favorite concerto!

[david456103]

Pick your favorite concerto, and say why! If other, then say which concerto.

[chicoscalco]

Prokofiev 3rd and Mozart. The d minor or maybe the a major. Close call with Beethoven's 5th and 3rd.

And where are Ravel's two concertos? They clearly deserve to be on this list.


Also, if one is familiar with its background story, Proko's second is worth mentioning. Highly emotional.

[chopin4life]

They are all so freakin' good, but I think mozart tops the list!
Chopin's pianoconcerto's are absolutely underestimated (they are often criticised on their orchestration)
But I LOVE them!

Today I rediscovered prokofiev no 2 and realised that it's a real masterpiece 

[vertigoone]

My two picks were the "Rachmaninoff 2" and "Other."

I pick the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 because it is such a personal statement by the composer.  The piece is full of beauty and tragedy with sweeping melodies and energetic intensity.  All three movements are masterpieces in their own right.

The "Other" concerto that I have chosen is Piano Concerto No. 2 by Shostakovich.  I am quite surprised that this is not included on the list.  I am also disappointed that Gershwin's rip-roaring Concert in F is not on the list (my very close third-place pick).  I love Shostakovich's concerto, for one reason, because it seems so familiar to the listener although the harmonic tendencies are so foreign.  Its majestic musical landscape seems to escape the bounds of even such romanticists as Mahler and Wagner.  This piano concerto is very expressive and very fresh at the same time.  But my number one reason for choosing it... the high "E" on the piano in the second movement.  Honestly!

[redbaron]

Well from this list I've picked the Schumann but there are many of my favourites missing: Saint-Saens 2 & 5, Rimsky-Koraskov, Khachaturian...

[coda_colossale]

Rach's 3rd. I bet I can transcribe it %100 correct without even having to listen to it. I once travelled nearly 300 miles to hear it from Lugansky. Cd's that include Rach 3 alone make 1/5 of my relatively big CD archive.

[thalbergmad]

Well from this list I've picked the Schumann

Are you really serious about that??

Thal

[ahinton]

Are you really serious about that??

Wherher or not that may be the case, it's Busoni for me, every time - provided that we are talking piano concertos here (which I presume to be the case, although the thread topic does not actually specify this)...

Schumann's strikes me as one of the composer's weaker works.

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

The Busoni is simply too long for me. There is not enough in it to keep me interested. With Schumann, I last about 5 seconds.

I refreshed my memory with the Bloch Concerto Symphonique yesterday and it just about blew my nuts off.

Thal

[ahinton]

The Busoni is simply too long for me. There is not enough in it to keep me interested.

It's a good thing that your view is not especially widely shared.

I refreshed my memory with the Bloch Concerto Symphonique yesterday and it just about blew my nuts off.

Well, much as none of us here would like to witness the blowing off of your nuts by any means, the Bloch is indeed a marvellous work the sheer rarity of public performances of which has been a matter of astonishment to me for years!

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

the Bloch is indeed a marvellous work the sheer rarity of public performances of which has been a matter of astonishment to me for years!

To me too, but we must be careful who we tell how good it is. We don't want any dry and uninteresting recordings

Thal

[ahinton]

To me too, but we must be careful who we tell how good it is. We don't want any dry and uninteresting recordings

It's up to each listener to discover the wonders of the work for themselves. As no doubt you are already aware, it is perfectly possible to get dry and uninteresting recordings of all sorts of things, irrespective of how fine is the music and/or its performance!

Best,

Alistair

[coda_colossale]

With Rach 3 being my ultimate favourite, Rach's 4th is my second favourite concerto. Prokofiev's 3rd holds a special place in my heart, simply because it's the reason I started playing the piano. Prokofiev's 2nd is I believe his magnum-opus.
Rey's (Recording by Ergican Saydam, a pianist, also premiered some of the works of these composers, who has graduated from the highschool I currently am a student of, Kabataş Erkek), Erkin's (Recording by Collard) and Saygun's (Recording by Gülsin Onay second are astonishing concerti, but I may be thinking so only because I am familiar with the Turkish folk music, upon which their roots are based. I don't expect even Thalbergmad to be aware of their existence.

I also like Palmgren's relatively famous concerto 'River', Medtner's concerti (I like nearly all works of Medtner, like I do Rachmaninoff's), Pierné's C minor Concerto (influenced Rachmaninoff), Respighi's concerto, and Scharwenka's concerti, especially the 4th. I also have been recently listening to Schytte's concerto and I am fond of it.
Mozart's 20th is too one of my favourites.
But I absolutely hate Schumann and Grieg. I actually listened to Schumann from start to finish only once, and not without having a long Bach therapy after it.

[zezhyrule]

Missing some Bartok up in here. And as previously mentioned, Saint-Saens. I would've picked Bartok 3 and Saint-Saens 5. Went with Beethoven 4 from this list and "other"

[j_menz]

Where's Shostakovich?

[perprocrastinate]

Prokofiev's 2nd is I believe his magnum-opus.

I would expect it to be your favorite, based on your forum name, but I guess not, hehe.

[redbaron]

Are you really serious about that??

Change the record Thal...

[coda_colossale]

I would expect it to be your favorite, based on your forum name, but I guess not, hehe.

You, sir, have discovered my secret.

[ale_ius]

Kabalevsky 3.

Other
including but not limited to:
Kabalevsky 5 (Rhapsody on an original theme: School  Years)
Kosenko (only first movement has been recorded so far)
Rosza (Piano Concerto)
Rosza Spellbound Concerto
and "more" this list is awfully restrictive as save the Kabalevsky, none of the listed are even in my top 15

[david456103]

my favorites are Rach 2(esp mvmt 1), and Chopin 1(mvmt 1).

[kakeithewolf]

Rach 3 and Liszt's Totentanz.

[stravinskylover]

Where the heck is Brahms???

[thalbergmad]

At this exact moment in time, it would have to be the Mitja Nikisch.

The most melancholic work I have ever heard and written on his deathbed.

Thal

[sucom]

Without a doubt, Elgar's cello concerto is my all time favourite concerto.  It just reaches in and takes my soul.  I don't think I have a favourite piano concerto.  While strictly not a concerto, Dohnanyi's Variations on a nursery theme appeals to me quite a lot, and I do tend to like certain sections or movements of several different piano concertos for different reasons; sometimes for the enjoyment of their technical playing value and sometimes simply because I find the melodies beautiful to listen to, or both!  If I really had to choose, I think Rachmaninoff would come top for me.

[coda_colossale]

At this exact moment in time, it would have to be the Mitja Nikisch.

The most melancholic work I have ever heard and written on his deathbed.

Thal

I just ordered mine from Amazon.de.

Also I forgot Bortkiewicz 1 and Hannikainen.

[thalbergmad]

I am sure you will not regret the purchase.

Bortkiewicz 1 is a fun piece, Hannikainen a bit more serious, but the Nikisch is almost desolation.

Thal

[gvans]

Where the heck is Brahms???

Here, here. IMO, there is no extant piano concerto that comes close to the "long terror", JB's own appellation for the Bb Major. Of course, it is in many ways a symphony as well as a concerto. The first three movements, for me, reach towering heights in terms of pianism, theme, structure, pathos, and beauty. The last movement--I'm growing to like it.

The first concerto of his is close behind, also a masterpiece, and utterly different.

I've been listening at length to Rach 2 and Rach 3, mostly because people on this site so rave about them. I have a recording with the composer himself playing. The pianism is pyrotechnic, no doubt about it, but the use of orchestration and the intertwining of soloist and orchestra--not so much. Thematic development and emotion--not so much. I wanted to like them, but couldn't get there. Perhaps a modern recording...

 

[ahinton]

the Nikisch is almost desolation.

I don't even know about this! Was he a relation of the conductor?

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

Mitja was indeed the son of the famous conductor. There is not a great deal on the web about him, but there is a short Wikipedia article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitja_Nikisch 

I found the score about a year ago and not being blessed with great sight reading, I sent it to Rob Collis who thought it showed considerable promise. It was pointed out to me that there was a recording with Shelley as pianist, but this is now 24 years old.

It rather cries out for a fresh recording.

Thal

[ahinton]

Mitja was indeed the son of the famous conductor. There is not a great deal on the web about him, but there is a short Wikipedia article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitja_Nikisch 

I found the score about a year ago and not being blessed with great sight reading, I sent it to Rob Collis who thought it showed considerable promise. It was pointed out to me that there was a recording with Shelley as pianist, but this is now 24 years old.

It rather cries out for a fresh recording.

Thank you very much for this. I know Rob Collis and was at college with Howard Shelley. I must seek out the work. If you could scan its score (if you've not already done so!) and could let me have a copy I'd be intrigued to see it.

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

Yes I have scanned it. It was hardback and weighed about 5 tons, but I somehow managed to get a reasonable copy.

I will whizz it over to you when I get back to the CPS server.

Thal

[ahinton]

Yes I have scanned it. It was hardback and weighed about 5 tons, but I somehow managed to get a reasonable copy.

I will whizz it over to you when I get back to the CPS server.

That's really most kind of you; many thanks in advance!

Best,

Alistair

[j_menz]

Good Lord!



Nearly choked on my coffee! 

[thalbergmad]

It happens sometimes.

Thal