Emotional Concerto Poll. I HAVE TO CHOOSE!

[kaiwin]

I need to choose one >.< Hard to choose. If there are more just post it here but the music needs to be available. thanks!

[quantum]

What about some unknowns like:
Hummel
Samuel Barber
Scriabin

[cosine]

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1   
Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 
Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 

Any one of thsoe should be good. (They're my favorites.) 

[musicsdarkangel]

Rachmaninoff - Rhapsody on a Theme by Pagannini

it's phenominal, and you will benefit a LOT from it.

[superstition2]

Rachmaninov, Piano Concerto #4, 1927 version

[pita bread]

Barber, if you can handle it.

[jre58591]

Rachmaninov, Piano Concerto #4, 1927 version

where would one get the sheets for that? i have been looking for ages

do a scharwenka like we discussed earlier.

your list isnt very varied. but ill choose hummel. try out his b minor concerto.

[Motrax]

I too would like sheets for the 1927, if anyone has them.

[jre58591]

I too would like sheets for the 1927, if anyone has them.

actually they are available here at boosey and hawkes:
https://www.boosey.com/pages/shop/product_detail.asp?id=719830&a=

too bad its over $160 USD and a full score. i would really like the 2 piano version, which is supposed to be released soon.

[panic]

I don't want to get into this like in the Brahms and Liszt topic, and I might get flamed for saying this, but in my opinion a lot of the "emotion" in Brahms 1 is staged. It's the piece of his in which I feel this problem is most evident, and I would willingly shut up about all other Brahms pieces if only to talk about this one. Brahms 1 is a concerto worth playing because it's very well designed (particularly for 51 minutes) and is never as pretentious as, say, the Grieg. But the emotional content is another story. I don't know about you, but the melodies are too eloquent, grandiose and high-minded to speak to me. The second theme in the first movement, for example, slams F major in your face in the most eloquent way possible rather than letting the key and atmosphere speak for itself. The piano entrances are too perfectly placed to the extent of sounding staged. Personally it sounds like his compositional ability speaking in those spots, rather than whatever emotion was behind the piece.

And honestly, to me the entire piece sounds designed, manufactured, staged because he follows the "rules" so predictably. When he states the second theme in the parallel major near the end of the first movement and then falls back into D minor, he does it so unsubtly and so predictably that it's evident it's not because he's trying to depict a glimmer of hope that gets shattered or something - he's just following the expectation for how you're "supposed" to wrap up a minor sonata-allegro movement. The slow movement is a happy, gentle, sunshine-meadows movement because it's the epitome of what a slow movement is "supposed" to be - a nice, balm contrast to the dark minor movement which came before. The finale is a fast romp to a triumphant finish in D major because that's how a concerto's "supposed" to end. And if you're getting furious at me for listing these so-called rules and expectations, which I imagine you are, talk to Brahms about it. He didn't have to follow them, they're not concrete rules. But he did follow them, and he did extremely well because of his mad compositional skills. An idiot couldn't have composed melodies like that and kept a 51-minute concerto interesting. But it sounds staged to me - powered by compositional design and expectation rather than emotion.

That's my Brahms 1 schpeal. *waits for the flaming and criticism and outrage* *hides*

[krenske]

I spent my "senior year" trying to get to the roof of my conservatorium to smoke:)

[henrah]

I spent my "senior year" trying to get to the roof of my conservatorium to smoke:)

Heheeh, any succes?

[g_s_223]

Rachmaninoff's 2nd (which you don't list) is the classic "emotional" one, Brief Encounter and all that...

Regarding the Brahms 1st, this is a quite early work: if I recall correctly he had trouble deciding was it to be a solo piano piece or a symphony, and so the material evolved towards its current form and instrumentation over a number of years. Thus it has a few rough corners compared to his other pieces. I'd treat it as a young man's work and give it a very fiery rendition.

[lisztisforkids]

If you dont mind me asking.. Weres the Beethoven!?

[mikey6]

I need to choose one >.< Hard to choose. If there are more just post it here but the music needs to be available. thanks!

If you need to choose, why are you asking us? It's up to you, what you think you can handle, what you like, or if it's for a competition, what's listed. (don't mean to sound rude, but it's your choice no matter what's suggested here)

[pianoboyz]

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1   
Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 
Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 

Any one of thsoe should be good. (They're my favorites.) 

haha,same

[kaiwin]

Yea, the Grieg sounded pretty awkward to me its like a big whooole phrase.. Brahms is alright to me.
No you won't get flamed 

[panic]

Yeah, I don't see why everyone (as in the public) likes the Grieg so much, not to offend anyone; in my opinion it's a perfectly average Romantic concerto, way overblown in parts, cliche way too often, and I'm pretty sure some stuff is partially ripped off. It's half-saved by a decent finale, but one in which the transitions between entire themes consist of about one note. I'm personally relieved and glad that it has no votes.

kaiwin, it also might help to think of this in terms of what concerto might help in launching a career, if that's the route you're looking to go. I'd circumvent the Chopin concertos in that light as everyone your age that can possibly play them seems to want to. I think the Mendelssohn concertos aren't substantial and long enough to really grab someone's attention on a resume, but that's just speculation. A more obscure concerto such as the Hummel or even the Barber might be a step in the wrong direction; for good "career-starters" that are also decently emotional, I'd recommend Rach 1 or Scriabin or something like that, although I'm not an expert on that matter.

[kaiwin]

Nice, thanks for the replies. I am currently borrowing the Rach. 3 and see how I like it.
We'll see, never thought about my resume for college... haha good point! I love challenges 
 
I also have both of the Chopin concertos... we'll see. Someone else borrowed the first one so I'm waiting to get it back.

[perfect_pitch]

Rachmaninoff - Rhapsody on a Theme by Pagannini

it's phenominal, and you will benefit a LOT from it.

It's not technically a Concerto... so you can't choose that one...

[jre58591]

it would be better if the colleges saw that you are doing a less heard-of concerto. that shows that you are more of a leader than a follower and like to take the initiative. i remain firm on the ones i have suggested in the past.

btw, dont do the rach 3. im sure people are sick of hearing that. no one plays it properly anyways

[m]

Not sure what do you call "emotional" and why, but check out C. Frank Symphonic Variations for piano and orchestra... just in case... maybe you will like it.
Gorgeous, not very often performed, and for some unexplainable reason overlooked piece. Formally, it is not called Concerto, but on the other hand, Rachmaninov's Paganini Rhapsody isn't, either.

[cherrysoda]

That's a pretty wide range of technical demand in that concerto list.

[kaiwin]

Yes. A lot of technical demand. No rach 3 for me