Which pieces/works should every advanced pianist master?

[maestro_steph]

Hello everyone,

I've been looking for a long time, searching for a list of works everyone with an advanced level should master. The classics everybody knows (like the Moonlight Sonata or the Turkish March), but also the classics only pianists know about (like Nocturnes or Piano Concertos).

This is because sometimes, I'm stuck in finding a piece that's worth studying. When you are reaching the advanced level, no way you know all of Liszt's pieces and no way you already know which ones are commonly mastered.

If you have any suggestions, or maybe you found a list like this somewhere on the internet, that would be great. We can collect them in this topic.

Thank you!

[anaqvi]

If you ask me, It should be standard that every "advanced" pianist can play all the bach inventions, sinfonias. his well-temepered clavier. They should also have played all mozart sonatas, some of Haydns. That is just the foundation. Chopin etudes and Liszt etudes surely will take some time to master if you've never seen them before. Advanced is a subjective word anyways.

[anaqvi]

I think you SHOULD master the ones you want to play. You are right you cannot play every Liszt piece. Just choose the ones that facsinate you.

[stevebob]

Hello everyone,

I've been looking for a long time, searching for a list of works everyone with an advanced level should master. The classics everybody knows (like the Moonlight Sonata or the Turkish March), but also the classics only pianists know about (like Nocturnes or Piano Concertos).

This is because sometimes, I'm stuck in finding a piece that's worth studying. When you are reaching the advanced level, no way you know all of Liszt's pieces and no way you already know which ones are commonly mastered.

If you have any suggestions, or maybe you found a list like this somewhere on the internet, that would be great. We can collect them in this topic.

Thank you!

I don't think there's anything that should be mastered by every advanced pianist.  People have differing reasons and purposes for playing, and it goes without saying that taste in music is highly individual.

Actually, it is very possible to know which pieces by Liszt (or any other composer) are commonly mastered.  A few suggestions would be scanning the syllabi of national music boards like the ABRSM, looking at playlists from piano competitions, and examining the repertoire of virtuoso performers.  The recorded legacy of the great pianists of the past is indispensable, too, and often accessible via YouTube.

While a bit of research will show which works are frequently chosen, I doubt there could be consensus about what would be included on a "must master" list—even within a limited historical period, a single stylistic genre, or even for individual composers.  Books have been written that discuss the composers whose reputations have withstood the test of time and which of their works can be considered landmarks of the repertoire.  Friskin and Freundlich's Music for the Piano is a good (and inexpensive) place to start.

[maestro_steph]

Of course you can not say that certain pieces are mandatory, but I mean, that I think that every advanced piano player should play e.g. Liebestraum, La Campanella, Fantaisie Impromptu... those are pieces which do great in concerts.

And of course it depends on your personal taste, but do you understand what I'm trying to say here?

[anaqvi]

Add hungarian rhapsody 2 to the list.

[anaqvi]

None of us will reach that level but the reason I said advanced is a subjective word is because some of the old masters really were advanced. Liszt was known to site read as well as prepared performers play advanced works. Prodigies in the past could tranpose and improvise advanced pieces on the spot.

[gyzzzmo]

i vote for chopin etudes, rachmaninov preludes and Bach suites.

[darkstar87]

liebestraum? fantasie impromptu? 2nd hungarian rhapsody?

add fur elise and moonlight sonata!!!

[richard black]

Well, why not Erlkönig, Spring Waters, the Kreutzer Sonata, Götterdämmerung, Prokofiev Flute Sonata.... apart from anything else, you've a much better chance of actually earning a living by knowing that lot.

[bugmenot4]

liebestraum? fantasie impromptu? 2nd hungarian rhapsody?

add fur elise and moonlight sonata!!!

Yeah, Moonlight Sonata definitely!!
And preferably some good movie music too (Braveheart, Pirates of the Carribean, etc.)

[thalbergmad]

Definately, and i would add the Eastenders themetune and the nice little ditty played by the icecream van.

Essential repetoire.

Thal

[thalbergmad]

Does anyone have the sheets for the Windows XP start up song as I would like to write some variations?

Thal

[hansscherff]

Does anyone have the sheets for the Windows XP start up song as I would like to write some variations?

Thal

I have it, but i have it scanned from the Utrecht University Library so i'm not sure if i'm allowed to share, i don't think its still being published though, i'll ask around for it, else you'll get the pdf. It's the urtext.