Most of these pieces are by less known composers or less known works of well known composers (which I gather is what you are after). Almost all of them are by 20th century composers. All of them sound more difficult than they actually are. None of them is too advanced technically (most if not all of them are around grade 8 or a little above).
Samuel Adler – The road to Terpsichore – A suite of five dances. Although the individual dances may be short, if you play the whole suite as a cycle it will fit your time schedule.
Andre Ameller – Montreal - A slow, impressionistic prelude.
Samuel Barber – Nocturne. Beautiful lyrical piece modelled after Chopin/Field’s Nocturnes, but with modern harmonies and colours.
Arnold Bax – Nocturne (May night in the Ukraine) – romantic and poetic writing.
Georges Auric – Sonatine – His music is influenced by Satie’s and similar to Poulenc’s. You can also try his “3 Impromptus” which may be shorter than what you wanted, but then again if you play them as a set they will fit the bill.
Aaron Copland – Passacaglia – Piano variations – Night thoughts (Homage to Ives), all between 6 and 10 minutes.
Cesar Cui – Prelude no. 22 in D minor (Lento)
Basilio Itibere – “A Sertaneja” (The Country Girl) – Brazilian rhythms and a catchy tune. This is however 19th century romantic music in the tradition of Gotschalk who was a big hit with Brazilian composers of the time.
Norman dello Joio – Suite for piano – set of four pieces that must be played as a whole the fourtnh movement (“Fast with ferocity”) is particularly impressive.
Salute to Scarlatti – A work in four parts (which can be played together or separately), each movement mimicking a typical Scarlatti sonata (crossing of hands, guitar imitations, etc.), yet with modern harmonies.
Ernst von Dohnanyi – Intermezzo in F minor Op. 2 no. 3 – Rich romantic harmonies slightly reminiscent of Brahms.
Ludovico Einaudi – “I Giorni” – “Canzone Africana IV” – “Sotta vento” - Pleasant minimalist composer threading a very fine line between classical and popular. Beautiful, easy melodies in technically unchallenging music.
Manuel de Falla – Nocturno – Romantic work with an arpeggiated left hand accompaniment.
Lorenzo Fernandez – Brazilian suite no. 1(Old song – Lullaby – Serenade). Brazilian suite no. 2 (Prelude – Song – Dance), Brazilian suite no. 3 (Song – Serenade – Negro dance). Although each movement for each suite is published separately, each works best as a complete work. Tonal writing, with distinctive Brazilian rhythms.
Luciano Gallet – Nho Chico – A highly effective suite in four movements written mostly in tonal music but with strong rhythm patterns (Gallet is a Brazilian composer) and rich unusual harmonies.
Phillip Glass – Metamorphosis One, Metamorphosis Two, Metamorphosis Three, Metamorphosis Four, all lasting between 5: 30 and 7: 30 minutes. Try also Mad Rush (a bit longer around 14 minutes) and Wichita Sutra vortex (6 minutes). Minimalist music.
John Ireland – “Chelsea Reach” – “The palm and May” – Lyrical, melancholic writing with modern harmonies and colours.
Paulo Libanio – Sonatina – Libanio is another Brazilian composer who writes in a much more modern (and less nationalistic) idiom. His sonatina is on the verge of tonality but is not as fluid and indeterminate as, say, Messiaen. Lush harmonies and the influence of jazz and Bossa Nova can be found if you listen close enough.
Olivier Messiaen – Vingt regards sur L’enfant Jesus. Played as a whole it well exceed 40 minutes. However you may select only some of the movements (the easier ones are 2, 7 and 9). In it Messiaen puts forward his thoughts on Jesus.
Ernst John Moeran – “Rune” – “Theme and variations” – Wistful, lyric music with an Irish background.
Douglas Moore – Suite for piano: Prelude – Reel – Dancing School – Barn dance – Air - Procession. Although the six dance movements are published separately, it works best as a single work.
Sigismond Neukomm – “O Amor Brasileiro” (“Brazilian love”)– In spite of its name Neukomm (1778 – 1858) presents here a theme & variations that is completely classical European with hints of Haydn, and Mozart. He seems to be the first European composer to use a theme taken form Brazilian folk music. A curiosity (but nice). Neukomm was the music teacher of the Portuguese born Emperor of Brasil, D. Pedro I.
Zbigniew Preisner – “Talking to myself” – “Meditation” – “Greetings from Pamalican” (all the three pieces from “Ten easy pieces for piano” – they are not that easy…)
Jan Raats – Toccatta – Virtuosic with repeated fortissimo chords and glissandi. Excellent for performance.
Nikolas Rakov – Classical suite (Prelude, menuet, gavotte, air, gigue). Tonal work but with modern harmonies based on the baroque suite structure.
Joaquin Rodrigo – Sonada de Adios – Lyrical, melancholic romantic piece.
Claudio Santoro – Sonatina no. 2 – Strong rhythms and lots of energy. Santoro is a Brazilian composer who is famous for his unusual compositions.
Erik Satie – Sonatine bureaucratique – This work makes fun of Clementi’s sonatina in C, Op. 36 no. 1. If the audience is knowledgeable can be quite fun to play.
Heitor Villa-lobos – Cirandinhas – a set of 12 short pieces based on Brazilian Nursery rhymes. Play as a cycle and they will be over 30 minutes long. However you may select a group of them (the last one, no. 12 – “Her beautiful eyes” is around 6 minutes). They are wonderfully rhythmic and some very lyrical. Much easier to play than they sound. Also his “Cirandas” which are a similar set of 16 pieces, but much much more difficult. Some of them (“The clove quarrelled with the rose”) are true virtuoso stuff. The whole set takes 40 minutes, each piece around 2 minutes. Finally, equally advanced is “A prole do bebê” (The Baby’s family), a set of 8 pieces describing eight different dolls, taking in all about 15 minutes.
Since most of these pieces are recent, with active copyrights, you will find difficult to get them freely and legally on the internet
. But you can always try your luck here:
https://www.pianopassion.com/guideev.htmAnd of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Enjoy!
Best wishes,
Bernhard.
Topic: New music