Repertoire
The totality of works that a musician or ensemble has ready for performance.
What it means
The repertoire (French for "stock") is the totality of works that a musician, an ensemble or a theatre has ready for performance. A pianist has a repertoire of pieces he or she can play, a choir of songs and works it has rehearsed. The musical literature for an instrument or scoring is also called repertoire, for example the piano repertoire.
Musical use
A musician builds up a repertoire over years and extends it with new pieces. The standard repertoire comprises the frequently performed works, such as Beethoven's symphonies or Bach's organ works. In opera one distinguishes the repertory theatre, which performs many works in alternation, from the stagione system, which plays one production for a longer time.
The repertoire should be distinguished from the program, the selection of pieces for a particular appearance, and from the oeuvre, a composer's complete works.
Performance practice
When you build your repertoire, choose pieces of different periods and levels of difficulty. Keep older pieces alive through regular repetition and note what you can play so that you can quickly put together a program for occasions.