Help with finding new pieces to learn

[rbhall123]

Clair de lune is one of my favorites. What are some other pieces that are of similar caliber and difficulty, being well written and beautiful?

[49410enrique]

[vsrinivasa]

The pieces mentioned in the above post are all so beautiful!
Here are a few suggestions:

Prelude or Forlane from Le Tombeau de Couperin by Ravel
Arabesques by Debussy
Valse Romantique by Debussy
Nocturne in D-flat by Debussy (this one's a bit more difficult though)
Sonata K. 27 by Scarlatti

My suggestions are a bit on the difficult side, but not too much.

[cadenza14224]

Brahms: Op. 118 no. 2 (musically tough, technically facile, you'll have fun with this one)

Chopin: Prelude op. 28 no 1 (quick and pretty, SINGLE MOTIVE STRUCTURE so it's very easy to pick up and memorize)

and if you want to stick with Debussy...i'd try the Arabesque no. 1 if you can handle it; beware the plolyrhythm and the fast/glittery triplets on the end of the 2nd page!

[redrobin62]

@Denrique - Thanks for introducing me to Fourie. I obviously hadn't heard of him till now. I just made my own Fourie - Pianos Works album by downloading the YouTube pieces and converting them to WMA. Sounds great. Even though, according to Wikipedia, he uses dodecaphony in his music, at least it isn't done in a way which makes me gnash my teeth, curl my toes or pull my hair out by the roots. Very introspective-sounding music. Perfect for late night listening.

[49410enrique]

@Denrique - Thanks for introducing me to Fourie. I obviously hadn't heard of him till now. I just made my own Fourie - Pianos Works album by downloading the YouTube pieces and converting them to WMA. Sounds great. Even though, according to Wikipedia, he uses dodecaphony in his music, at least it isn't done in a way which makes me gnash my teeth, curl my toes or pull my hair out by the roots. Very introspective-sounding music. Perfect for late night listening.

you're welcome. he does push the envelope some in other works, some of this work is very much inspired by where Scriabin was taking things. good stuff there indeed!

[maestroxviiofno]

Greetings!  Just joined up today so this is my first reply.  I have never played Clair de Lune, but I  thoroughly enjoyed playing an obscure Debussy piece called Ballad.  I would consider it a major work, and it also sounds that way, but it is not as difficult as many Liszt pieces and things on that level...  It is VERY impressionistic sounding...  And very beautiful.     As you probably already know, it sounds like crap on CD or on the computer--even more than usual, so try to listen past that.  As Earl Wild says, listening to classical music on CD is like having sex through the mail.   Hope this helps!

[mahlermaniac]

How about the rest of Suite Bergamasque, in which Clair De Lune is one part of? the whole thing beautiful.

[nanabush]

'Prelude' from the same suite as 'Claire de Lune' is exquisite.  The gm/F chord right from the beginning is so expansive.  Such a cool piece.

Chopin's em Nocturne Op 72 is great!

The second movement from Ravel's 'Sonatine' may be worth checking out (might be slightly difficult to read though; it's pretty harmonically dense compared to the Debussy).

The Sarabande from 'Pour le Piano' (Debussy)

Check out Griffes (American Impressionist composer).  He's got a lot of really good stuff.  The Roman Sketches are amazing.

[musicman99]

Another Debussy piece is "Voiles", which is number 2 from the first book of Preludes. It is one of the easier Preludes, and the score is available on IMSLP.
It is a pleasure to learn, and gets out a lovely ripple of sound out of the piano.

Good luck!

[cauliflower1]

I'd say chopin's nocturne opus 48 no 1; though it is quite a bit more difficult than clair de lune, it's very nice. The opus 27 nocturnes are good too.
Also, rachmaninoff's prelude opus 32 no 10 is great and not difficult.
Scriabin etude opus 2 no 1 is also good and really easy technically.

[the89thkey]

I think, if you have the technique to play all the pieces that have been recommended, Rachmaninov preludes would be really nice. How about the G# minor, that's one of my favorites.

[drexo]

Nice suggestions - I especially liked the first one.

[the89thkey]

Nice suggestions - I especially liked the first one.

Not really my style.