An easy Piano Concerto? Is it possible?

[Trimen1000]

I'm in the seventh grade of piano. And I can't find a single piano concerto that I can learn the whole thing of. I learned the second movment to Chopin's second. then bits and pieces of Tschaikowsky's first, Beethovens fifth, and Rachmoninoff's second. It's fun but I would like to learn an entire Piano Concerto. Anyone have an idea for me? Please?

[martin_s]

I would not go for one of the famous romantic concerti since they tend to require a "big" technique and masses of work if you are going to be able to master one entire concerto. Instead I would suggest you go for something classical. My first concerti were Beethoven 1 and Mozart D Minor (K.446 or whatever it is, no.20 anyway). Also try Haydn D Major (SUCH a GREAT piece!!! and fun to play),  not very tricky either...
And if you are looking for something more "modern" and flashy, there is a concerto version of Lutoslawski's Paganini variations. I haven't played that version but it is virtually the same as the two piano version that I have played and which is not very difficult. It sounds VERY impressive though, cause it is such clever writing!

good luck...

[sary2106]

Hi! If you are looking for an easier Romantic concerto, how about the Grieg "Concerto in A minor"? It has some tricky sections, but it's not too hard. Some of it sounds very very impressive!

[Diabolos]

Well, I wouldn't go for the Grieg, though it is a, let's say thankful concerto; you can easily play it well without having the appropriate technique ( though you'll find a lot of passages that might give you a really hard time), but to play it the way it will satisfy you and any audience you need experience and advanced technique as much as a good sense of interpreting Grieg.

Besides the tricky passages, and there aren't only a few of them, especially in the 3rd movement, there are three other major problems:

You'll need time to get comfortable with some of the techniques needed.

It'll give you a hard time memorizing.

AND, it does only make sense if you got either a really good accomponist or an orchestra to play with; the concerto is, same as Schumann's, based on the solo-tutti relationship, their dialogue and it's tension;playing it alone causes a great loss of musical brilliance.

I'd rather follow martin's advice; classical conertos are mostly structured in blocks, so you can be your own accomponist while performing it. And they're also bearing high technical difficulties and many ways to put your feeling into them.

Finally, you could have a look at Beethoven's third piano concerto (c-minor; it marks a major change in B's composing) or Mozart's Concerto in F-major, KV 459, not really difficult at all.

The major reason for this advice is the fact that you never played a complete piano concerto; believe me, that ain't a piece of cake, you can easily loose yourself or get problems with your phisical condition.

However, I hope that somehow helps you out.

laters       and good luck!

[panos]

If I were you I would try Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2.

I think its a relatively easy piano concerto--technically not very demanding and musically rather simple.

All the best.
Panos

[MikeThePianist]

I tend to agree with some of he earlier posts.  I would avoid the romantic and contemporary concerti and get a good grasp of the classical repertoire.  I would look into the Haydn D Major, Mozart K. 488 (excellent piece).  I would look into several Mozart concerti before even touching the Beethoven.  Someone suggested Beethoven 2, but it's got some very difficult passage work (unless that's not the kind of technique you have difficulty with).  Anyway, I would start with Mozart and Haydn, then move on to Beethoven later before even touching the romantic period.

Mike

[psteinberg]

Yes, there are some easier concertos that you can learn before trying one of those mentioned above. You could start with the Concerto in A minor by Jean Williams. After that, I'd recommend one of the Concertos by Bach or one of his sons. Then, for sure you will be ready for the bigger pieces.
 

[janice]

I completely agree with Sary2106.  Grieg's Piano Concerto in A min.  It's great!!!  You absolutely MUST try it, or at least listen to it.

[MzrtMusic]

I definitley think that the Greig is a bit much. The first concerto that I worked on was the Menelssohn 1, but that was a mistake. The Mozart 20 is great. That was what he wrote just after his mother died in paris, and it's sso beautiful and sad. depending on what your technique strengths, you could possibly pull off one of the modern concertos.

Love,

Sarah

[martin_s]

I can only agree to a 100% with Diabolos about his comments on the Grieg. I have performed it many times and it is certainly not easy and very easily becomes a horrible work when played just a bit less then superiour. Better save it for the future and do it justice then!

[dinosaurtales]

I'm on the same page as Trimen1000. I, too, am always seeking out more "reasonable" pieces.  I have a couple of particular technique "problems" that I have to consider when I am picking a piece.  For one, I have really small hands, and a lot of pieces have humongous reaches
I also seem to have a finger independence problem in my right hand that makes me select pieces that have technical stuff in the left hand, rather the right.   But enough of my personal problems - the REAL reason for this post is to rant (oh again!).    You guys hinted at it with the Grieg.  I had inquired about doing some sort of solo piece with our symphonic band, and one of the conductors suggested that the Grieg was an "easy" concerto.  This sort of comment always makes my blood boil.  First of all, lots of pieces that are dubbed as "easy" really aren't if you distinguish the notes from the MUSIC, which most folks forget about.  They think if it doesn't have billions of notes it must be "easy" - which makes me always want to say ( but I never do) "oh really, I'd love to hear YOU play it for me sometime".  

Basically, the musicians out here in Oregon say what I consider to be really mean or at least demeaning things to other musicians, I presume out of insecurity.  Are they like that where you guys are?  It's really frustrating sometimes.   Enough of my rant.  (sigh)

[Diabolos]

Well, you shouldn't be mad about other musicians opinioins, no matter how stupid they might be  

The Grieg's certainly a difficult concerto, but you know, these symphonic band people..

However, you were asking about the musicians at the places we're located, and though that doesn't really work with that topic:

I'm German, and the city where I'm located doesn't have any musical life when it comes to piano. There are some people that think they're the greatest because they once played a Rach Prelude (quite naive); the places where I've been to study, which would be Hamburg, Germany and Las Cruces, NM had a large musical community where it was mostly all about music and not about personal success.

I'm sorry for you having to deal with such persons, but - that's the good thing - you'll find some nice ones here.

Regards  

[davy10tunes]

Hi, I've just recently joined this forum.I know you posted this a while ago and may not still be looking for an easy concerto but if you are you should try the
Shostakovitch 2nd Op.102.It's technicaly much easier than the Grieg, fun to play and the 2nd movement is really moving, you'll love it (everyone does) just a thought.

David

[e60m5]

With regards to the topic... yes, it's very possible to have an easy piano concerto, but whether or not it is one that will satisfy you to play and/or perform is another matter...  

My first piano concerto was Mendelssohn's G Minor Piano Concerto (I think no.2... it was a while ago) which I performed in the Royal Albert Hall when I was 12. It's not that technically difficult, but it's tricky for me to judge whether it may be a little on the tough side, without me knowing a lil more background on your part...

It's a great concerto, lots of fingerwork though, especially in the 3rd movement... however, relatively (and I stress relatively) easy in the musicianship department.

But back to the topic, yes, it's  possible... and they're out there... keep looking, and good luck  

[frederic]

How about the Warsaw Concerto by Richard Addinsell?

It was written for a movie called Dangerous Moonlight and it is one single movement not longer than 10 minutes.

It is very brilliant piece with a taste of Rachmaninoff
You will probably have a hard time trying to look for the score but its worth it.

PS
I really think the Greig is too much

[angelucci1]

Hi there,

Grieg Grieg Grieg ... a classic, but probably not for you if you haven't explored a full concerto yet.

Run these by your teacher:
J.C. Bach: Any concerto
J.S. Bach: Any concerto
Haydn: D Major or G Major
Mozart: F Major No. 8*; A Major No. 23*
Mendelssohn: Rondo Brilliante for Piano and Orchestra*

*these are probably the more difficult from this list

I would keep Beethoven and post-classical concerti on the backburner for a bit, at least until you get more familiar with concerto writing and the repertoire as a whole.

Good luck and have fun!

[vkam]

I would certainly agree on the Warsaw Concerto as suggested.  Grieg can be challenging.  How about Mozart's K414, No. 12 in A major, or K 459, No. 19 in F major?  As with other Mozart's keyboard works, they require a high degree of refinement to sound pretty!  Good luck..........

[frederic]

I know this is old but still....
e60m5! what a great achievement!
Mendelssohn concerto at the age of 12 in the ROYAL ALBERT HALL!
Wow! how did that come by?

Oh, and the G minor Op.25 is No.1 and D minor op.40 is no.2...just correcting so that people won't have trouble looking for it if they're interested.... not trying to show off or anything...

[e60m5]

Oops... yeah, I'm not too up to date with my own repertoire  

Heh, that was rather lucky, though, as it was part of a millenium celebration, and I was just chosen as a youth performer. Not that the nature of the performance detracted from the experience, though - such a great experience, I'm never going to forget it...

Also, back to the thread, I do recall being given a score to look over of Kabalevsky's 3rd piano concerto - the Student's Concerto, or something along those lines, written for a student or something - it's not technically difficult, and would give a sense of what it's ::like:: to play a concerto - always a valuable thing to have for a first-time concerto performer. I think it's in D Major or something, shouldn't be that hard to find. Then again, I haven't played that concerto myself, so I'm of limited help when it comes to that...