not the hardest but the greatest pieces amongst all the piano literature

[matt haley]

May of been asked before but id like to know what you all think are the greatest pieces wrote for the piano...

 the music iv been hugely fond of are a rare mixture...

  beethovens op 109 ( i beleive beethoven tried a lot of new things here)
   chopins sonata in b minor
  liszt's b minor sonata
 mussorskys pictures of an exhibition  &
 glinkas the lark

   

[mike_lang]

Have you considered Alkan?  I know his importance may be stressed ad nauseum on this forum, but his writing is, in my opinion, some of the best use that has yet been made of the instrument.

[prometheus]

 

[thorn]

Ravel- Gaspard de la Nuit

[ryguillian]

Große Sonate für Das HAMMERKLAVIER... HANDS DOWN!!!

—Ryan

[Mozartian]

Chopin's Mazurkas.

[liszmaninopin]

Bach: Well-tempered clavier
These pieces represent a broad cross-section of Bach's art, bringing many styles of fugal writing, counterpoint, and harmony to their peak of perfection.

Beethoven:
Hammerklavier Sonata- Beethoven's longest, grandest sonata, it represents the most exhaustive use of keyboard resources to be found in the literature up to its time.  For me, it's movements carry more impact, emotional and intellectual, than any other piece in the repertoire.
Sonata op. 111-Revolutionary and sublime, it even has traces of music that could be thought of as jazzy.


Liszt:
Sonata in B- Ingenious use of thematic material and structure in a one movement form, serving the highest artistic aims.


Ravel:
Gaspard de la Nuit- One of the most imaginative and vividly colored works ever penned, it pushes the boundaries of pianistic expression even farther through its innovative writing techniques, harmonic genius, and sheer force of expression.

[mike_lang]

Liszt:
Sonata in B- Ingenious use of thematic material and structure in a one movement form, serving the highest artistic aims.

Don't forget that part of the genius of the sonata is that it is a four-movement form superimposed upon a one-movement sonata form.

[raskolnikov]

Thread like this just turn into: Name your favorite piano piece.

[rohansahai]

Bach: Well-tempered clavier
These pieces represent a broad cross-section of Bach's art, bringing many styles of fugal writing, counterpoint, and harmony to their peak of perfection.

Beethoven:
Hammerklavier Sonata- Beethoven's longest, grandest sonata, it represents the most exhaustive use of keyboard resources to be found in the literature up to its time.  For me, it's movements carry more impact, emotional and intellectual, than any other piece in the repertoire.
Sonata op. 111-Revolutionary and sublime, it even has traces of music that could be thought of as jazzy.


Liszt:
Sonata in B- Ingenious use of thematic material and structure in a one movement form, serving the highest artistic aims.


Ravel:
Gaspard de la Nuit- One of the most imaginative and vividly colored works ever penned, it pushes the boundaries of pianistic expression even farther through its innovative writing techniques, harmonic genius, and sheer force of expression.

Welcome back to the forum ...after a pretty long gap !!

[Kassaa]

Bach Goldberg, Beethoven Hammerklavier, Liszt Sonata Bm, Schumann Fantasie in C, Chopin Barcarolle+Polonaise Fantasie

[cloches_de_geneve]

Gaspard, Liszt b-minor, Hammerklavier, Goldberg ... did you guys actually read the title of this thread: greatest, NOT THE HARDEST pieces .... Nothing against these suggestions, they are excellent of cousre, but they all are somewhere in the top 5% range of difficulty.

[steveie986]

Art of the Fugue.

[tompilk]

Gaspard, Liszt b-minor, Hammerklavier, Goldberg ... did you guys actually read the title of this thread: greatest, NOT THE HARDEST pieces .... Nothing against these suggestions, they are excellent of cousre, but they all are somewhere in the top 5% range of difficulty.

but when sorabji is around, nothing is difficult!

[Etude]

but when sorabji is around, nothing is difficult!

And vice versa?

[tompilk]

mmm... give me some time to work that one out...
most pieces have their difficulties but not in a vice-versa way, so no. Not vice-versa
Tom

[Etude]

Haha, I meant when Sorabji is difficult, nothing (or no one) is around...  except Jonathan Powell perhaps.

I wasn't being serious anyway.

[avetma]

Holly ***; could you please stop forcing that sorabji? We already know that he wrote fabolous piece 3 hours long, so what?! Still he is not as great as Bach is, who wrote two-voice inventiones shorter than a minute.

And yes, I belive that Hammerklavier is far far more difficult than Opus Clavicembalisticum.

Am I the only one who is sick of Mighty-Sorabji?

Don't want topic go in wrong direction, but I just had to say this.

Thank you,
Ante

[Etude]

Holly ***; could you please stop forcing that sorabji? We already know that he wrote fabolous piece 3 hours long, so what?! Still he is not as great as Bach is, who wrote two-voice inventiones shorter than a minute.

Am I the only one who is sick of Mighty-Sorabji?

Don't want topic go in wrong direction, but I just had to say this.

Thank you,
Ante

Neither of us are forcing anything.  If I mentioned Chopin, Brahms, Rachmaninov, Schoenberg, Alkan, Penderecki, Beethoven, Xenakis - would you say we were forcing them on you?

And to be fair, Chopin has been mentioned much more than KSS in the forum's history.

[hodi]

May of been asked before but id like to know what you all think are the greatest pieces wrote for the piano...

 the music iv been hugely fond of are a rare mixture...

  beethovens op 109 ( i beleive beethoven tried a lot of new things here)
   chopins sonata in b minor
  liszt's b minor sonata
 mussorskys pictures of an exhibition  &
 glinkas the lark

   

that was funny, i was listening to "the lark" and i entered this thread XD

[matt haley]

  'The Lark'    what a piece hey, i saw evgeny kissin play it a few years ago.....

            it was absoulutely awesome

[Waldszenen]

The trinity of Romantic piano pieces are Chopin's Sonata No. 2, Liszt's Sonata and Schumann's Fantasy in C.

[stevie]

the lark is a little masterpiece, agreed

prometheus, what was the rolled eyes for?

[cloches_de_geneve]

The trinity of Romantic piano pieces are Chopin's Sonata No. 2, Liszt's Sonata and Schumann's Fantasy in C.

Order of difficulty?

[presto agitato]

This Thread sucks

[matt haley]

=presto agitato

the thread sucks


mind giving us the slightest reason why??

[stevie]

The trinity of Romantic piano pieces are Chopin's Sonata No. 2, Liszt's Sonata and Schumann's Fantasy in C.

alkan's symphony for solo piano is surely a greater work than chopson2

[jre58591]

alkan's symphony for solo piano is surely a greater work than chopson2

but alkan's concerto for solo piano is a better work than both

[jehangircama]

Rach 3 not mentioned yet?
liszt HR2
chopin fantasie in F minor
chopin sonata 2 and 3
beethoven emperor concerto, concerto 4 and appasionata

[Kassaa]

liszt HR2

lolololol

[jre58591]

Rach 3 not mentioned yet?
liszt HR2
chopin fantasie in F minor
chopin sonata 2 and 3
beethoven emperor concerto, concerto 4 and appasionata

just to add, popular music isnt always the best

[stevie]

but alkan's concerto for solo piano is a better work than both

disagree, as awesome as the concerto is, the symphony is more concise and perfect

[henrah]

This is pretty much a favourite piece thread, as the greatest in any self opinion is the favourite. Though is it possible to think of a piece as 'the greatest' and not actually like it that much? And when we say 'greatest', are we thinking in terms of size? Quality? Significance/importance? Or just overall sh*t-hot-ness?

In terms of size, the OC is surely the greatest. However, in overall sh*t-hot-ness -- which, as it's coming from my own opinion, answers a 'favourite piece' question -- the Rach 3 is the winner.


Especially when Horowitz played it.
Henrah

[jre58591]

disagree, as awesome as the concerto is, the symphony is more concise and perfect

i shoulda specified. i was referring to the chopin sonata no 2 and the schumann fantasy. youre right about the symphony being better than the concerto, possibly.

[apion]

Solo Piano:

Beethoven, Op. 106 (Hammerklavier)
Bach, Goldberg Variations
Brahms, Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel
Liszt, Bm Sonata
Ligeti, Etudes
Brahms, Paganini Variations
Chopin, Bm Sonata
Ravel, Gaspard De La Nuit


Piano Concerti:

Brahms 1
Brahms 2
Beethoven 4
Prokofiev 3
Beethoven 5
Rach 3
Rach 2
Liszt 1
Liszt Totentanz
Mozart 20
Mozart 24
Schumann A Minor
Prokofiev 2



(It's interesting that the "greatest" pieces are also among the "most difficult")

[steveie986]

I think the premise should have been the greatest pieces that are not difficult (below, say, Level

[apion]

I think the premise should have been the greatest pieces that are not difficult (below, say, Level

Except that the opening post to this thread lists several very difficult pieces.    (These are not "easy" pieces).

[alejo_90]

Beethoven's Pathétique & Appasionata. Heartbreaking.

[invictious]

This Thread is just another thread of saying your favorite pieces.

Cheers

[jas]

I wouldn't say this is the "greatest" piece (or rather, movement), but but Chopin's funeral march from the one from the 2nd sonata is an incredible work. It's funereal and foreboding but very beautiful. The fact that it's known the world over is quite telling, even if its now become almost caricatured. Listen to Horowitz play it. He really brings out the bass, it's amazing.

For greatest, I'd probably say the Rach 3.

Neither of these are my favourites. I'd listen to several things before either of these.

(It's interesting that the "greatest" pieces are also among the "most difficult")

I suppose that's because, generally, it takes a more difficult piece to make full us of the piano's potential, particularly as an instrument where you can play several notes at once. Not always, but I think the answers to this poll speak quite clearly.

[musicsdarkangel]

ok, the problem with this thread is that a lot of the greatest pieces ARE the hardest.


This is because to take full advantage of the piano and it's power, you often need bombastic parts.

The beauty of the piano is that it can orchestrate, and even the most powerful music can be played by one person.

I don't care how hard it is, Gaspard de la Nuit is probably my favorite piece just for its sheer beauty and power (and genius in every way).  The Liszt sonata is also genius... and powerful, it's not just a show piece like some of the Hungarian Rhapsodies.

Anyway, my favorites (difficulty aside) would be

Barber - Sonata
Ravel - Gaspard de la Nuit
Beethoven - Opus 31 no 2 (Tempest), Op 109, Op 106 (Hammer K), Opus 57 (appassionata)
Chopin - Sonata no 2 and 3, Polonaise op 44, Grand Polonaise, Trioseme Ballade
Liszt - Sonata, Valee de Obermann, Dante Sonata
Saint-Saens - Thirds etude
Rzewski - The People United Will Never Be Defeated
Scott Joplin - Palm Leaf Rag
Rachmaninoff - .... too much to name for me.  1st and 2nd Sonatas are epic... Rachmaninoff's music is the most potent to me.
Bach - Partita no 2 in C minor
Schumann - Fantasie in C, Sonata in F sharp minor

[musicsdarkangel]

but alkan's concerto for solo piano is a better work than both

hehe I was going to say the same thing

[apion]

ok, the problem with this thread is that a lot of the greatest pieces ARE the hardest.

Or maybe the point of this thread is to demonstrate this.

[frederic]

Look at it this way:

If you had to choose between the piano solo repertoire only consisting of Bach Well-tempered clavier, Mozart Sonatas, Beethoven Sonatas, Chopin Etudes, Schubert Impromptus, and Debussy Preludes or one that only consists of Sorabji, Alkan, Godowsky, Ligeti, Schoenberg, Penderecki, Xenakis and so on, which one would you pick?

This might solve the general misunderstanding of what are the "greatest" pieces or "more important" pieces, and what are merely people's "favourite" pieces.