Karl Miller asks for ideas about programming his chamber concerts.

I do have a couple, but I have no idea how practical they are.  Karl
mentions a range of periods and styles.  I'd like to see a range of
forces - for example, not just piano, solo instruments, and strings,
but vocal ensemble, Lieder and chanson, percussion music, winds, guitar,
etc.  Ideally, they'd be mixed on the same concert.  I admit this would
be expensive.

A second idea: "themed" concerts.  Programming works related to one
another.  For example, I heard a wonderful concert by Gary Grafman that
included Balakirev's Islamey and Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit -- the two
related by the fact that Ravel consciously composed Gaspard with the
intent of outdoing Islamey in the piano virtuosity demanded.  I'd like
to see concerts where one piece leads historically to the next.  Or take
pieces that have similar structural ideas or motific gestures.  Why is
a Beethoven ascending or descending scale different from Tchaikovsky's
and Stravinsky's?  It's a bit out there, but if you had decent remarks
linking pieces or program notes it might not be so unreasonable.

Steve Schwartz