rhapsody in Blue memorized, all 31 pages of it!

Someone was mentioning Carmina Burana... I love "In Trutina" from that piece. Although it seems very easy to perform, it's good sleeping music.

Back on topic, I am currently learning, for the guitar:

- A tango by Tarrega: The piece isn't overly difficult, but it's a fun little piece to play.

- Leyenda by Albeniz: Pretty standard piece for any classical guitarist to have in his/her repetoire... still a difficult workout, and I'm not sure I'll be able to get it perfect for a longggggg time.

- Bach: Several pieces, including a nice arrangement of "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring".

I also listened J. Lee Graham's Sor arrangement: very nice stuff. I enjoyed it!

I also listened J. Lee Graham's Sor arrangement: very nice stuff. I enjoyed it!

:) Thanks to you and to Duck. Glad you liked it.

I want to learn Rhapsody in Blue... that is one of my all time favorites, and it's been a goal of mine for some time, but I've never actually tried.

On violin, i'm currently learning the Ravel quartet 2nd violin part, and I'm trying to polish up Havanaise by Saint-Saens while trying to figure out another piece to learn.

This is his 19th etude and the only one in Bb.