Favourite Solo Piano Works

[rojo]

I think most of my favourites are by Chopin. So many Nocturnes, Waltzes, Mazurkas, Polonaises, Ballades etc., most of which are super.

What are your favourites?

[giovannimusica]

Hi Ms. RoJo,

As you probably know I like all of Rachmaninoff's solo piano works. I have lately started to take a shining to all of Brahms' solo piano works. Likewise the solo piano works of Nikolai Medtner. So much to learn and only 24 hours in a day, 365 days a year.

[Rune Vejby]

Debussy - Lent
Debussy - Hommage a Rameau
Debussy - Clair de Lune
Debussy - Pour la Piano (the whole suite)
Debussy - Arabesque no. 1
Debussy - Pour invoquer Pan

All the above are the reason i chose to play piano.

Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition
Bach - The first prelude from Das Volltemperirte Klavier
Kuhlau - Sonatine
Beethoven - Monnlight Sonata

The impressionist wrote the best and most challeging piano music, I think.

[Rune Vejby]

Then a question comes to mind: How do YOU define what is good piano music.
With you ears?
With you mind?
With your heart?
Or is a piece just good if it awakes something inside of you? A desire to listen to the particular work again bescause you felt something the first time you listened to it???

When I decide what is good music and what is not, I always choose with my heart. I let myself feel if I connect with this piece of music, regardless what century if was composed and who composed it!

I like Debussy because the music makes me feel something special. As I pianist I am also fascinated by his works, because it is copmlex and at the same time incredibly beautiful.

Piano works by composers who lived centuries before Debussy seldom moves me. I don't like the sound, it is too strucured and too perfect. When I play smaller piano works by Bach and Mozart I often have a hard time playing them. It is much easier for me to play Debussy. Maybe because impressionistic music is more free - I don't have to play it exactly like it was written, I can just play it how I feel like.... Music from the 1600-1700 is very rythmical perfect and I don't like that. It is hard for me to play without getting....well.... bored! Perfection is not nesscesarily a good thing in music.

Sorry, this was a leap away from the original question. How do you define a good piece of piano music?*

[Todd]

I love solo piano music, and as one could guess from my prior posts, I rather fancy Beethoven’s sonatas, and I also like the Diabelli Variations. But there is much beyond LvB. Perhaps too much. I can’t really narrow down my selections to ten favorites, or anything like that. The repertoire is too rich. Below is an incomplete list.

I’ll start with Debussy, perhaps my next favorite (if such selections are possible): Estampes, Images I & II, Preludes (yes, all of them), Arabesque

Next Chopin: Scherzi; Ballades; Sonatas 2 & 3; Etudes Op 10; Nocturnes, especially 27/1; Barcorolle

Who doesn’t love Schubert? Sonatas D664, D784, D850 (particularly in Andsnes’ recording), D894, D958, D959, D960; Wanderer Fantasie

Szymanowski: Metopes, Masques, Sonatas 2 & 3

Schumann: Carnaval; Symphonic Etudes; Kreisleriana; Davidsbundlertanze; Sonatas Opp 14 & 22;
Fantasie

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (it’s so much better than Ravel’s orchestration)

Schoenberg: Pieces for piano, Op 11

Messiaen: Vingt Regards (the greatest post-war solo piano work?)

Boulez: Sonatas 1 & 2

Albeniz: Iberia

Berg: Piano Sonata

Mozart: Sonatas K310, K331, K575

Stravinsky: Three Movements from Petrushka

Janacek: Sonata; In the Mists; On an Overgrown Path

Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit; Le Tombeau de Couperin; Miroirs; Jeux d’eau

Faure: Nocturnes (with a special weakness for the first one) and Barcarolles

Bartok: 14 Bagatelles; Sonata; Sonatine

Ligeti: Etudes

And I’ll just leave off the “keyboard” works of Bach and Scarlatti for now . . .

[rojo]

Hey Rune,

You know how I feel about Debussy; your post about his music was the reason I joined this place- we both love Debussy. So I definitely understand you. There is definitely lots of freedom in his music; plenty of room for rubato, dynamics and so on. I like Chopin for this as well, but the harmonies and chord progressions are spellbinding in Debussy`s works. Tbh, nothing has topped the effect that Debussy`s music has had on me. Especially La Mer.

[Rune Vejby]

Hi rojo,


I guess we feel the same way about piano music Actually, I have only briefly heard works of Chopin so I can't say if I like his music or not. Debussy wrote so many good piano works, so I have not yet been able to listen to and play works of other composers. Chopin will be an interesting study in the future

"Spellbinding" is a good word to describe Debussys music. My favourite Debussy-work so far is "Lent" (maybe you know that, rojo?) which is just so brilliantly composed and yet not reckognized as one of his better works....

[rojo]

Hey Rune,

Couldn`t find 'Lent', (I don`t know it), but I did find this one that I like; maybe you`ll like it too? It`s Michelangeli playing Debussy Images.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bKaq...elated&search=

I find it a very good interpretation.

I`ll go look for a good example of Chopin, but there are so many different kinds of pieces! It`ll be hard to pick just one; maybe I`ll post a couple...

[rojo]

I just had to post this one- Ravel`s La Valse, the piano version. The piano transcription apparently came after the orchestrated one. It`s excellent, although I still prefer the orchestral one. I`ve heard it (piano) played by Glenn Gould as well. That was fantastic. This is excellent also.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epGEg...elated&search=

I adore this work.

[robmcw]

My favourite piano work at the moment is 'Clair de Lune' by Joseph Jongen.
I play many of his organ works but when I recieved a copy of this piano
piece, (published by Durand) I fell in love with it.

[JohnM]

It has to be Beethoven Piano Sonatas

Closely followed by the Schubert and Mozart Piano Sonatas, Schumann's Fantasy in C Major Op. 17, the proper "Pictures...", as mentioned above it's simply stunning

[acc]

Maurice Ravel.

[rojo]

Any works by Ravel in particular, acc?

[acc]

Jeux d'Eau, Miroirs, Gaspard de la Nuit, and Le Tombeau de Couperin are my favourites (also the Concerto for the left hand).

For some reason, I never got to like Valses Nobles et Sentimentales.

[rojo]

Me neither, although they`re certainly fine works. I found I couldn`t enjoy Valses Nobles et Sentimentales after hearing Ravel`s masterpiece, La Valse (I heard La Valse first.) It was too much like a step backwards... imo of course.