Best Op.1?

[houseofblackleaves]

The best first opus of any composer I've ever heard is modern pipa virtuoso Gao Hong's "Flying Dragon."

My favorite piece of music ever.

But for piano, I'd have to go with Brahms & Berg.

[ctrastevere]

Tommy Dorsey wrote a pretty good "Opus One".

[dnephi]

Bach's Opus 1 has no one to challenge it. 

[opus57]

Schubert!!! Schubert!!! Erlkönig...

One of the best songs I ever heard with one of the most impressing poem inside: Goethes Erlkönig...

[ahkow]

Liszt Op.1 etudes (Sometimes also published as Op. 6) 

[viking]

Berg, absolutely and without question.

[gerry]

theresa carreno's opus 1 - 'gottschalk waltz'

also, she championed mac dowell.  nobody remembers her.  hmmm.  maybe because she's a woman?

One of my early teachers described herself as a "protegee" of Theresa Carreno. Of course, that didn't mean much to me then but now... I mostly remember lots of Hanon, Czerny in all keys, Bach Inventions, Mendelsohn, Mozart.

[thalberg]

Woohoo!!

In reading the whole thread, I see LOTS of votes for Berg.

After writing a dissertation on his Opus 1, I must agree it's an amazing start.  He was a genius to incorporate all he put in there---cutting edge harmonic language of his time as well as a perfect capturing of the emotional climate of early 20th c. Austria.  It's a great Opus 1.  I can't wait until the publisher gets back to me.....

[communist]

i think its Rachmaninoff 1 concerto

[gerryjay]

Agreed.

In 10 years this thread will be on best opus 399, where the choices will be somewhat more limited.

Thal

  i want to start the voting for opus 399: czerny's school of left hand! 

 on the current poll i must say berg's sonata although i agree that there are many beauty opus 1 (brahms, schumann, etc).

 btw...writing berg i remind a little joke (unfortunately it was said seriously first):

"the german music of the first part of the twentieth century was completely dominated by the Berg family, whose principal members were Alban Berg, Schoen Berg and Anton 'We' Berg."     

[thalbergmad]

Me votes for:

Henselt
Tausig
Lamond

Thal

[michael_langlois]

In reading the whole thread, I see LOTS of votes for Berg.

Count in one more!

[gerryjay]

Me votes for:

Henselt
Tausig
Lamond

Thal

hey thal!
 who is lamond?

[retrouvailles]

Balakirev's 1st Piano Concerto, Op. 1 is also very good.

[thalbergmad]

hey thal!
 who is lamond?

Frederic Lamond old chap.

Liszt pupil.

Thal

[ahinton]

Frederic Lamond old chap.

Liszt pupil.

Thal

And one of those funny Scotsmen that you usually lose less than no opportunity to despise...

Best,

Alistair (whose Op. 1 is not only less than worthy of consideration but of which he unwittingly - but, in reprospect, wisely - left the final movement on the Circle Line many moons ago...)

[thalbergmad]

And one of those funny Scotsmen that you usually lose less than no opportunity to despise...

Best,

I was amazed to learn that he was Scottish. Born in Scotland and died in Scotland, but i am not sure how much he owed his homeland for nurturing his talent. He seemed to have escaped Jockland reasonably quickly to further his musical education.

Shame he was not a virtuoso on the bagpipes. Could have stayed in Glasgow.

Thal

[ahinton]

I was amazed to learn that he was Scottish. Born in Scotland and died in Scotland, but i am not sure how much he owed his homeland for nurturing his talent. He seemed to have escaped Jockland reasonably quickly to further his musical education.

Shame he was not a virtuoso on the bagpipes. Could have stayed in Glasgow.

Thal

I wonder why you were amazed to learn that Lamond was Scottish. How much he owed to his homeland for nurturing his talent may well be argued, rightly or wrongly, to be of less importance than the talent that he possessed in any case. Had he indeed been a virtuoso of the bagpipes, he might have appealed less to Liszt than to his (Liszt's, that is) compatriot Bartók, who came to Glasgow in the 1930s at the invitation of the composer, pianist, organist, concert organiser, teacher, etc. Dr Erik Chisholm and who developed quite an interest in this instrument while there (you should perhaps read up on that), largely at Dr. Chisholm's behest.

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

I wonder why you were amazed to learn that Lamond was Scottish.

Firstly, his name does not really sound Scottish. If he was called Angus McHaggis I would instantly have thought he was Scottish. Frederic Lamond sounds about as Scottish as Eugene D'Albert.

Secondly, Scotland does not exactly produce dozens of talented pianists, or composers. The Scots are too busy playing darts, snooker, losing rugby matches and spending English Taxpayers money.

Thal

[ahinton]

Firstly, his name does not really sound Scottish. If he was called Angus McHaggis I would instantly have thought he was Scottish. Frederic Lamond sounds about as Scottish as Eugene D'Albert.

I cannot but agree with you about the sound of the name (although you may also - since you go on to write about "English taxpayers' money" - recall a previous British Chancellor of the Exchequer by the name of Norman Lamont who, despite his absence of obvious Scottish accent, was equally Scots by descent); "McHaggis" is, however, not a Scots surname but a Thalbermadly invented one.

Secondly, Scotland does not exactly produce dozens of talented pianists, or composers. The Scots are too busy playing darts, snooker, losing rugby matches and spending English Taxpayers money.

Firstly, as Sorabji would have said, "Scotland" does not "produce" talented pianist or composers; their mothers do. Secondly, what evidence do you have that Frederic Lamond played darts or snooker or participated in rugby matches in which his team lost? As to spending English taxpayers' money, you might like to turn off your gas central heating and stop using any oil obtained from Scottish sources before you make any moralistic accusations about the Scots involving themselves in such spending and, at the same time, you might like to consider whether and to what extent the Welsh do the same as you claim the Scots do.

Better still, you mght like to divert your attention away from any such things and back towards the thread topic of the "Best Op. 1" which, perhaps, is you own variations and fugue (for tenor banjo ensemble) on "When I'm Cleaning" the window mentioned in the Italian song quoted by Busoni in his magnificent Piano Concerto...

Best,

Alistair

Best,

Alistair

[point of grace]

ginastera´s

[gerryjay]

 hey thal and alistair!
 please, never give up your discussions! information and fine irony you don´t get anywhere these days!
 so, thank you very much!

[gerryjay]

ginastera´s

hi grace!
what a patriotic vote  !

ps: i´m a huge fan of his works, although i never listen to this ballet, but i´m curious because his opus 8 is wonderful, don´t you think? i just hope to play some of his piano music as soon as i am able.

[gerry]

I remember when my piano teacher in the mid-60s visited Ginastera while traveling in S.America and returned with armloads of his music and had all his students playing the 2 books of preludes and Malamba, etc. Loved them then and now--the Danza Criolla was particularly fun to play and a real crowd-pleaser.

[cygnusdei]

Erlkonig!
What was Mendelssohn's op.1? Most of his best stuff was written when he was younger.

His early works are without opus numbers but hell yeah, the 12 string symphonies, two-piano concertos, and piano and violin concerto are absolutely first rate.

[dnephi]

The Op. 6 Mendelssohn Sonata, to sidetrack, is a very virtuosic piece.  I can imagine he had a blast writing something so fantastically difficult and showing off his stuff.

[gerryjay]

 did anybody remember granados' cuentos de la juventud? probably not the greatest, but a very nice opus 1  .

[lisztisforkids]

Balakirev's 1st Piano Concerto, Op. 1 is also very good.

 Whereas I dont beleive it might be the best opus 1, its definetly one of my favorites.

[indutrial]

My choice is definitely Dutilleux's piano sonata, op. 1 (1946-8). That piece kicks all kind of ass. My second and third choices would be Berg's sonata and Prokofiev's first sonata.

[retrouvailles]

Oh damn, yeah I forgot about the Dutilleux sonata. Even though it wasn't truly his op. 1, it still beats the pants off many other Op. 1s out there.

[michel dvorsky]

Brahms' first published works are quite sensational:

Works by Opus number

    * Op. 1, Piano Sonata No. 1 in C major (1852)
    * Op. 2, Piano Sonata No. 2 in F-sharp minor (1852)
    * Op. 3, Six Songs (1853)
    * Op. 4, Scherzo in E-flat minor for piano (1851)
    * Op. 5, Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor (1853)

[rob47]

Cesar Franck piano trio f sharp minor without a doubt

[indutrial]

  i want to start the voting for opus 399: czerny's school of left hand! 

My vote for Op. 399 would go to Milhaud's "A Frenchman in New York", an orchestral suite commissioned in response to Gershwin's "An American in Paris."

[squinchy]

Another great op. 1 I forgot to mention is Webern.  The Passacaglia op.1 is not representative of Webern, but it nonetheless is masterly written piece that seriously pushes the limits of tonality.

Yes, I was going to mention Webern! It's like Brahms 4.4, but pushing the limits, as you said.