what is a nice slow romantic piece?

[werther]

I'm new to piano playing and I'd love to learn a romantic or melancholy piece. I'm really bad at playing fast therefor I'd like a suggestion to a slow but nice piece. For a reference, I can play fur elise at around 45 on the melotrone.

[paris]

try this:
-chopin nocturne op.55 n.1
-chopin waltzes (a-minor for example)
-chopin prelude op.28 n.4
-chopin mazurkas are not so difficult, try slower ones

you can try other composers,but my personal choice would be definitely chopin, for me he is like a lyric poet, and some of his works are not very difficult tehnically, but very chalenging in musical way.

[Sketchee]

Not many people around here playing Tchaikovsky's piano music, but take a look at his piece Barcarolle, June from "The Seasons".  It's quote slow and meloncholy.

I also like his Romance, Op 5. Then again, it does have a fairly difficult Allegro Energico section, but the beginning--marked Andante Cantible--is very pretty.

Liszt is usually associated with difficult music, but his piece Abscheid (Farewell) is very easy.  I think it's a lot easier than Fur Elise.  Like the name suggests, it's also pretty meloncholy.  There's also Nuages Gris (Grey Clouds) which is even easier and La Lugubre Gondola (The Black Gondola) which is a bit tougher.

More impressionistic than romantic, Satie has a number of nice melodic pieces. My favorite is Gnossienne No 1.

[bernhard]

Scarlatti sonata k32 – just one page long, very easy (easier the Fur Elise, but far superior musically) lyrical and reflective (baroque though, not romantic – but don’t dismiss the Baroque period: it had a lot in common with the Romantic period).

Erik Satie – Gymnopedie no. 1 – Two pages long, but effectively one page long, since the second page is an almost exact repeat of the first. Haunting melody over a chordal accompaniment. Again easier that Fur Elise but musically superior.

Edward Mac Dowell – To a wild rose – Achingly beautiful piece slow and romantic, just what you want. Easier than Fur Elise and much more satisfying to player and audiences alike (by now you must have got the hint that I don’t like Fur Elise, he he).

Amy Beach – Secrets – This is my favourite piece in her Children’s Carnival op. 25. Very easy, yet the musicianship is so superior that one easily forgets this was originally a children’s piece. Broken chords divided between both hands, so that the hands are never together, smooth and flowing. Just beautiful.

Schumann – You cannot get more romantic than Schumann. His Album for the young op. 68 has numerous masterpieces, all easier or just above Fur Elise.  My favourites are no. 1 (Melody); no. 4 (Chorale); May, lovely May (no. 13); Little Study (no. 14); Song of Spring (no. 15), *** (no. 21); Roundelay (no. 22); *** (no. 26); Remembrance (no. 28 ); *** (no. 30); Sheherazade (no. 32); Mignon (no. 35).

Also very beautiful and manageable are his Bunte Blatter op. 99 – my favourites are Little piece (no. 1); Little piece (no. 2); Album leaf I (no. 4); Album leaf II (no. 5); Album leaf III (no. 6); Album leaf V (no. 8 ) and his Album blatter op. 124 – may favourites being Lullaby (no. 6); Leid Ohne End (no. 8 ); and Slumber song (no. 16)

Tchaikovsky – Reverie – Op. 39 no. 21 (Album for the young) - Delicate and wistful

Felix Swinstead - In the Bay – Beautiful atmospheric piece, highly evocative of the sea, with lush harmonies, dead easy, but sounding terribly advanced and difficult. Far easier than Fur Elise, actually.

Shostakovitch – Lullaby – Even though Shostakovitch is a modern composer, this is a beautiful, lyrical piece, completely tonal, far easier than it sounds.

Enrique Granados – Dedication (op. 1 no. 1) – Beautiful lyrical piece in three voices.

Adolf  Jensen – Lied – Another hauntingly beautiful piece (just two pages long) from an unjustly neglected composer.

Edvard Grieg – Arietta (op. 12 no.1) The first of the Lyric pieces and arguably one of the most beautiful – very short just one page long and just above Fur Elise. Expressive and beautiful writing.

This should keep you busy for a while.

Of course, if you find the above too unchallenging, one can go one notch up, so ask again. On the other hand, even though all these pieces are easy, they are so superior musically that they are all worthwhile additions to one’s repertory.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[werther]

Thank you for very much for the recommendations. It would have taken a  lot of research to find all of these on my own.

[paris]

i forgot to say-maybe you'll like to know for some other composers who are not so famos like chopin, schumman...but they are so beautiful that you must try, you'll like them. that are Croatian composers, if you ever heard for Croatia  

Bozidar Kunc- whole cyclus "Youth leaves" (in Croatian sounds better, i don't know how to explain on english,  this is verbatim translation)- this pieces-"Darling Story"
"Youth Joy"

Dora Pejacevic-"Lullaby"
                       "Violet"
                       "Rose" (you have whole cyclus named
                        Life of flowers", some of them are
                        harder some easier, these 2 are not
                       difficult)


today i found a beautiful piece i have played before many years. it is only 1 page long, but very musicall
Gretchaninoff-Old Romance

a.m.d.

[IllBeBach]

A really beautiful piece I like is "Ivan Speaks" by Aram Katchaturian.

You might also check out some of the Tchaikovsky pieces for children--there are some really beautiful little masterpieces.

[bernhard]

i forgot to say-maybe you'll like to know for some other composers who are not so famos like chopin, schumman...but they are so beautiful that you must try, you'll like them. that are Croatian composers, if you ever heard for Croatia  

Bozidar Kunc- whole cyclus "Youth leaves" (in Croatian sounds better, i don't know how to explain on english,  this is verbatim translation)- this pieces-"Darling Story"
"Youth Joy"

Dora Pejacevic-"Lullaby"
                       "Violet"
                       "Rose" (you have whole cyclus named
                        Life of flowers", some of them are
                        harder some easier, these 2 are not
                       difficult)


today i found a beautiful piece i have played before many years. it is only 1 page long, but very musicall
Gretchaninoff-Old Romance

a.m.d.

Where can you get these pieces from Croatian composers? Are they easily available (what is the publisher?)

I once came across a truly exquisite piece by a (I believe) Croatian composer called Pavel Mikelic. The piece was called “Spark” (that was the translation – I cannot remember the original name). Unfortunately it was a photocopy, and I could not trace either the publisher or more pieces from this composer. Have you ever heard of him?

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[paris]

i have a copy of some croatian pieces i played, but i'm sure there is a whole book. i don't know the publisher, but i'll check it. here in croatia these pieces are availabile, but i'm not sure if you can find them in usa or where you live.

also, if you are interested for contemporary music, we have a lot of very good works, this maybe doesn't belong to this topic about slow romantic piece.
i'm talking about etudes, for example
-study on third
-study on forth
-study on fifth
...and so on
by ivana lang, and publisher is HDS ars croatica.

so if you're interested, i can chack the others

a.m.d.

[paris]

i have a copy of some croatian pieces i played, but i'm sure there is a whole book. i don't know the publisher, but i'll check it. here in croatia these pieces are availabile, but i'm not sure if you can find them in usa or where you live.

also, if you are interested for contemporary music, we have a lot of very good works, this maybe doesn't belong to this topic about slow romantic piece.
i'm talking about etudes, for example
-study on third
-study on forth
-study on fifth
...and so on
by ivana lang, and publisher is HDS ars croatica.

so if you're interested, i can check the others

a.m.d.

[paris]

I once came across a truly exquisite piece by a (I believe) Croatian composer called Pavel Mikelic. The piece was called “Spark” (that was the translation – I cannot remember the original name).


i haven't heard for Pavel Mikelic, but i'll ask my teacher

[bernhard]

Thank you.

Yes, I would be interested.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[paris]

hey bernhard, i've tried to found something on internet, but it seems that the pieces aren't avilabile.

sorry  

[pseudopianist]

try this:
-chopin nocturne op.55 n.1

Are you insane or do I just suck really badly. Is it as completed as fur elise?

[bernhard]

hey bernhard, i've tried to found something on internet, but it seems that the pieces aren't avilabile.

sorry  

No problem.

Thanks anyway.

[janice]

try this:
-chopin nocturne op.55 n.1

Surely you jest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  This is NOT at the same level as Fur Elise.  Chopin Nocturnes might be slow, but they are DIFFICULT!!!! Pseudopianist, you DO NOT suck, this was a ridiculous suggestion, as none of the Chopin Nocturnes are playable for you, if you want something compared in difficulty as "Fur Elise".  I VERY STRONGLY suggest trying a different composer, as NOTHING by Chopin is at that level.  Bernhard, can you please help me out here?

[pseudopianist]

Surely you jest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  This is NOT at the same level as Fur Elise.  Chopin Nocturnes might be slow, but they are DIFFICULT!!!! Pseudopianist, you DO NOT suck, this was a ridiculous suggestion, as none of the Chopin Nocturnes are playable for you, if you want something compared in difficulty as "Fur Elise".  I VERY STRONGLY suggest trying a different composer, as NOTHING by Chopin is at that level.  Bernhard, can you please help me out here?

YAY!

*does cute Swedish dance of joy*

[Sketchee]

Surely you jest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  This is NOT at the same level as Fur Elise.  Chopin Nocturnes might be slow, but they are DIFFICULT!!!! Pseudopianist, you DO NOT suck, this was a ridiculous suggestion, as none of the Chopin Nocturnes are playable for you, if you want something compared in difficulty as "Fur Elise".  I VERY STRONGLY suggest trying a different composer, as NOTHING by Chopin is at that level.  Bernhard, can you please help me out here?

If you want easy Chopin, Prelude Op 28 No 4 will probably be a breeze for any one who can play Fur Elise.  I don't recall Chopin writing anything as easy as the Liszt pieces I mentioned earlier, but there's probably others that are quite accessible at this level.

[BoliverAllmon]

Amy Beach – Secrets – This is my favourite piece in her Children’s Carnival op. 25. Very easy, yet the musicianship is so superior that one easily forgets this was originally a children’s piece. Broken chords divided between both hands, so that the hands are never together, smooth and flowing. Just beautiful.

do you know where you can buy her carnival? I can't seem to find it online.

[Kassaa]

https://www.piano-pal.com/beach.htm

[pianistimo]

faure's pavane?  i think i have a whole book (forget publisher but i'll look it up) that i bought at barnes and noble that has easy classics.  i think that's the title.  what's great about it - is if you want to play for a party you can lengthen or shorten or repeat - add you own extra notes - but you have the basic melodies there.  i used to sew and it reminds me of alterations.  you just alter it for the moment you are playing in.

[BoliverAllmon]

https://www.piano-pal.com/beach.htm

thanks

[bernhard]

do you know where you can buy her carnival? I can't seem to find it online.

Try here:

https://www.burtnco.com

(you may also try googling “Amy Beach Childrens carnival” instead of just carnival)

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[I Love Xenakis]

I like the Chopin Nocturne Op. 48 No. 1 and the Liszt Consolation No. 6

[BoliverAllmon]

thanks bernard

[bernhard]

You are welcome

[phil13]

I like the Chopin Nocturne Op. 48 No. 1 and the Liszt Consolation No. 6

Ha Ha.

Let's add the Rach 3 to this list.

Phil