Choice and sources of repertory

A particular problem associated with the choice of keyboard repertory is the sheer quantity of music available. In each century of keyboard music history there have been several major keyboard composers, as well as dozens of minor figures who wrote works that are worthy of modern performance. More and more of this repertory is becoming available in editions and in facsimile.

It is possible to select repertory in at least two fundamentally different ways. Many of the best-known performers have made their names by specialising in the music of a composer, or period, because they have had a particular empathy with certain works, because they have had access to instruments that are suited to part of the repertory, or for some other reason. A second and much more usual approach is to choose a representative sample of music by several composers from a variety of periods. Performers who adopt this approach inevitably draw on works from the mainstream repertory – music that is most frequently recorded and heard in concerts.

A choice of works from the mainstream repertory is unlikely to raise eyebrows. Realistically, most performers will have to play this repertory in order to secure some credibility. However, ‘mainstream repertory’ is not necessarily the same as ‘the best repertory’.