I'm beginning to fall in love with the works of Prokofiev and Griffes...

[skyhawk]

Is this a bad thing? 

[dbrainiak914]

Those are my two favorite composers as well.  Especially Griffes... I just love all of his music.

[cjp_piano]

They are ones that I always come back to.  Which pieces are you loving?  =)

[Kassaa]

Why is it a bad thing to fall in love with the works of Prokofiev? :O . Never heard of Griffes, maybe I should take a look.

[skyhawk]

They are ones that I always come back to.  Which pieces are you loving?  =)

Three Tone Pictures. I'm working on The Vale of Dreams. 

[dbrainiak914]

I love it all!  Three Tone Pictures, Roman Sketches, Fantasy Pieces.  I vow to play his sonata some day.  It's absolutely diabolic.   

[cjp_piano]

I love Prokofiev's Music For Children, Op. 65.  I love to play them, they're so fun, and I can see the kids playing and running around and everything =)

[menancyandsam]

Can anybody recommend any pieces from Prokofiev's Music For Children, Op. 65.  I've been playing for a year and have completed pieces such as Schumann's Happy Farmer, Knecht Ruprecht, Clementi's op. 36 no. 1 ,currently working on Dvorak's Humoreske.

[bernhard]

Can anybody recommend any pieces from Prokofiev's Music For Children, Op. 65.  I've been playing for a year and have completed pieces such as Schumann's Happy Farmer, Knecht Ruprecht, Clementi's op. 36 no. 1 ,currently working on Dvorak's Humoreske.

My favourites are:

No. 2 – Promenade – Joyful and bouncy (grade 4)
No. 4 – Tarantella – Fast and rhythmical with a melodic middle section. Sounds much more difficult than it actually is. (grade 3)
No. 6 – Waltz  - A nice little waltz with unexpected turns of the harmony. Wonderfully tonal and yet very modern. (grade 5)
No. 9 – Playing tag – a fast moto perpetuo requiring good finger agility. (grade 6)
No. 12 – The moon strolls in the Meadows – This is my top favourite – A beautiful, melodic piece of great delicacy with the melody played alternatively in the right and left hand. (grade 5).

There are other wonderful Prokofiev pieces out there that are not that difficult. Have a look at these:

Juvenilia – These are pieces that Prokofiev wrote in his teenage years. They have no opus number and may be difficult to find. My copy was published by a Japanese company called Zen – On under the title: “First piano compositions”. There are 13 pieces in this collection. Here are my favourites:

Allegretto (A minor) – A quiet, lyrical piece  with a gentle accompaniment in repeated notes. (grade 4)

Vivo (G minor) – Exhilarating piece with a nervous, fast and percussive introduction followed (as Prokofiev often does) by a lyrical middle section of great melodic beauty. (Grade 6/7).

Allegro in D minor – Great piece. An intensive, addictive melody on the righ hand with a repeated note accompaniment on the left. (grade 5).

Tarantella in D minor – Similar to Op. 65 no. 3, but more difficult (gets ultra fast at the end). (grade 5).

Scherzo in C major – Brilliant and dazzling piece. Starts with a fast section with thirds on the right hand, lush and romantic, followed by a slow section and a return to the first section. Difficult but definitely worthwhile working on it. (Grade 7/8 ).

Study Scherzo in C major – Wonderfully uplifting piece, bouncy and joyful. Much easier than it sounds. Handspan may be a limiting factor (lots of octaves and some ninths) (grade 6/7).

Melody in Eb major – Beautiful melody over an arpeggiated left hand pattern. Main difficulty is handspan (lots of octaves). (Grade 5/6).

Grandmother tales Op. 31 – Very Russian flavour. All four pieces are slow and lyrical.

No. 1 -  Moderato – Lots of crossing hands. Main difficulty is pedal use. (grade 6)
No. 2 – Andantino –  grade 5
No. 3 – Andante Assai –  Grade 5
No. 4 – Sostenuto – the most difficult of the lot. The melody is in the left hand while the right hand plays a repeated (but complex) dotted rhythm pattern. (Grade 6/7)

The complete piano solo music of Prokofiev has been recorded by Frederic Chiu for Harmonia Mundi, so you can listen to all of those.

(Grades are ABRSM)

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[cjp_piano]

My favourites are:

No. 2 – Promenade – Joyful and bouncy (grade 4)
No. 4 – Tarantella – Fast and rhythmical with a melodic middle section. Sounds much more difficult than it actually is. (grade 3)
No. 6 – Waltz  - A nice little waltz with unexpected turns of the harmony. Wonderfully tonal and yet very modern. (grade 5)
No. 9 – Playing tag – a fast moto perpetuo requiring good finger agility. (grade 6)
No. 12 – The moon strolls in the Meadows – This is my top favourite – A beautiful, melodic piece of great delicacy with the melody played alternatively in the right and left hand. (grade 5).

I love these pieces!  It's fun to play the whole set, it's like "a day in the life of a child"  =)

Also check out:
No .1 - Morning (simple melody, sounds like the sun coming up and the children waking up)
No. 3 - Fairy Tale (kind of a beautiful sad story)
No. 7 - Grasshoppers' Parade (fast and bouncy, dotted rhythms, big leaps and fun rests!)

[skyhawk]

Sheesh, all this talk about child adventrues reminds me of Pini Di Roma. 

[bella musica]

Prokofiev is one of my top favorite composers!  His 3rd piano concerto is AWESOME!