Short but beautiful pieces...

[fuel925]

Your nominations please By short i'm talking 1 page, 2 maximum!

[Etude]

Some Chopin Preludes

[nicolaievich]

Chopin prelude no.7 or no.5.
Bach's preludes.
Prokofiev fugitive visions.

... and growing

[stevie]

many scriabin preludes

and alkan esquisses, preludes, and chants.

[jehangircama]

slightly longer but relatively simple ones are the clementi sonatinas

[alzado]

I could recommend a couple of short pieces by Edward MacDowell.   

"A Deserted Farm" and "At an Old Trysting Place."  Both are just two pages of rather large printing.

Then there's "To a Wild Rose," which is often anthologized.  But I don't care much for it-- too saccharine for me.

MacDowell is really not that obscure.  Both pieces I've mentioned are in Woodland Sketches, published by Alfred in a very nice edition.

[arensky]

I could recommend a couple of short pieces by Edward MacDowell.   

"A Deserted Farm" and "At an Old Trysting Place."  Both are just two pages of rather large printing.

Then there's "To a Wild Rose," which is often anthologized.  But I don't care much for it-- too saccharine for me.

MacDowell is really not that obscure.  Both pieces I've mentioned are in Woodland Sketches, published by Alfred in a very nice edition.

These are great pieces; he wrote several other sets, "New England Idylls" "Sea Pieces" and others, and these and others along with the "Woodland Sketches" are available in a single volume from Dover.

[sharon_f]

Von fremden Ländern und Menschen,  Bittendes Kind, Traümerei and Der Dichter spricht, all from Schumann's Kinderszenen.

[larse]

Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte...though it's not very short
Ravel: The Pavane from "my mere l'oye" for 4 hands
Prokofiev: From the Visions Fugitives I once fell in love with no 9...worth knowing
Satie: Who can forget the gymnopedies...
Bach: Here's alot...I want to mention Goldberg, if you pick certain variations. And I want to mention The Prelude in Ebm from Wtc teil 1

[llamaman]

Burgmuller Opus 100.

[mlsmithz]

A number of the Shostakovich Preludes Op.34 could fall into this category.  Offhand I'd nominate No.7 in A major, No.14 in E-flat minor, No.17 in A-flat major, No.19 in E-flat major, No.22 in G minor, and No.23 in F major.

[phil13]

Bach Prelude No.1 in C and Fugue No.6 in Dm from WTC Bk.I

I personally like "The Knight of the Hobbyhorse" from Schumann's Kinderscenen. I also would second Traumerei and The Poet Speaks.

[shasta]

Many of Mendelssohn's Songs w/o Words.  In particular, the last of his little gondola songs (A major, maybe?) is a jewel.

[etudes]

poulenc presto
well ....its 4 pages but very short

[turner]

Even amongst the Chopin Preludes, the length varies from one to the other. I can see someone really drag out the Raindrop.

My favorite "short" Chopin Prelude is the one in B Major, No. 11.

[anodibu]

Alkan Preludes Op. 31 No. 14 "Le temps qui n'est plus"

[pianohopper]

brahms, op. 118 no. 2

[kelly_kelly]

brahms, op. 118 no. 2

I wouldn't call that short, but I agree with the beautiful part.

[burstroman]

At the top of the list should be, Scriabin's Etude Op.2, 1, Chopin's Etude #1 posthumous in f minor.