Help me broaden my musical horizons!

[pitifulpaul1]

Hi, I need some new pieces to obsess over for my listening pleasure.  Although I love listening to classical piano music, I'm only versed in Chopin and Beethoven, vaguely familiar with Debussy, and ignorant of nearly all the rest (willfully of Mozart).  If anyone could give me some suggestions for new artists and/or pieces that you think I'd like, I'd be very grateful.   Deep, brooding pieces with intoxicating melodies kick ass.  Thanks!

A few of my favorites to give you a sense of my tastes (mainstream, I know):
Chopin Etudes: 10/3, 10/4, 10/8, 25/1, 25/11, 25/12, Ballad #1, prelude 28/4
Beethoven: Moonlight, waldstein, appassionata
Debussy: Clair de lune, Arabesque, Ballade
Bach: Prelude in B Minor
Liszt: Liebestraum

Bold = orgasmic

[thalbergmad]

 Deep, brooding pieces with intoxicating melodies kick ass.  Thanks!

Check the Concerto's of Rachmaninov.

Thal

[lazlo]

-Rachmaninoff Concerti & preludes
-Beethoven sonatas #: #5, 8, 15, 26, op109, 110, 110
-Beethoven Choral Fantasy
-Prokofiev Concerti (#3's my favorite)
-Brahms Concerti and sonatas for piano
-Schumann and Grieg Piano Concerti
-Listz Piano Concerto #1 (i'm unfamiliar actually with a lot of listz, but i love his first concerto)
-Metamorphosis by philip glass
-20 regards of the baby jesus by messiaen


I mean, there's tons and tons of great piano music out there... Just to name a few.

[phil13]

Hi, I need some new pieces to obsess over for my listening pleasure.  Although I love listening to classical piano music, I'm only versed in Chopin and Beethoven, vaguely familiar with Debussy, and ignorant of nearly all the rest (willfully of Mozart).  If anyone could give me some suggestions for new artists and/or pieces that you think I'd like, I'd be very grateful.   Deep, brooding pieces with intoxicating melodies kick ass.  Thanks!

A few of my favorites to give you a sense of my tastes (mainstream, I know):
Chopin Etudes: 10/3, 10/4, 10/8, 25/1, 25/11, 25/12, Ballad #1, prelude 28/4
Beethoven: Moonlight, waldstein, appassionata
Debussy: Clair de lune, Arabesque, Ballade
Bach: Prelude in B Minor
Liszt: Liebestraum

Bold = orgasmic

Here is a fairly un-comprehensive list of all the works I can list off the top of my head.

Okay, let us begin with the composers you are already familiar with:

Bach:
 6 English Suites, Da WTC, Partitas

Beethoven:
 Sonatas Op.7, Op.27/1, Op.28, Op.31/2, Op.81a, Op.90, Op.106, Op.109, Op.111

Chopin:
 Ballades Nos.3 and 4, Polonaise-Fantasie Op.61, Sonata No.3 in B minor Op.58, Scherzo Nos. 3 and 4, the rest of the Op.28 Preludes, Op.59 Mazurkas, Barcarolle Op.60, Nocturnes (all of them)

Debussy:

the rest of Suite Bergamasque (Prelude, Menuet, Passepied), L'Isle Joyeuse, Etudes, Estampes

Liszt:

Mephisto Waltz No.1, La Campanella, Mazeppa, Sonata in B minor, Funerailles, Petrarch Sonnet No.104


These are just the first ones that come to mind. Get close w/ what you got, after all.

OKAY, now for some new composers. Let us begin with some fairly mainstream ones:

Schubert:

Wanderer-Fantasy, Impromptus Op.90 Nos.2-4, Moments Musicaux Nos.3 and 4 (also check out a few of the sonatas. I don't know them real well but I'm sure there are many worth hearing)

Brahms:

Piano Pieces Op.117,118,119, Sonata in C Op.1, Rhapsodies Op.79, Ballades Op.10

Rachmaninoff:

Preludes Op.3 No.2, Op.23 Nos. 2,4,5,7,9,10, Op.32 Nos.5,9,10,11,12,13, Sonata No.1 in D minor, Sonata No.2 in Bb minor, Moment Musicaux Op.16 No.4, Corelli Variations

Scriabin:

Sonatas Nos. 1,2,3,4,5,9,10, Vers la flamme Op.72, Etudes Op.2 No.1, Op.8 Nos. 2,3,4,5,8,9,11,12, Op.42 Nos.4,5,6,8, Op.65 No.3, Preludes Op.11 (all), Op.15 No.3 in E, Mazurkas Op.25 (all), Fantasy in B minor Op.28

Ravel:

Gaspard de la Nuit, Sonatine

MacDowell:

Woodland Sketches, Op.51, Etude: March Wind, Op.46 No.10

Schumann:

Carnaval Op.9, Kinderszenen Op.15, Kreislerana Op.16, Etudes Symphoniques Op.13

Grieg:

Sonata Op.7, Ballade Op.24, Lyric Pieces- Arietta, Notturno, Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, Butterfly

Faure:

Nocturnes esp. Nos.1,6 and 13. Preludes Op.103, Impromptu No.2 in F minor

AND NOW, some composers that are a bit more on the obscure side.

Medtner:

Sonatas Op.5, Op.22, Op.25 Nos.1 and 2 (esp. No.2), Op.53, Skazki (Fairy Tales) Op.20 No.1 and 2, Op.26 Nos. 1 and 3, Op.34 No.2, Op.35 No.4, Op.51 No.3

Bortkiewicz:

Elegie Op.46, Ballade Op.42, Preludes Op.33

Bowen:

Toccata Op.155, Preludes Op.102 (all), Sonata No.5 in F minor Op.72, Ballade No.2 in A minor Op.87

That should get you STARTED. That's not even close to 1% of all the piano solo music in that genre.

And then, of course, there are the piano concerti:

Bach D minor
Bach F minor
Beethoven Nos.1-5
Chopin Concerti 1 and 2
Schumann A minor
Grieg A minor
Bortkiewicz No.1 in Bb
Medtner No.2 and 3
Scriabin F# minor
as mentioned, Rach 1-4
Brahms 1 and 2
Liszt No.1 in Eb

I know I left a lot out.



Phil

[jre58591]

these piano concertos here could keep you busy for a long time:

https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/collection_page.asp?name=RomanticPC

phil covered a helluva lot in his post, but did leave out a ton, especially from the 20th century. i unfortunately am a bit too lazy to go into that right now, haha. just check out the CDs of the following people to start off with for some hints:

https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/artist_page.asp?name=hamelin

https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/artist_page.asp?name=osborne

https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/artist_page.asp?name=hough

as you can see, hyperion is oen of my favorite labels, for they have tons and tons of unique music available there. their CDs can get a bit expensive though. at least check out the samples of a few of those CDs.

[ilikepie]

Piano concertos I would recommend(not only classical):
Beethoven  1-5
Schumann a minor
Rachmaninoff 1-4
Prokofiev 1-5
Ravel in G major
Liszt 1&2

[phil13]

phil covered a helluva lot in his post, but did leave out a ton, especially from the 20th century.

Unfortunately, I don't know a lot about 20th century music, or at least enough to cover my bases.

Besides, he's still got all the above works to go through. We want to give him just enough to drown him completely in music, after that it's just wasted excess. 

Phil

[dnephi]

Phil is da win.

Throw in Alkan Symphony & Festin D'Esope (Which Liszt said was a great piece and far too neglected in his masterclasses book.)  Then Schumann Fantasy, and to get really out there,

Beethoven Variations on Venni D'amore!

Btw @ Phil, you know March Wind?  I got 2nd in Indiana Federation of Music Clubs with it, which was a bit of a shock.  Great piece, but as far as I know, unpopular because MacDowell's name is stuck on it.

[pitifulpaul1]

Right now, I'm listening to Schubert's Impromptus, and they are unspeakably beautiful.  Thanks a lot guys.

[phil13]

Phil is da win.

 

 

Btw @ Phil, you know March Wind?  I got 2nd in Indiana Federation of Music Clubs with it, which was a bit of a shock.  Great piece, but as far as I know, unpopular because MacDowell's name is stuck on it.

Actually, I've never fully learned it. I will at some point, it's one of MacDowell's best works.

Phil

[shasta]

Check out:

Mendelssohn's piano trios (2)
https://www.amazon.com/Mendelssohn-Piano-Trios-Op-49/dp/B000002A8S/sr=1-1/qid=1161176750/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-7522716-8849642?ie=UTF8&s=music

Saint-Saen's piano concerti (5)
https://www.amazon.com/Saint-Sa%ebns-Piano-Concertos-Camille-Saint-Saens/dp/B00000425S/sr=1-2/qid=1161176811/ref=sr_1_2/002-7522716-8849642?ie=UTF8&s=music

Chopin-Godowsky Etudes
https://www.amazon.com/Godowsky-Complete-Studies-Chopins-Etudes/dp/B00004S3BF/sr=1-3/qid=1161176848/ref=sr_1_3/002-7522716-8849642?ie=UTF8&s=music

Mozart's serenade (Gran Partita)
https://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Serenade-Partita-Zubin-Mehta/dp/B0000029KS/sr=1-2/qid=1161176889/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/002-7522716-8849642?ie=UTF8&s=music

Lecuona's Andalusia Suite and Rhapsodia Negra
https://www.amazon.com/Ernesto-Lecuona-Complete-Piano-Music/dp/B0000016N9/sr=1-5/qid=1161177029/ref=sr_1_5/002-7522716-8849642?ie=UTF8&s=music

Haydn's Trumpet Concerto in E-flat major
https://www.amazon.com/Trumpet-Concertos-Raymond-Leppard/dp/B0000025QG/sr=1-1/qid=1161177111/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-7522716-8849642?ie=UTF8&s=music

Anything by the Tapiola Children's Chorus, Jitro Children's Chorus, Syracuse Children's Chorus, or Toronto Children's Chorus.

[swim4ever_22]

If I may ask... why do you dislike Mozart?

[pitifulpaul1]

If I may ask... why do you dislike Mozart?

It simply invokes no emotion in me.  Classical music is my only consistent source of feeling, the intensity of which is the sole determinate of their appeal.  Why do you like him?

[ganymed]

rachmaninov is really worth listening to for example the g minor prelude opus 23 is amazing and has a beautiful melody