Suggestions for a big Romantic piece

[frederic]

Well, now comes the time of the year to find new repertoire for next year. A very exciting time for me.  I have already settled on two prelude and fugues, a mozart sonata, and two chopin studies. Now I'd like add a large romantic piece. Have you got any ideas?

[pianiststrongbad]

The Liszt Sonata.

[cherub_rocker1979]

Pick one:

Chopin: Ballade no. 1 in G Minor, op. 23
Chopin: Scherzo no. 2 in B-flat Minor, op. 31
Chopin: Fantasy in F Minor, op. 49
Chopin: Polonaise in F-sharp Minor, op. 44
Liszt: Ballade no. 2 in B Minor
Liszt: Polonaise no. 2 in E Major
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody no. 15 in A Minor
Liszt: Legend no. 2
Scriabin: Sonata no. 2 in G-sharp Minor
Schumann: Papillons
Schumann: Faschingsschwank aus Wien
Brahms: 2 Rhapsodies, op. 79
Brahms: Piano Pieces, op. 116

[etudes]

first i dont really know your technical level of piano playing
second i dont know how big do you really want 6-10 12-15 18-20 25-30 mins
so i would suggest
Chopin any of Ballade or Scherzo
Fantasy in F minor,Barcarolle,Polonaise fantasie!
if you want bigger piece try either 2nd or 3rd sonata....
so now we go to liszt
for Hungarian Rhapsody of course 2,6,11,12,13,15 or Spanish Rhapsody(i love it!)
or 2nd Polonaise (as in mentioned) maybe his opera transcription ex...Rigoletto,Norma,Sonnambula,Don Juan or his set like Venezia di napoli
if you want bigger try Dante Sonata or his Bminor Sonata
Schumann Abegg Variations,Kriesleriana(spelling)Carnaval or his Sonata
Brahms His 3rd Sonata,His variations (either Paganini,Handel,Schumann) or his Intermezzo from 117 (3 pieces) or op.118 (quite popular) even op.119 (no.4 is really awesome)
Rachmaninov(i put him as Romantic!) His 1st or 2nd Sonata is Awesome!
but if you really have a virtuoso pianist it is worth to look at Alkan (grande sonata op.33,Le festin d´aesop op.39 no.12 his symphony for solo piano or his concerto for solo piano!)
maybe you will get some idea
btw i would try also something like Dohnanyi transcription of Strauss Waltz
and Shultz Evler(spelling) of Blue Danube transcription so great!!!!

[apion]

Brahms Paganini Variations Books I and II.  That'll keep you busy. 

[frederic]

The Liszt Sonata.

hahaha...how did i know that would be the first suggestion?!!

Well this year the "big" piece i learnt was Chopin's 2nd scherzo. Last year was his 3rd Sonata. But i feel i should take a break from Chopin and enter new grounds. The duration of a "big" piece, for me, should be around 10 minutes but probably not exceed 20 unless it's a sonata or a set of pieces. I enjoyed reading all your suggestions and look foward to seeing more.

[sauergrandson]

PAS DU MEME:

CHOPIN: ALLEGRO DE CONCERTO
VON WEBER: SONATA 1 (IT ENDS WITH MOTO PERPETUO)
BRAHMS: RHAPSODIES  1 AND 2
SCHUMANN: ONE OR TWO NOVELETTEN
LISZT: AU BORD D'UNE SOURCE, MEPHISTO WALTZ,  VALSE INFERNALE (MEYERBEER)
     BENEDICTION DE DIEU DANS LA SOLITUDE

SCHUBERT: WANDERER FANTASIE
GRIEG: BALLADE IN G MINOR
ALKAN: THE AGES OF MAN

P.S. WOULD SOME ONE MAKE AVAILABLE FOR ME THE ARABESQUES OF SCHULZ-EVLER, IN PDF FORM?

[presto agitato]

But i feel i should take a break from Chopin and enter new grounds.

Cesar Franck: Grand Caprice Op.5.

An amazing piece full of emotion and virtuosism

[jehangircama]

Tchaikowsky Dumka, Balakirev Islamey or you could try the entire Brahms op118 set. Maybe Schumann's Carnival?

[shasta]

Albeniz's Suite Espanola

Granados' Valses Poéticos

Macdowell's D minor Sonata (the "Norse" Sonata)

Mussorgsky's Pictures

Reger's 5 Humoreskes  <-- or his Bach or Telemann variations, if you dare...

[mikey6]

Schumann Fantasie
Liszt Dante Sonata (just to be different)
or the second Ballade (coz the first sucks!)
Rachmaninov you could try one of the etude tableux sets (op.33 or 39)
Mendelssohn Variation Serieuse (wrong spelling i think)

[I Love Xenakis]

Alkan Symphonie pour Solo Piano Op. 39
Debussy Images II
Liszt Ballade No. 2
Rachmaninov Sonata No. 2
Rossini-Liszt Overture to "William Tell"
Tchaikovsky-Pletnev Concert Suite from the Ballet "Nutcracker"
Wagner-Liszt Tannhauser Overture

[g_s_223]

There are four volumes in the Henle Urtext of Schumann's piano works - there's got to be something in there which matches your needs and which you will enjoy.

[donjuan]

If you can handle Chopin Sonata No. 3, Ill just go ahead and say some crazy difficult pieces. 
Some big crowd pleasing Liszt transcriptions to think about:

Bellini-Liszt: I Puritani (18 min)
Bellini-LIszt: Grand Concert Fantasy from Sonnambula (15 min)
Auber-Liszt: La Muette De Portici - Tarantella di Bravura (9 min)
Gounod-Liszt: Waltz from Faust (10 min) {This one is really fun to play}

or the second Ballade (coz the first sucks!)

Do the First!!  2nd is overplayed and popularized by horowitz while the 1st is underrated and a masterpiece in its own right.

I second ilovexenakis and say you should look at Tannhauser Overture.  It is just one of the greatest works I can think of as a grand scale concert piece.  If you pull it off, the crowds will roar and victory will be yours.

BRAHMS: RHAPSODIES 1 AND 2

I was at a competition and the rhapsodies were considered staple pieces that everyone performs in front of adjudicators just to prove they can play.  Since then, I cant recommend people play them if they want to be remembered for a particular performance.  It's as ridiculous as playing pieces like Fantasy Impromptu and Fur Elise and expecting a standing ovation.  These things just dont happen.  You need to play something amazing- either a) something they have never heard before or b) a well known work, played so well they will think the composer has posessed you. Most of the time, you have to take it over the top without pissing anyone off.  This is so difficult to do..  I dont know much, but I know it will probably not happen with the Brahms Rhapsodies or similar pieces.

I find the Liszt polonaises annoying after a while, kind of like one of those cell phone ring tones.  You hear it once, you cant forget it because it's so annoying, and the last thing you want is to get flogged with it for 10 minutes.

I know I focus on Liszt alot, so lets think about others, in case you dont swing that way....

Scriabin Sonata No. 4 is beeeaaautiful!  To me, the scriabin sonatas following it are getting into the contemporary period with strange harmonies and rhythms.  But No. 4 is still very much late romantic in my opinion.  I listen to it and still think of it as I think of Liszt or Rachmaninoff.
Heyyyy rachmaninoff!!  I know Rach 2 concerto is overplayed so bad, but everyone loves it anyway.  But now were getting into the golden age instead of the romantic age.

Ill think of some more..
donjuan

[I Love Xenakis]

I'm gonna have to both agree and disagree with donjuan.  About the Liszt Ballades, they're both great, but I wouldn't say No. 2 is overplayed; it's played more but it's still on the "played but not too often" tier.  The Tannhauser overture is my #1 recommendation.  It has everything you could want in a piece: heartbreaking moments, furious moments and big crowdpleasers.  I should warn you up front that it's one of his hardest pieces that is commonly played though.  Check out Bolet's recordings; his Tannhauser Overture is my favorite recording ever.  His live performances are pretty wild too ^.-


And yeah  Scriabin is always a good one, though I prefer Sonatas 5, 6 and 10 over No. 4, but No. 4 is a bit more "romantic" so I guess you should check it out too.

[pianowelsh]

Scriabin B min Fantasy is good one it will really develop your spacial awareness and 8ve playing.  dramatic work and all in a bout 10 mins.  Good programme finisher too

[mikey6]

Do the First!!  2nd is overplayed and popularized by horowitz while the 1st is underrated and a masterpiece in its own right.

That's the whole beauty of music - a piece can be played by so many different people and sound so different. So just becuase Horowitz has played it (I haven't heard it though), doesn't mean you should not do it.  If you like it play it!
About the 1st, I don't particularly like it, don't find it very interesting and it has a corny theme imo.

[frederic]

Thanks everyone, for your ideas.
Right now I am also cooking up some of my own.

Tell me what you think of these:

Schumann: Sonata No.1 F# minor
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No.12
Grieg: Sonata in E minor
Medtner: Sonata-Reminiscenza

[arpeggiosnake]

Thanks everyone, for your ideas.
Right now I am also cooking up some of my own.

Tell me what you think of these:

Schumann: Sonata No.1 F# minor
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No.12
Grieg: Sonata in E minor
Medtner: Sonata-Reminiscenza

OMG¡¡¡ The Schumann and The Liszt are a real pain.

The first sonata was dedicated to his love (Clara) and accroding to Clara´s father, the piece was "  too robust and kind of rare". It is very difficult in terms of memorization and the last movement is a real hell IMO.

The HR num 12 is beautiful if you play it well (Listen to the recording of Murray Perahia), but i warn you, one single mistake and  the complete building will fall down. The coda in D flat is a real challenge.

The sonata in E minor by Grieg is very underrated, i have heard it a few times but it snt my cup of tea.


I dont know the Medtner

[hodi]

1. Schumann - Fantasy in C Major
2. Schumann - Sonatas 1/2
3  Mendelssohn - Fantasy in F# Minor
4. Alkan Symphony for piano solo
5. Alkan ages sonata

[shasta]

1. Schumann - Fantasy in C Major
2. Schumann - Sonatas 1/2
3  Mendelssohn - Fantasy in F# Minor
4. Alkan Symphony for piano solo
5. Alkan ages sonata

The Mendelssohn Fantasy is a good pick, Frederic - - - actually Hodi posted a lovely recording of it in the Audition Room a while back.

[presto agitato]

The HR num 12 is beautiful if you play it well (Listen to the recording of Murray Perahia.

YES. I agree, best version ever.

[quantum]

I'm suprised nobody mentioned Cesar Franck's Prelude, Chorale and Fugue.  An extreemly beautiful piece composed with a large scheme in mind.  The 3 themes unite into one entity at the very end.  Around 20 mins, and worth every one. 

Romantic Scriabin in sonatas # 1-4.  No.3 is probably the most romantic of all. 

[burstroman]

Schumann's Etudes Symphoniques

[frederic]

OMG¡¡¡ The Schumann and The Liszt are a real pain.

The first sonata was dedicated to his love (Clara) and accroding to Clara´s father, the piece was " too robust and kind of rare". It is very difficult in terms of memorization and the last movement is a real hell IMO.

The HR num 12 is beautiful if you play it well (Listen to the recording of Murray Perahia), but i warn you, one single mistake and the complete building will fall down. The coda in D flat is a real challenge.

The sonata in E minor by Grieg is very underrated, i have heard it a few times but it snt my cup of tea.


I dont know the Medtner

Okay, now you've scared me. Are the Schumann and Liszt really as hard as you say they are?

Hmm yes, the Grieg isn't really underrated. It's not a particularly great composition, beautiful as it may be.

The Mendelssohn Fantasy is a good pick, Frederic - - - actually Hodi posted a lovely recording of it in the Audition Room a while back.

Oh really? I've never heard it actually. Thanks, I will go check it out.

YES. I agree, best version ever.

Really? I consider Kissin's the best I've heard.