Concerto Suggestions?

[distractedmusician]

I'm looking to start a concerto to compete with at university next year.
The competition is run every year, and as such, the more popular concertos are played quite often. I would much rather play something less well-known that the judges won't be hearing for the 1000th time.

I have been considering Debussy's Fantaisie for piano and orchestra for a while, if anyone has suggestions along those lines, I'd greatly appreciate them!

Thanks ~ Allie

[drkilroy]

Do you need a "real"concerto, with three movements, or just a piano and orchestra piece (like Debussy's Fantaisie)?

I would recommend Gershwin's Concerto in F or one of Ravel's concerti (the one in D major - for the left hand is less known, I think).

If the piece does not have to be a traditional, three-movement concerto, the Second Rhapsody or Variations on 'I Got Rhythm' are very nice and not very known pieces, but only for those who like Gershwin; I do not know if you do.

There are a lot of obscure Romantic piano concerti, like Thalberg, Busoni, etc., but I do not know them very well. They are not very similar to Debussy, however.

Best regards, Dr

[pianoplayjl]

I would much rather play something less well-known that the judges won't be hearing for the 1000th time.

Good on you. How difficult do you want the concerto to be? There are some Mozart concertos, Czerny, Herz, Henselt, Thalberg, Bach, Field, Lyapunov, Prokofiev, Hummel, Bortkiewicz, Haydn, Hyde, etc. Many of these concerti haven't been played for a while. Like Drkilroy said check out the Romantic concerti. My bit of advice: try to avoid the Schumann. While his solo music is good, I find the concerto revolting to listen to. Generally, stay away from 20th century atonal piano concertos if possible unless you find a really great one.

JL

[distractedmusician]

Thanks for your quick responses, and suggestions!

Any work composed for solo instrument/voice & orchestra is eligible. It does not have to be a traditional concerto =]

[drkilroy]

Here are my suggestions for you, so you do not have to search for them on YouTube.

Best regards, Dr

[49410enrique]

of the four he wrote, this one, no 2 is considred his finestL:

about:
Dmitry Kabalevsky's Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 23, originally written in 1935 (just a few years after he joined the faculty of the Moscow Conservatory) and then revised a bit in 1973, is considered in some quarters to be the composer's masterpiece. It has all the characteristics by which we recognize Kabalevsky: sharp, bouncy rhythms and concise thematic building blocks, a well-spun, clever lyricism when the music turns from activity to melody, a clear-cut tonal scheme that nevertheless has room for more surprises and dramatic turns than one might at first suspect, and of course utterly idiomatic keyboard writing. The work demands a player with formidable technique.
 
The concerto is in three movements: 1. Allegro moderato, 2. Andante semplice, and 3. Allegro molto. At the start of the opening movement, the soloist enters with the colorful, lightly chromatic main tune after almost no orchestral introduction (the orchestra is limited here to just two bars, during which they do no more than set up the punctuated eighth-note feel of the accompaniment). A second subject appears in D major, offered at first by the piano without the help of the orchestra; this thin-textured, mostly two-voice idea sweeps gently up and down the keyboard. A driving episode in 3/4 time allows for some energetic cross rhythms, and an impassioned Adagio molto sostenuto for orchestra alone paves the way to the inevitable cadenza—written out in full by Kabalevsky.
 
The cor anglais invites us into the second movement, pianissimo, cantando, and undergirded with the hushed support of the brass instruments. When the piano enters a few bars later it does so with a completely different thought—a totally smooth melodic strand, that forms a striking contrast with the constant dotted rhythms of the cor anglais. Only at the end of the movement, after a swirling, triple-forte climax has been drawn, does the soloist take up the plaintive E minor idea that the cor anglais offered at the beginning.
 
The main theme of the finale is, in fact, the main theme of the first movement reorganized and freshly adorned to suit a new, marcato context. Kabalevsky indulges in one last più mosso plunge before the ultimate arrival at G major draws the curtain down

[49410enrique]

kapustin no 2 is nice too

[49410enrique]

thought i should at least suggest a romantic work since the modern isn't exactly most people's favorite,
this rubenstein work is pretty
Anton Rubinstein - Concertstuck (For Piano and Orchestra) Op. 113 (1889)

I. Moderato Assai - 00:00
II. Con Moto Moderato - 8:33
III. Allegro Vivace - 22:28

The Concertstück in A flat major, Op. 113, was composed in 1889 for Rubinstein's fifty year's jubilee celebration in St. Petersburg which marked his début as a public performer. Rubinstein's work falls into two large sections, each of contrasting mood and to be played without interruption. Following a short orchestral introduction, the piano and orchestra enter into a warm exchange that, with the intimacy of its dialogue, is more in the nature of chamber music. After a Mendelssohn-like lyrical section in E major presented by the piano, the opening exchange between orchestra and keyboard returns, then is concluded with quiet arpeggios on the piano. The music now shifts to a large Con moto moderato section in C minor, which is introduced by a lengthy orchestral tutti, then followed by a brilliant solo piano cadenza. The piano then presents the forceful and dramatic main theme of what becomes a large section in sonata-structure. A large-scaled presentation of themes and their development takes place, until the piano takes up a final reminiscence of the work's very opening Moderato assai piano and orchestra dialogue. A breathless Scherzando coda ends the Concertstück in brilliant virtuoso fashion.

[stoudemirestat]

I just LOVE MacDowell's first Piano Concerto. Very beautiful work indeed. Look into it!

[49410enrique]

I just LOVE MacDowell's first Piano Concerto. Very beautiful work indeed. Look into it!

ooh good one, i agree its a great work!

[thalbergmad]

Moving away from conventional concerto format opens up a huge world of other often shorter works for piano and orchestra. Many are more "lightly" orchestrated as well, which might be of benefit to the non professional orchestra.

Thal

[ahinton]

Moving away from conventional concerto format opens up a huge world of other often shorter works for piano and orchestra. Many are more "lightly" orchestrated as well, which might be of benefit to the non professional orchestra.

Indeed so - as I know from personal experience, having written only one work for piano and orchestra (a set of variations, not a concerto). Its theme comprises a 12 note series that morphs into a modal passage and none of the subsequent variations treat the 12-note bit serially (it just happens to contain all 12 notes of the chromatic scale). It's cast in a single continuous movement occupying some 23 minutes.

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

I do not know this work, but I do have a strange feeling that it might make sufficient demands on the performers that could well put it in the realms of the Gods??

Thal

[chuck75]

You may wish to consider Saint-Saëns: Africa, fantasie in G minor for piano and orchestra Opus 89. In my opinion, definitely is not an over-played work. (I think it should be performed much more often.)

[drkilroy]

You may wish to consider Saint-Saëns: Africa, fantasie in G minor for piano and orchestra Opus 89. In my opinion, definitely is not an over-played work. (I think it should be performed much more often.)

I agree, it is a very nice piece:

Best regards, Dr

[fftransform]

What is your technique like?

Comparatively uncommon without being totally obscure, will impress both judges and audiences.  What is the general level of the competition?

[symphonicdance]

Piano concerto or any other work for piano and orchestra requires full co-operations between the pianist, the conductor (if not the pianist himself) and the orchestra.

So, perhaps from another angle, you should make sure yourself have full confidence with the conductor and the orchestra to play a piece not so often heard (probably brand new to them, too?!).