Transitioning into modern piano music...

[musicluvr49]

Hey everyone. So I haven't really ventured much into modern piano music yet, and I was wondering where I should start. My piano teacher hasn't given me anything besides baroque, classical, romantic, and I think impressionism (I have played Ravel and Debussy). And now it's summer so my classes are ended. I was thinking composers like Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Bartok, Scriabin. However, I need music that I can understand, that isn't too far off from the styles of music I have played before. I feel like I need to ease myself into this new type of music. So.. any suggestions of a new piece for me?

[49410enrique]

i'd suggest something mild, the Kabalevsky preludes are so beautiful (*i'm a little biased he is one of my most favorite composers), many of the preludes are quite lyrical utilizing Russian folk melodies or fragments of them. you get some great 'modern' sounds in them (he tended to prefer diatonicism and an interplay in major and minor modes and lots of chromaticism though not quite as pushing the envelope as some of his contemporarites).

here Horowitz plays two from op 38

and i love this short one, it was my first piece by Kabalevsky I learned in music school (my first Kabalevsky period. it's interesting he's most known for his childrens and student/pedagogy works and i've never really explored them, only his more mature and 'advanced' pieces).

[fftransform]

What is your skill level?

[musicluvr49]

Enrique, those preludes are beautiful! I will definitely look into them

fftransform, well I don't know an exact number or anything, but I'd say I'm intermediate/advanced. I just finished performing the two Brahms Opus 79 Rhapsodies, and the first one was probably the hardest piece I've played thus far, but I think I did a pretty good job in mastering it. Hopefully that gives you a good idea of my skill level.

[pianoplunker]

Hey everyone. So I haven't really ventured much into modern piano music yet, and I was wondering where I should start. My piano teacher hasn't given me anything besides baroque, classical, romantic, and I think impressionism (I have played Ravel and Debussy). And now it's summer so my classes are ended. I was thinking composers like Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Bartok, Scriabin. However, I need music that I can understand, that isn't too far off from the styles of music I have played before. I feel like I need to ease myself into this new type of music. So.. any suggestions of a new piece for me?

Scott Joplin - Cascades, Chrysanthemum, actually any of his compositions, gracefully not too fast

[adari]

I think some of Alkan's more adventurous repetoire may be a helpful transition to more modern composers:

[philb]

For Bartok, I would suggest listening to his earlier output before moving into his later compositions. Etudes Op. 18, Allegro Barbaro, Suite Op. 14, "For Children" suite. Also the 2nd and 3rd concerti are not very hard to swallow.

As for Scriabin, it may actually be beneficial to take note of the progression away from the third into the fourth. Perhaps if you have time, listen to all 10 sonatas in one sitting, quite interesting indeed.

[black_keys]

Hi ,Give a listen to this ( El Polo from Iberia suite, and the whole suit if you like but i loved this one)

And try to listen to some Rzewski, like variations on the people united will never be defeated theme, and north american ballads you can find them on youtube.

[fftransform]

Hello, here are some pieces that are incredibly, outrageously inappropriate for what you are looking for and/or your skill level at the moment:

Alkan

Allegro Barbaro, Etudes Op. 18, 2nd and 3rd concerti

Rzewski

Please ignore those comments entirely.  Of course, there is an absolutely monstrous amount of music from the many periods which you refer to as "modern/contemporary," so I will stick to just the composers you specifically mentioned.

Stravinsky: there is nothing he wrote that would be within your grasp at the moment that I can also recommend as good music.

Prokofiev: please look at the Visions Fugitives and the Sarcasms, Tales of an Old Grandmother, Two Sonatinas and his Pieces for Children, or you might look at the first two movements of the Sonata No. 4.  Please also look at his Opp. 3, 4, 12, 32 and 59 for selected pieces that you might enjoy better.

Bartok: the Mikrokosmos is a huge set of student-level pieces, some of the later ones being fairly advanced.  A lot of them sound like exercises, but many of them could actually qualify as real music, as well, and they are usually a bit less exploratory than his major works.  You might sift through Books 4/5/6 for a few pieces; I think that would actually be a very good way to acclimate yourself to his music.  I am not super-familiar with his small, obscure works (however, he has many), but perhaps look at the 4th movement of his "Out of Doors" Suite.

Scriabin: I would not stray past the Op. 54 mark, to start off with, unless you're comfortable with his late sonatas.  Scriabin is perhaps the best composer out of this list to start off with, if you're not really a fan of very "modern-sounding" music, because his music has a lot more direct influence from the Romantics.  He wrote swathes and swathes of short pieces prior to Op. 54 in collections of etudes and preludes.  Many, perhaps most, of them will be accessible to you, if you can play the Brahms Rhapsodies:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Alexander_Scriabin

Naxos released his complete piano music, and I'm sure that all of the sheet music is on the IMSLP.  Spend a few days or a week going through the Etudes, Preludes and Poemes from that era of his music, and find a handful that you like.  I'm sure there will be more than just a few!

[j_menz]

I'll start by echoing fftransform on Scriabin. You may also consider the Three Fantastic Dances by Shostakovich (and then maybe his preludes and fugues if you like him). Kabalevsky is good. Jaques Ibert has some nice stuff, as does Satie. There's probably some Copland and Barber within your range, too and their complete piano works can be got reasonably cheaply. You could also have a go at some of the Visions Fugitives by Prokoffiev.

[ajspiano]

fftransform and j_menz's repertoire knowledge is more extensive than mine here, I was a little surprised no one said Gershwin though.. the preludes maybe?

[j_menz]

I was a little surprised no one said Gershwin though.. the preludes maybe?

Well spotted. An excellent choice, too.

Also, if you want to plumb the depths of minimalism, John Cage's 4'33 can be brought up to performance standard surprisingly quickly.

[49410enrique]

Well spotted. An excellent choice, too.

Also, if you want to plumb the depths of minimalism, John Cage's 4'33 can be brought up to performance standard surprisingly quickly.

yes Gershwin would be great. As would Kapustin then in that 'jazzical' style, though the technique required of the latter would be formidable.

as for Cage's popular work, i've given up on it. i can never get it in under 5 minutes. unless you count that one time i farted at about 4 ' 45 but i've yet to successfully recreate that magic.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Try some of Scriabin's transition music?

Scriabin will always be your friend!  In this life, and the next!

[j_menz]

As would Kapustin then in that 'jazzical' style, though the technique required of the latter would be formidable.

His Toccatina may be doable.

but i've yet to successfully recreate that magic.

The planet thanks you. 

[j_menz]

Scriabin will always be your friend!  In this life, and the next!

And this is compatible with your avowed atheism how?

[ajspiano]

And this is compatible with your avowed atheism how?

being respectful of another's potential beliefs? ...probably doesnt fit with "teenage atheist" but who knows..