Prokofieff, Ravel & Scriabin?! Help me out!

[janne p.]

I'm planning on taking a plunge into the world of Prokofieff, Ravel and Scriabin; the only pieces of these that I've played are Prokofieff's Musique d'enfants years ago. Now I'm looking for a little more challenging works, albeit not too hard or big ones.
Please suggest any pieces that are roughly in the same difficulty category as my other current repertoire (listed below), and that you find meaningful in a both musical and pianistic way. Thanks!

Bach - French Suite no. 6 in E major
Beethoven - Pathétique (whole)
Brahms - Rhapsody in G minor, op. 79 no. 2
Bäck - Expansive preludes
Chopin - Etudes op. 10/12, 25/1, 25/11 & 25/12
Debussy - Arabesque nr 1
Khachaturian - Toccata
Rachmaninoff - Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3 no. 2
Rachmaninoff - Prelude in D minor, op. 23 no. 3

[arensky]

Hi janne,

Based on you current level of rep, the following pieces immediately come to mind;

RAVEL: Sonatine, Pavane pour une Infante Defunte or La Vallee des Cloches from Miroirs
            Ravel is my favorite composer!

PROKOFIEV: Some of the Visions Fugitive, Sarcasms or Tales of an Old Grandmother; perhaps all or parts of Sonata #2 in d minor.

SCRIABIN: Scriabin wrote many short pieces, preludes, poems, nocturnes, mazurkas etc. that are perfect for where you're at right now; You should look through the Preludes (published complete by Dover, should be in every pianist's library) and learn a group; realize that like Beethoven Scriabin's music falls into three distinct periods; Early(sounds like Liszt or Chopin)Middle(Like Debussyor Gershwin)and Late(Mad Scientist music !). Of course it all sounds like Scriabin! I'm speaking very generally and quickly, because it's time to make the Chicken Picatta and asparagus for dinner.... anyway you may find that you gravitate towards one of these periods or another, or if you love this composer as much as I do that you love it all.

Welcome to what may be the coolest part of the Piano Literature, enjoy your journey through this beautiful new world!

[phil13]

I don't know much about Prokofiev or Ravel as I've never played their music.

As for Scriabin, I found that his preludes are wonderful. I suggest all the ones from Op.11, especially No.14 (the one in 15/8 time).

But some of his real gems are his etudes. For those, I suggest Op.2 No.1 (fairly easy) Op.8 Nos.9, 11, and 12 (much harder, but not impossible) and Op.42 No.5 (Scriabin's most beautiful piece IMO, but it looks very difficult.)

Phil

[janne p.]

Thanks a lot arensky & phil13 for your help!! Many of your suggestions are potential works for me to concentrate on.

Still, keep 'em coming! I'd be happy to find even more material, especially Ravel.

[quantum]

For Scriabin, there is also a book of Mazurkas, Poemes, Impromptus and Other Works published by dover.  A wonderful selection of his short pieces covering all three periods.  This would compliment the Preludes book suggested by arensky. 

[Bouter Boogie]

Try Ravel's sonatine, I'm working on it now and it's beautiful And maybe you can also try Scriabin's étude nr. 4 op. 42, that's the 1st piece of Scriabin I played last year.. Not that difficult and very beautiful, too

[bernhard]

Most of Prokofiev’s music is advanced level. However there are some real gems that are not that difficult (grades 5 – 8 ). Here are some of my favourites:

Visions fugitives Op. 22  - This is a collection of 20 pieces, very atmospheric and evocative. Most of them are difficult musically, not technically. (They vary from grade 5 to grade 8+)

No. 1 – “Lentamente”  - Slow and melancholic (grade 5)
No. 9 – “Allegretto tranquilo” – this is my favourite of the set (grade 7/8)
No. 11 – “Con vivacita” (grade 7)
No. 17 – “Poetico” (grade 8 )
No. 18 – “Con una dolze lentezza” (grade 8 )

Music for Children Op. 65  - 12 pieces written for children. This is Prokofiev at his most melodic and tonal. Each piece is a little masterpiece, and yet the difficulty is never above grade 6. My favourites are (but they are all excellent):

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).

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 uplifiting 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)

10 pieces Op. 12. In these compositions Prokofiev follows a classical model. The easiest ones are:

No. 2 – Gavotte – requires a large hand span. (grade 7)
No. 6 – Legende – Slow, lyrical piece, slightly reminiscent of Scriabin (grade 8 ).
No. 7 – Prelude – My favourite. A beautiful, magical piece with a fast broken chord accompaniment creating a mist of sound around the right hand melody. Very impressive (watch out for the glissandi!). This piece was originally written for harp. (grade 8 ).
No. 10 – Scherzo – A wonderful show-off piece (probably too difficult, but what the heck, I love it!) full of tension and nervous energy jumping all over the keyboard. (Grade 8+).

The complete piano solo music of Prokofiev has been recorded by Frederic Chiu for Harmonia Mundi.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.