Fundamental repertoire (1945-2000)

[gerryjay]

Dear people of Piano St.,
every now and then, there is a thread about the music of the 20th century, based on the likes and dislikes of everybody. I would like now to propose a different view: what are the fundamental works composed in the second half of the 20th century?

First, I excluded the first half because I assume it is well defined by now (Debussy, Bartok, Ravel, Prokofiev, Schoenberg/Berg/Webern, usw). Then, please notice that it is not about what you love (or whether you think Boulez is music or not): there are other threads to discuss that. The idea is to point out the works and composers that are the most representative of this period.

Feel free to include in your list your favorite performer of each work.

Best regards,
Jay.

[sordel]

Recent history says that this will go bad soon, but before it does: piano repertoire only or general classical repertoire?

[bleicher]

So much music! No list is going to be 'typical' or 'representative'. I shall just start with a random list of works that have popped into my head. I think between us all we should be able to put a pretty good list together.

Messiaen - Catalogue des Oiseaux
Ligeti - Etudes
Cage - Sonatas and Interludes for prepared piano
Birtwistle - Harrison's Clocks

[sordel]

Okay, start with piano then. Another vote for Catalogue des Oiseaux, plus:

Shostakovich   24 Preludes and Fugues (1950-1)
Rzewski      Variations on “The People United Will Never Be Defeated” (1975)

[bleicher]

Ah, I hadn't spotted that the question wasn't limited to piano works. I shall resist the temptation to add any more to this list while I'm at work, though.

[gerryjay]

Recent history says that this will go bad soon, but before it does: piano repertoire only or general classical repertoire?

Well...since it is the piano repertoire board, I forgot to specify. But yes, piano repertoire.

So much music! No list is going to be 'typical' or 'representative'.

Although I agree with your point (there is no typical list), I think that there are works that are representative enough to be recurrent.

Best regards,
Jay.

[indutrial]

I'm no pianist, but I would exclude Cage's prepared piano crapola because it's way too much effort for comparably little payoff.

Dusapin's set of etudes would be worth including.

I would include Niels Viggo Bentzon's Partita, op. 38, which just noses its way in as a piece composed in 1945. As well, a great deal of his other output (including the monstrous amount of sonatas, prelude/fugue pairs, and piano suites) certainly deserves more scrutiny from the piano-playing community, as better performances of these works might garner him the recognition he deserves. What few scores I've heard reveal him to be endlessly interesting in a compositional sense, and his appeal to performers could likely reach similar heights.

Maybe Sonata for Piano in Memoriam Ferruccio Busoni by Otto Luening, in addition to numerous other works that openly aim to explore classical approaches and pay tribute to past composers in modern harmonic languages. A ton of works could fall into this description, including Milhaud's Hymne de glorification, Op. 331 and many works by Krenek, etc... To this day, it's always been puzzling and disappointing to see how widely this kind of music gets disregarded in comparison to works that precede and follow it stylistically and chronologically, unless of course the composer has a powerful-sounding Russian name.

Though I enjoy their works, I'm reluctant to push the works of Xenakis and New Complexity composers into this kind of category because of their extremity. These works should not even be attempted by performers until they've exhausted everything else and honed their techniques to a diamond edge. I don't mean to suggest that these works represent any sort of artistic pinnacles that shan't be touched (though they may...), but they clearly demand the presence of performers with scary-strong abilities to get the performances to sound remotely like the scores.

[gerryjay]

Dear Indutrial,
thanks for your contribution.

I'm no pianist, but I would exclude Cage's prepared piano crapola because it's way too much effort for comparably little payoff.

I like the prepared instrument, although it is a sort of hard commitment: you can simply "play a couple of sonatas" in the middle of a recital. But, on the other hand, it is not an effort bigger than tuning the instrument to a recital.

Dusapin's set of etudes would be worth including.

I would include Niels Viggo Bentzon's Partita, op. 38, which just noses its way in as a piece composed in 1945. As well, a great deal of his other output (including the monstrous amount of sonatas, prelude/fugue pairs, and piano suites) certainly deserves more scrutiny from the piano-playing community, as better performances of these works might garner him the recognition he deserves. What few scores I've heard reveal him to be endlessly interesting in a compositional sense, and his appeal to performers could likely reach similar heights.

Maybe Sonata for Piano in Memoriam Ferruccio Busoni by Otto Luening, in addition to numerous other works that openly aim to explore classical approaches and pay tribute to past composers in modern harmonic languages. A ton of works could fall into this description, including Milhaud's Hymne de glorification, Op. 331 and many works by Krenek, etc...

These are composers that deserve to be explored, and I include myself in the list of people who need to know better Dusapin, for instance. They are examples of what you comment, and I am most concerned about: treasures hidden below the n-th recording of the same standard pieces.

To this day, it's always been puzzling and disappointing to see how widely this kind of music gets disregarded in comparison to works that precede and follow it stylistically and chronologically, unless of course the composer has a powerful-sounding Russian name.

That is the point! Do the name of the composer you thought about begin with a rach- and end with an -off?

Though I enjoy their works, I'm reluctant to push the works of Xenakis and New Complexity composers into this kind of category because of their extremity. These works should not even be attempted by performers until they've exhausted everything else and honed their techniques to a diamond edge. I don't mean to suggest that these works represent any sort of artistic pinnacles that shan't be touched (though they may...), but they clearly demand the presence of performers with scary-strong abilities to get the performances to sound remotely like the scores.

Here I must disagree. I don't think that a fearful approach will result in anything good. So I am very pro playing Xenakis or Ferneyhough, or other composers, even if you don't have actually everything that is required. At some point in the future, this music will be part of syllabuses and the like, and be played by only slightly advanced students. So why don't start it now?

Best regards,
Jay.

[indutrial]

Do the name of the composer you thought about begin with a rach- and end with an -off?

Though Rachmaninoff is certainly the biggest lightning rod of what I was playing at, I feel that the exotic and masculine draw of Russian/Soviet composers in general causes them to receive more attention than their chronological/stylistic contemporaries from France, Germany, and "lesser" countries like Czech, Poland, Belgium, Holland, Bulgaria and Denmark. Don't get me wrong...I like the works of Prokofiev and Shostakovich as much as the next sensible person would (and should), but I feel no small sense of force behind their cultural appeal, or their marketing (for lack of a better description).

Here I must disagree. I don't think that a fearful approach will result in anything good. So I am very pro playing Xenakis or Ferneyhough, or other composers, even if you don't have actually everything that is required. At some point in the future, this music will be part of syllabuses and the like, and be played by only slightly advanced students. So why don't start it now?

Best regards,
Jay.

The reason I cast a warning thought in this direction lies in the fact that, of all the students I've met who puff themselves up about these sorts of composers, none of them have ever seemed to have the first damned clue about post-1900 music on the whole and too many of them seemed to be simply weaponizing their tastes in order to seem "more-avant-than-thou", etc... I didn't mean to suggest that this music is useless to any hypothetical modern curricula... more simply, I think that most modern musicians don't possess the prowess to honestly deal with works like Ferneyhough's and should focus more on building a firmer foundation with less hyper-advanced work. You could be right also, though... Maybe I've just dealt with too many idiots...

[sordel]

The reason I cast a warning thought in this direction lies in the fact that, of all the students I've met who puff themselves up about these sorts of composers, none of them have ever seemed to have the first damned clue about post-1900 music on the whole and too many of them seemed to be simply weaponizing their tastes in order to seem "more-avant-than-thou", etc...

One of the real problems with late Twentieth Century repertoire is that the performers have given one level of distortion to the canon, and then listeners have given another. Despite the fact that many performers are sincere advocates of experimental music, I don't doubt that some at least only played it in order to have an esoteric specialisation. Then, largely on the basis of hyperbolic liner notes, a whole bunch of so-called music fans climbed aboard the bandwagon without paying much attention where it was heading.

Disentangling these vested interests is going to be the work of another century or two, which is one reason why it's so difficult to do the work undertaken by this thread.

(Oh, and I love your expression "weaponizing their tastes"!  )

[indutrial]

One of the real problems with late Twentieth Century repertoire is that the performers have given one level of distortion to the canon, and then listeners have given another. Despite the fact that many performers are sincere advocates of experimental music, I don't doubt that some at least only played it in order to have an esoteric specialisation. Then, largely on the basis of hyperbolic liner notes, a whole bunch of so-called music fans climbed aboard the bandwagon without paying much attention where it was heading.

Disentangling these vested interests is going to be the work of another century or two, which is one reason why it's so difficult to do the work undertaken by this thread.

(Oh, and I love your expression "weaponizing their tastes"!  )

The same post-modern flights have also, of late, become the esoteric specializations of many composition teachers, which adds further convolution to the whole mess, as many performing students get swept into the boundary-shattering tastelessness of newer composition students' works.

I feel like it may take a century to properly get our ducks in a row with music composed between 1900 and 1950. Most music students I've encountered have spotty knowledge of 17th-19th century composers and borderline absentmindedness regarding things that were composed after 1925.

[thalbergmad]

boundary-shattering tastelessness

You have a way with words that brings a smile to my face.

Thal

[scott13]

Check out a New Zealand Composer "Douglas Lilburn" he composed several noteworthy pieces, of which my favourites would be the:

1) Three Sea Changes (1960-1989)
2) Piano Sonata (not sure of the year)
3) Chaconne for piano (also not sure of the year)

All 3 pieces a beautiful and being a NZ pianist myself i can say he is fairly unknown to most of the world.

[richard black]

As a friend and fan of Ronald Stevenson I feel I should nominate some of his music as being 'fundamental repertoire', though I'd have to admit that very little of it achieves anything likea regular or frequent outings. All the same, his 'Passacaglia on DSCH' is an important work and I suspect a lot more people know about that than have actually played it!

[sordel]

As a friend and fan of Ronald Stevenson I feel I should nominate some of his music as being 'fundamental repertoire', though I'd have to admit that very little of it achieves anything like a regular or frequent outings. All the same, his 'Passacaglia on DSCH' is an important work and I suspect a lot more people know about that than have actually played it!

I considered mentioning this as well, but it's a bit like poking a stick through the bars of Thal's cage to do so. I like the Passacaglia, but I find his second piano concerto rather ghastly: too much pastiche writing for my liking. I nevertheless wish that more recordings of his music were available.

[gerryjay]

Check out a New Zealand Composer "Douglas Lilburn" he composed several noteworthy pieces, of which my favourites would be the:

1) Three Sea Changes (1960-1989)
2) Piano Sonata (not sure of the year)
3) Chaconne for piano (also not sure of the year)

All 3 pieces a beautiful and being a NZ pianist myself i can say he is fairly unknown to most of the world.

Dear Scott,
greating from the other side of the world! And thanks for the suggestion. I was looking for some background information about Lilburn, and I'd like to share the following (Grove, 2011):

"Lilburn is a New Zealand composer with an authentic voice, an individual utterance and the power to evoke both a real and visionary landscape. He overcame the, at times, formidable difficulties of working on an outer fringe of European musical culture and forged from unpromising material (a negligible folk inheritance, a pastiche English church and pastoral tradition) a highly articulate, unmistakable personal style that has undergone metamorphosis through three principal periods. The first, rhapsodic and astringently Romantic, absorbed influences of Sibelius and Vaughan Williams and culminated in the Second Symphony (1951). The second traversed Bartók, Stravinsky, the Second Viennese School and contemporary Americans to end in the Third Symphony (1961). The third phase was devoted to electro-acoustic music."

Which gives an idea of his output. About the pieces you mentioned, the Chaconne is from 1946 and the Sonata, 1949. I found a glimpse of his music in youtube. Among other stuff, the third movement from his forementioned Sonata (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOqqfyCqP_8).

Best regards,
Jay.

[gerryjay]

As a friend and fan of Ronald Stevenson I feel I should nominate some of his music as being 'fundamental repertoire', though I'd have to admit that very little of it achieves anything likea regular or frequent outings. All the same, his 'Passacaglia on DSCH' is an important work and I suspect a lot more people know about that than have actually played it!

Dear Richard,
The Passacaglia is a masterpiece. Besides the fact that is obviously a compositional tour de force, it sounds great and can have quite an appeal to the audience. It is exactly the kind of work that I am looking for, thanks for the mention!

Best regards,
Jay.

[thalbergmad]

I considered mentioning this as well, but it's a bit like poking a stick through the bars of Thal's cage to do so.

Oh, please don't let me put you off mentioning composers. I would feel terrible if I did.

Cannot recall Stevenson making much of an impression on me, apart from one short work that I seem to recall was on one of Hough's Piano Albums, but I might be wrong.

For Scottish contemporary, I lean more towards Callum Kenmuir who composes rather well in a romantic vein, but apart from him, Scotland seems to be about as fruitful as the Atacama desert.

Must go back to my cage now as it is feeding time.

Thal

[gerryjay]

For Scottish contemporary, I lean more towards Callum Kenmuir who composes rather well in a romantic vein, but apart from him, Scotland seems to be about as fruitful as the Atacama desert.

Back on my guitar days, I used to play a piece by Edward McGuire called - well - Music for guitar(s). Other than him, I enjoy the music of Judith Weir and James McMillan. But...or my memory is fading, or I simply don't know a fourth recent scottish composer.

Must go back to my cage now as it is feeding time.

Loose policy, these of your cage... what is the menu today?

Best regards,
Jay.

[ahinton]

For Scottish contemporary, I lean more towards Callum Kenmuir who composes rather well in a romantic vein, but apart from him, Scotland seems to be about as fruitful as the Atacama desert.

Well, thanks so much, old chap...(!)

Best,

Alistair

[mephisto]

I do honestly believe that Carl Vine's piano sonata No. 1 (1990) should be considered one of the best piano sonatas of the 20th century. Everybody who haven't heard it already should do so

[alkanowsky]

hi all, i think you also should consider Frank Martins 8 Preludes, a truly phenomenal work, as well as Ernst Levys Piano Sonatas

[gerryjay]

Dear Alkanowsky,
welcome! Frank Martin is a very fine composer. I knew him through his Quatre pieces breves for guitar (which was one of the works that I played most often in my life), and his piano Preludes are as wonderful as those.

Best regards,
Jay.

[gerryjay]

I'd like to thank all replies, and provide a list of the works mentioned so far:

• Bentzon, Niels Viggo (Denmark, 1919-2000): Partita opus 38 (1945)
• Birtwistle, Harrison (England, 1934): Harrison's Clocks (1998)
• Cage, John (United States, 1912-1992): Sonatas and Interludes for prepared piano (1948)
• Dusapin, Pascal (France, 1955): Sept Etudes (2001)
• Ligeti, Gyorgy (Hungary, 1923): Etudes (three books: 1985, 1994, the third is a work in progress since 1995)
• Lilburn, Douglas (New Zealand, 1915-2001): Three Sea Changes (1989), Piano Sonata (1949), Chaconne (1946)
• Luening, Otto (United States, 1900-1996): Sonata for Piano in Memoriam Ferruccio Busoni (1955)
• Martin, Frank (Switzerland, 1890-1974): Eight preludes (1948)
• Messiaen, Olivier (France, 1908-1992): Catalogue d'Oiseaux (1958)
• Milhaud, Darius (France, 1892-1974): Hymne de glorification opus 331 (1954)
• Rzewski, Frederic (United States, 1938): The People United Will Never Be Defeated (1975)
• Shostakovich, Dmitry (Russia, 1906-1975): 24 Preludes and Fugues opus 87 (1951)
• Stevenson, Ronald (Scotland, 1928): Passacaglia on DSCH (1962)
• Vine, Carl (Australia, 1954): Piano sonata n. 1 (1990)

Other composers mentioned (no reference to a specific work), are Callum Kenmuir, Ernst Krenek, and Ernst Levy.

[gerryjay]

Then, I'd like to share my personal list, excluding the works already listed above:

• Adams, John (United States, 1947): China Gates (1977)
• Babbitt, Milton (United States, 1916-2011): Semi-Simple Variations (1956)
• Barber, Samuel (United States, 1910-1981): Sonata (1949)
• Bennett, Richard Rodney (England, 1936): Five studies (1964)
• Berio, Luciano (Italia, 1925-2003): Sequenza IV (1966)
• Boulez, Pierre (France, 1925): Douze Notations (1945), Sonata n. 2 (1948), Sonata n. 3 (1957)
• Cage, John: Music of Changes (1951), 4'33 (1952)
• Camargo Guarnieri, Mozart (Brazil, 1907-1993): Ponteios (five books: 1935, 1949, 1955, 1957, 1959)
• Carter, Elliott (United States, 1908): Sonata (1946), Night Fantasies (1980)
• Copland, Aaron (United States, 1900-1990): Piano Fantasy (1957)
• Finnissy, Michael (England, 1946): English Country Tunes (1977)
• Ginastera, Alberto (Argentina, 1916-1983): Piano Sonata n. 1 (1952)
• Mompou, Frederic (Spain, 1893-1987): Musica callada (four volumes, 1959-1967)
• Nancarrow, Conlon (United States, 1912-1997): Studies for Player Piano (c.1948-1992)
• Nobre, Marlos (Brazil, 1939): Tango opus 61 (1994)
• Rzewski, Frederic: 4 North American Ballads (1978)
• Stockhausen, Karlheinz (Germany, 1928-2007): Klavierstücke (eleven works: I-IV, 1952; V-X, 1955; XI, 1956)
• Takemitsu, Toru (Japan, 1930-1996): Ame no ki (1982)
• Tippett, Michael (England, 1905-1998): Piano sonata n. 2 (1962)
• Xenakis, Iannis (Greece, 1922-2001): Herma (1961)

What your thoughts about that?

Best regards,
Jay.

[cmg]

Very thoughtful compilation.  Sorry, may have missed it, but did you list Americans Ned Rorem and Paul Creston?

[gerryjay]

Very thoughtful compilation.  Sorry, may have missed it, but did you list Americans Ned Rorem and Paul Creston?

Dear Cmg,
No, I didn't. Rorem is a top name on my side list with his Three Bagatelles, but I thought I have plenty of Americans already.
Best regards,
Jay.

[sordel]

Then, I'd like to share my personal list, excluding the works already listed above:

• Adams, John (United States, 1947): China Gates (1977)

It's funny how your perception can be changed by information. When I saw this I thought "Surely you mean "Phrygian Gates"!". I've always underrated "China Gates" I think, because it was recorded later and I had somehow thought that it was a later and inferior work. I still prefer "Phrygian Gates" but I shall now be less dismissive of its small cousin.[/list]

[gerryjay]

It's funny how your perception can be changed by information. When I saw this I thought "Surely you mean "Phrygian Gates"!". I've always underrated "China Gates" I think, because it was recorded later and I had somehow thought that it was a later and inferior work. I still prefer "Phrygian Gates" but I shall now be less dismissive of its small cousin.

Dear Sordel,
that was a difficult call, and I must be honest: perhaps today, I'd rather list Phrygian Gates. Both works share so much in common that it will depend on the factor you see as more important. Either way, one of those is the most representative minimalist work for solo piano, imho, hence the mention.

What about a poll? China or Phrygian Gates?

Best regards,
Jay.

[cmg]

Dear Cmg,
No, I didn't. Rorem is a top name on my side list with his Three Bagatelles, but I thought I have plenty of Americans already.
Best regards,
Jay.

Please add his Second Piano Concerto (1951) to your list.  It's a fabulous work, comparable in quality to the Ravel G Major.  Naxos has the world premiere recording with Simon Mulligan, pianist, and Jose Serebrier, conducting the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. 

[gerryjay]

Please add his Second Piano Concerto (1951) to your list.  It's a fabulous work, comparable in quality to the Ravel G Major.  Naxos has the world premiere recording with Simon Mulligan, pianist, and Jose Serebrier, conducting the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. 

Dear Cmg,
I have this CD, and it is very cool. It opens a new list altogether: piano concertos, and non solo repertoire in general. From the top of my head, I remember Reich's Piano Phase and Six Pianos, Messiaen's Turangalîla-symphonie, Ginastera's Piano Quintet, Stockhausen's Mantra, Boulez' Flute Sonatine, Shostakovich's Second Piano Concerto... it will be as huge as the solo list!

Best regards,
Jay.

[sordel]

As with solo piano repertoire, I'm not sure what counts as fundamental repertoire for concertos, since so few of them get multiple performances.

Messiaen, Des Canyons aux Etoiles (Most important concerto for any instrument post 1945?)
John Adams, Century Rolls and Grand Pianola Music
Tippett, Piano Concerto
Ligeti, Piano Concerto

Less important but well worth investigation are Lou Harrison's Piano Concerto, Peter Dickinson's Piano Concerto, Paul Schoenfield's Four Parables and Keith Jarrett's The Celestial Hawk. I'm not even going to try with chamber music ensembles because I listen to so few pieces.

I'd differ with you, Jay, on the two Reich pieces ... I think that they are fine works for tracing Reich's development, but I think that they are minor works in his oeuvre.

[gerryjay]

Dear Sordel,
very nice suggestions. Tippett's would be the very next work I would write if I continued the initial list on my last post.

Messiaen, Des Canyons aux Etoiles (Most important concerto for any instrument post 1945?)

Difficult to say, but it is a serious candidate. Messiaen is a superlative composer, and this work is from that rare vintage of works which takes you to a different level. I'd really like to listen to a live performance of that.

I'd differ with you, Jay, on the two Reich pieces ... I think that they are fine works for tracing Reich's development, but I think that they are minor works in his oeuvre.

Actually? That is interesting: to me, Six Pianos is the most Reichian work by Reich.

Best regards,
Jay.

[indutrial]

Did anyone suggest Henri Dutilleux's Piano Sonata (1948)? Even though the composer doesn't care for it, I would argue that it is a fantastic and mesmerizing work, not to mention hard as hell to play convincingly.

Both of Jolivet's piano sonatas would make for good repertoire as well.

[jazzyprof]

William Bolcom (USA): 1996 Gaea, Concerto for Two Pianos Left Hand, and Orchestra
                              : Graceful Ghost Rag
Nikolai Kapustin (Ukranian Russian): Variations, op. 41

[mephisto]

Did anyone suggest Henri Dutilleux's Piano Sonata (1948)? Even though the composer doesn't care for it, I would argue that it is a fantastic and mesmerizing work, not to mention hard as hell to play convincingly.

Great chocie! I especially love Ogdon's recording. But I didn't know that the composer didn't like the sonata himself.

[gvans]

I have enjoyed this thread, lots of new works to listen to and read through. May I mention the work of Charles Wuorinen (born 1938)? I heard Peter Serkin play his Scherzo a year or two ago, and it knocked my argyles off. Not an easy piece to play, or to listen to, but astounding.

[retrouvailles]

William Bolcom (USA): 1996 Gaea, Concerto for Two Pianos Left Hand, and Orchestra
                              : Graceful Ghost Rag
Nikolai Kapustin (Ukranian Russian): Variations, op. 41

If I recall correctly, Gaea has not been recorded yet, and has not had many performances either, to my knowledge. How could it be considered fundamental? I agree wholeheartedly with your other two suggestions, though.

[indutrial]

I have enjoyed this thread, lots of new works to listen to and read through. May I mention the work of Charles Wuorinen (born 1938)? I heard Peter Serkin play his Scherzo a year or two ago, and it knocked my argyles off. Not an easy piece to play, or to listen to, but astounding.

Wuorinen's piano music certainly deserves a spot in any list of modern repertoire. I would suggest 'Blue Bamboula' and the 3rd and 4th sonatas, but other works would probably be suitable as well. A lot of his chamber work involving piano is also worthy of greater attention. Of his numerous concerto works, I would recommend the 3rd piano concerto the most. I haven't heard the others, but I'm certain they're also good.

Nobody's mentioned William Albright or Edison Denisov either. I recently heard the latter's piano concerto for the first time and was impressed at the work's power and playfulness. It's definitely miles from easy (on the ears, hands, or otherwise), but well worth a listen.

[fftransform]

Ablinger- Voices and Piano
Adams, John (United States, 1947): China Gates (1977)
Babbitt, Milton (United States, 1916-2011): Semi-Simple Variations (1956)
Babbitt- Lagniappe, Post-Partitions
Barber, Samuel (United States, 1910-1981): Sonata (1949)
Barraque- Sonate pour Piano
Bennett, Richard Rodney (England, 1936): Five studies (1964)
Berio, Luciano (Italia, 1925-2003): Sequenza IV (1966)
Boucourechliev- Archipel 4
Boulez, Pierre (France, 1925): Douze Notations (1945), Sonata n. 2 (1948), Sonata n. 3 (1957)
Boulez- Premiere Sonate pour Piano
Brown- 25 Pages
Bussotti- Five Pieces for David Tudor, Pour Clavier
Cage, John: Music of Changes (1951), 4'33 (1952)
Cage- Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano
Camargo Guarnieri, Mozart (Brazil, 1907-1993): Ponteios (five books: 1935, 1949, 1955, 1957, 1959)
Carter, Elliott (United States, 1908): Sonata (1946), Night Fantasies (1980)
Copland, Aaron (United States, 1900-1990): Piano Fantasy (1957)
Donatoni- Rima
Durand- Le Chemin
Estrada- Memorias
Feldman- Palais de Mari
Ferneyhough- Lemma-Icon-Epigram
Finnissy, Michael (England, 1946): English Country Tunes (1977)
Finnissy- History of Photography in Sound
Ginastera, Alberto (Argentina, 1916-1983): Piano Sonata n. 1 (1952)
Goehr- . . . in Real Time
Haubenstock-Ramati- Catch II
Hespos- -Z...()
Hiller- 12-Tone Variations
Hubler- Sonetto LXXXIII del Michelangelo
Kurtag- Jatekok
Lachenmann- Ein Kinderspiel
Ligeti- Etudes Book I
Louvier- Etudes pour Agresseurs
Messiaen- Catalogue d'Oiseaux
Mompou, Frederic (Spain, 1893-1987): Musica callada (four volumes, 1959-1967)
Murail- Territoires de l'Oubli
Nancarrow, Conlon (United States, 1912-1997): Studies for Player Piano (c.1948-1992)
Nobre, Marlos (Brazil, 1939): Tango opus 61 (1994)
Nono- . . . sofferte onde serene . . .
Nunes- Litanies du Feu et de la Mer
Otte- Das Buch der Klange
Reich- Piano Phase
Rochberg- Nach Bach
Rzewski, Frederic: 4 North American Ballads (1978)
Rzewski- De Profundis
Scelsi- Action Music, Cinque Incantesimi
Schnebel- Monotonie IV
Sciarrino- Sonata No. 4, Anamorfosi, De la Nuit
Stabler- Traum 1/9/92
Stockhausen, Karlheinz (Germany, 1928-2007): Klavierstücke (eleven works: I-IV, 1952; V-X, 1955; XI, 1956)
Stockhausen- Klavierstuck I-IV, VI, X, XI, XIV, XVI
Takemitsu, Toru (Japan, 1930-1996): Ame no ki (1982)
Takemitsu- Corona, Rain Tree Sketch I, Piano Distance
Tippett, Michael (England, 1905-1998): Piano sonata n. 2 (1962)
Ustvolskaya- Sonatas 1-6
Vivier- Shiraz
Wolff- For Piano I
Xenakis, Iannis (Greece, 1922-2001): Herma (1961)
Xenakis- Evryali

Of historical or innovative significance, not of the performance popularity at this given moment.