Composers who should('ve) writ[e](ten) piano concertos

[ryguillian]

What composer (live or dead) who hasn't written one would you be interested in hearing a piano concerto by?

For me it's Ferneyhough... just because.

B.,—Ryan

[Bob]

Mahler.

Maybe Wagner.  He did do some sonatas.  Might be interesting but... I'd still want to hear Mahler first.

[mikey6]

Schubert!
Mussorgksy would have been interesting to hear.
Can I say Prokofiev 6 - was gonna be for 2 pianos and strings.
Maybe Wagner, but judging by the piano writing of his sonatas, probably not.

[Bob]

John Cage.  Haha.  Oops.  Maybe he did?

[aewanko]

John Cage.  Haha.  Oops.  Maybe he did?

He did write one.

Scarlatti.

[retrouvailles]

Godowsky should have written one, or at least arranged one.

Actually, there are a few arrangements of Mussourgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition for piano and orchestra and they're pretty bad. I don't think I'd want to hear a piano concerto composed by him (and only him) much, either.

Schubert would have written a great piano concerto, I think. We can only guess.

Also, Alistair, do you have any piano concertos (or any concertante work for piano)? Based on the piano writing of yours that I have heard, plus your compositional prowess, I think a concertante work from you would be interesting.

[minor9th]

Alban Berg, George Rochberg, Stephan Wolpe--I'm sure a few others will occur to me. I was about to give up on Penderecki, but he finally came through.

[retrouvailles]

Apparently Penderecki extensively revised his piano concerto, so he technically has two now, heh. It's a shame he didn't compose one during the 50s-early 70s. That would have been even better.

And doesn't Alban Berg's Kammerkonzert almost count as a piano concerto?

[minor9th]

And doesn't Alban Berg's Kammerkonzert almost count as a piano concerto?

Almost--I'm thinking of a traditional large orchestral piece.

[iumonito]

Godowsky should have written one, or at least arranged one.

I have good news.  Mozart K. 488, complete with romantic and motivically overstuffed cadenzas.

Where is Millan when you need a Godowsky scholar.  Al, you know about this stuff?  Marc surely knows this transcription if a copy is available for study, and I have heard there is.

[retrouvailles]

Oh, too bad it was a Mozart concerto. I was hoping for something a bit more romantic and with a bit more substance (sorry, Mozart fans).

[pianistimo]

like strauss?  the strauss-evler 'blue danube' is quite fantastic.

did strauss ever compose a piano concerto?

[retrouvailles]

(Richard) Strauss has 3 piano concertante works, actually. He has Parergon zur Sinfonia Domestica (left hand alone), Panathenänzug (left hand alone), and the popular Burlesque. Johann Strauss II (or any of the others) don't have piano concertos, thankfully. I can't stand their waltzes, except in transcribed form.

[arensky]

Griffes probably would have composed a good concerto or a piano and orchestra work along the lines of his "Poem" for flute and orchestra if he'd lived a bit longer.

As far as I know neither one of them wrote a single note of solo piano music but Verdi and Puccini could have written extraordinary piano concerti if they had set their mind to it.

[retrouvailles]

Also, I should mention that Ferneyhough does have a concertante work for piano. It's his Firecycle Beta, which is for two pianos and orchestra, and it calls for 5 conductors. I don't think there is a recording of it yet though. Surely it is able to be recorded. The "cubist" music of Evgeni Kostitsyn has been recorded, and his works sometimes call for 9 conductors! But I digress.

[eastman_grad]

Sibelius

[frigo]

Eric Satie...  that would be something...

[healdie]

Mahler would interesting

[cmg]

Debussy, but I can't really imagine him wanting to wrap his brain around sonata allegro form.  Probably why he avoided writing concerti.  Too Teutonic.  He'd have had to invent another delivery system, I think, but it would have been a beaut.

[thierry13]

Debussy, but I can't really imagine him wanting to wrap his brain around sonata allegro form.  Probably why he avoided writing concerti.  Too Teutonic.  He'd have had to invent another delivery system, I think, but it would have been a beaut.

He actually has a fantasy for piano and orchestra in 3 movements wich ressembles greatly a piano concerto, and it is sooo beautiful!

[ryguillian]

Every thread I start is insanely popular and gets a lot of responses.

“Something you may not know about me... I take in purebreads and tattoo eyebrows on them... look at the good I do.” — Brenda Dickson parody.

[michel dvorsky]

Schubert

[thalbergmad]

Rauol Pugno - Concertstucke put no conerto. Would have been nice light romanticism
August Stradal - Regerish transcriptions. Conerto could have been massive
Robert Freund - Another Liszt pupil/composer. Same comment as aboe
Carl Tausig - Well, he did write one but it is lost
Ignaz Friedman - Interesting solo output, but no concerto
Louis Gotschalk - works for piano/orchestra, might have been week in the orchestral part
Moritz Rosenthal - would have been immense
Frederic Lamond - same comments as for Stradal
Hanon - might have been repetative
Smetena - Perhaps he was not a pianist??

The End

Thal

[indutrial]

Carl Vine wrote one, but I would love for him do nine more!

Szymanowski's fourth symphony sort of counts, but he never wrote any straight-up 'piano concertos.' I imagine they would have been awesome if he did compose them.

Did Dutilleux ever write a concerto? If not, he's also at the top of my list.

There are several composers who penned one concerto who I'd have loved (or I would love) more by. That would include:

Edison Denisov
Andre Jolivet
Elliott Carter (though he did also do the Double Concerto for piano, harpsichord, and two orchs.)
Roger Sessions
Francis Poulenc
Albert Roussel
Alexander Tansman (his only extant one is No. 2  )
Horatio Radulescu

[thalbergmad]

That would make a good thread. Composers who only wrote one and should have written more.

Perhaps also, composers that should not have bothered.

Thal

[retrouvailles]

Elliott Carter actually has many pieces for piano and orchestra, such as Dialogues, Soundings, and Interventions, in addition to the two aforementioned concertos.

And Thal, Gottschalk has the Grand Tarantelle for piano and orch and many other works that feature a solo piano in a concertante role. And there is an arrangement of Tausig's Ungarische Zigeunerweisen for piano and orch, but I forget the arranger.

[webern78]

Apparently Penderecki extensively revised his piano concerto, so he technically has two now, heh. It's a shame he didn't compose one during the 50s-early 70s. That would have been even better.

Are you serious? Penderecki's late work is pure genius, far superior to his early stuff.

[pianisten1989]

A piano concerto by Czerny would probably not be very beautiful, but still kind of intresting And a third piano concerto by Chopin... and by Schubert

[mephisto]

Are you serious? Penderecki's late work is pure genius, far superior to his early stuff.

I don't know what you want to accomplish by this post. The obvious scenario is that jre will respond by saying that he dissagrees...

[mephisto]

A piano concerto by Czerny would probably not be very beautiful, but still kind of intresting

He did write one.

[thalbergmad]

Czerny wrote 6 concertos plus concertinos, conerto for 4 hands and gawd knows how many other works for piano and orchestra.

The Op214 has been recorded and it is actually rather pleasant.

Thal

[retrouvailles]

Are you serious? Penderecki's late work is pure genius, far superior to his early stuff.

Nope. I think his earlier stuff is what people will always remember him for. His music from that time is very challenging, but it comes more from the heart. Don't get me wrong, I love his later works, but his earlier works are more human and closer to the heart.

[mikey6]

Smetena - Perhaps he was not a pianist??

Smetana was a pianist (or are you being sarcastic?).  The Trio is horrendously hard and there are, I'm sure you would have, quite a few piano works which should get played more!

Hanon - might have been repetative

Ah, but think, what an excersice for piano and orchestra would sound like!    Bernard would well have prescribed it.

[ryguillian]

Roslavets!

[aewanko]

Stravinsky. But it might need large instrumentation as well as controversial ballet dancing. 

[retrouvailles]

Stravinsky. But it might need large instrumentation as well as controversial ballet dancing. 

He wrote quite a few concertante works with piano, actually. The Concerto for Piano and Winds, Movements for piano and orchestra, and the Capriccio for piano and orchestra are 3 examples. Some people even try to make a case for his Ebony Concerto as being a piano concerto-like work.

[aewanko]

He wrote quite a few concertante works with piano, actually. The Concerto for Piano and Winds, Movements for piano and orchestra, and the Capriccio for piano and orchestra are 3 examples. Some people even try to make a case for his Ebony Concerto as being a piano concerto-like work.

Oh I see.

[concerto_love]

wooow...

[retrouvailles]

wooow...

What?

[thalbergmad]

Wooow is an Indonesian composer who has not written a piano concerto.

Thal

[concerto_love]

  I was surprised! Czerny wrote concertos?!?!  I even didn't who's wooow actually 

[indutrial]

Roslavets!

Good call on this one. I was going to mention Roslavets' contemporary Mosolov before I checked Onno Van Rijen's page and learned that he actually composed two piano concertos, though I've never seen nor heard either of them. Other Russian/Soviet composers would include:

Protopopov (no idea if he has or not, all I know about are the sonatas)
Stanchinsky (probably would have if he'd lived longer)
Gliere (?)
Glinka (?)

[retrouvailles]

I have heard one of the Mosolov concertos and it was nothing like his sonatas or those two nocturnes. It seemed very watered down compared to them. It was like very watered down Roslavets. I will listen to it again and give a more accurate description if anyone wants. It really didn't strike me the first few times I listened to it.

[indutrial]

I have heard one of the Mosolov concertos and it was nothing like his sonatas or those two nocturnes. It seemed very watered down compared to them. It was like very watered down Roslavets. I will listen to it again and give a more accurate description if anyone wants. It really didn't strike me the first few times I listened to it.

I've not heard them but I know that he didn't compose concertos until after 1926 or so, when he wrote Zavod and, simultaneously, found himself in the crosshairs of the authorities. While I'm not sure how much either of these things affected his compositional approach, it is true that all of the sonatas and the two nocturnes were works from before that period.