"Showy" pieces?

[Xelles]

Short and sweet
Liszt - Transcendentale Etude No. 1
Chopin - Prelude Op. 28 No. 16
Rachmaninoff - Prelude Op. 23 No. 2 (a little lengthy, but worth it!)

After you've attracted a crowd nail them with...
Liszt - Transcendentale Etude Mazeppa (atleast give them the opening)
Chopin - Prelude Op. 28 No. 24!
And a liiiiiiittle bit of Rach 2! (concerto)

...others?

[liszt_the_2nd]

I agree with the liszt transcendentale Etude No. 1, thats a great piece to play to get attention. How about the 10th, or maybe the 8th, they are amazing, but perhaps a bit lengthy. I think flight of the bumblebee, arranged by Rachmaninoff is good, it is "short and sweet". The Chopin op. 10 no.4 maybe. Well thats my suggestions I agree with all your choices.  

[comme_le_vent]

ultimate showpiece(in the hands of cziffra) - grand gallop chromatique  

[Xelles]

Ahhh, Chopin Prelude Op. 24 No. 8 would go well here to

[Shagdac]

How bout' La Campanella and Heroic Polonaise?


Shag

[faulty_damper]

Chopsticks.

Nuff said.

[rachlisztchopin]

lol chopsticks?  

[newsgroupeuan]

I agree with the liszt transcendentale Etude No. 1, thats a great piece to play to get attention. How about the 10th, or maybe the 8th, they are amazing, but perhaps a bit lengthy. I think flight of the bumblebee, arranged by Rachmaninoff is good, it is "short and sweet". The Chopin op. 10 no.4 maybe. Well thats my suggestions I agree with all your choices.  

I have an obsession with Liszt transcendentale Etude No. 1 lol

[Xelles]

How bout' La Campanella and Heroic Polonaise?


Shag

La Campanella... :-/
The last section of it, definetely! I'd buy all the Paganini Etudes and just play that one part. It's that good.

[Xelles]

Wow, everything under Op. 39 for Alkan is insane. Probably out does the entire list so far.

[comme_le_vent]

Wow, everything under Op. 39 for Alkan is insane. Probably out does the entire list so far.

yes , i think this is the greatest single opus in solo piano history.

my name (comme le vent) is the name of the 1st piece in it.

but i dont think that they are 'showpieces', a showpiece for me - has to be light and virtuosic.

alkan's op 39 are all in minor keys and contain some very heavy and emotional music, not light at all.

[faulty_damper]

Light and showy from Alkan:   Op. 35, duh!  His 12 Etudes in the majors keys.

[ayahav]

I have never heard of the name Alkan.... Who is he? where is he from? when is he from? anywhere I can see some of his music?

[newsgroupeuan]

I have never heard of the name Alkan.... Who is he? where is he from? when is he from? anywhere I can see some of his music?

see :

http://piano.francais.free.fr/alkan/01_accueil_en.html

http://piano.francais.free.fr/alkan/04_partitions_en.html

[ayahav]

Thanks

[MikeLauwrie]

Showy pieces? Meaning showy but good as well as just showy?

cadenza from Rachmaninoff 3rd concerto (ossia obviously)

Chopin Etude No.12 Op.25

Balakirev's Islamey

Prokoffiev last movement of Sonata No.7

Prokofieff Toccata can't remember which one.

First Ligeti Etude - if you like atonal stuff

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head


Mike

[anda]

i got a good one - i know it by ear, so, if anyone has notes - please!!! mozart - i'm not sure on the name, it's something about tartines... pretty much all in glissando - anyone know what i'm talking about?

[donjuan]

Ahhh!! the SHOWY pieces... these pieces must be used carefully.  a whole evening full of virtuousic mumbo jumbo will be exhausting to an audience.  However, many of these pieces are brilliant.  

I like liszt's GRAND GALOP CHROMATIQUE, because there are many interpretations of it- Cziffra, who thunders through it 2x faster than indicated, Bolet, who captures the brilliantissimo aspects, or Howard, who plays it in the most straightforward, boring manner.  this piece is a crowd pleaser, appriciated by the intelligent and the ignorant.

Liszt's DANCE OF THE GNOMES is also particularly excellent.  People would want to hear a piece like this after a long, emotional piece such as Chaconne in D-Minor by Bach/Busoni.  

Balakirev's ISLAMEY - ORIENTAL FANTASIA FOR THE PIANO is a great Showy piece because it is constantly changing from phrase to phrase.  Anyone can fall in love with music they can listen to , not study like a boring textbook.

Liszt's PAGANINI ETUDES are great for drawing an audience.  Liszt composed them to prove to everyone and to himself that he was the pianistic equivalent of Paganini.  A a result, we have 6 brilliant works today no one will ever get tired of.

Liszt's TRANSCENDENTAL ETUDE NO 1  is probably the showiest piece of them all.  One should play it at the beginning of a recital to get the attention of an audience, test the piano, and give themselves presence on the concert platform.    

[Logar]

not to forget the Mephizto Waltz or Hungarian Rhapsody nr.2 - Also both very showy  

[PeterHK]

Apart from those mentioned above from the Liszt Transcendental Etudes, I would like to add No.2, 5, 6 & 11 to the list of showy pieces. No.6 & 11, although not at lightening tempo, have highly virtuosic elements that not only please the ears, but also dazzle the eyes of the audience.

[Allan]

The Schumann and Prokofief Toccatas, although rather long, give a real opporunity to show off technique.  They require great stamina, too!

[comme_le_vent]

hmmm, we were looking for pieces that were actually possible...

[DarkWind]

An extremely showy piece, if you can pull it off, is the Toccata from Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin. It has some of the most rapid chord sequences ever. I can't even imagine how it would look like to see this piece being played.

[thracozaag]

 I hope The Tormentor posts (if he hasn't already) his Toccata on his website--it's a tremendous performance.

koji

[thracozaag]

He DID post it!

www.meiting.com

enjoy

koji

[cheeeekan]

the flashiest pieces that I know of are probably Polonaise in A-flat and Revolutionary Etude by Chopin, and La Campanela by Liszt.  Also a lot of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies can get attention

[pianiststrongbad]

ultimate showpiece(in the hands of cziffra) - grand gallop chromatique


I definately agree.  Either that or Friska from the 2nd hungarian rhapsody

[goansongo]

What's a showy piece you can play in 5 minutes or so?  Just one piece if you can pick from all of the music in the world...

[donjuan]

What's a showy piece you can play in 5 minutes or so?  Just one piece if you can pick from all of the music in the world...

It has been mentioned ad nauseum already, but Ill say it anyway--Liszt- "Grand Galop Chromatique", played by almost anyone but Leslie Howard, who plays it (and a bunch of other Liszt) in such a boring, mechanical manner, I have to go to sleep afterwards.
donjuan

[anda]

horowitz - variations on themes from carmen
debussy - poissons d'or / jardins sous la pluie / feux d'artifices and many many others
prokofiev - sonata III

[pianojems]

La Campanella, Gardens in the Rain by Debussy, Chopin Etude Op.10 No4

[f0bul0us]

Rach 3 - Lead in to Finale Alla Brave.
Rach Etude-Tableaux Op. 39 No. 3
Rach Sonata in D minor
Rach - Isle of The Dead