What's the best way for an amateur pianist to enjoy playing concertos?

[pytheamateur]

What's your advice for an amateur pianist who is interested in playing concertos but is not good enough to play concerts with a professional orchestra or rich enough to hire one?  What about playing with Music Minus One discs?  Anyone who has experience doing that? Is that a very unnatural process or does it bear some resemblance with playing with an orchestra?  I suppose the other option would be to have another pianist play the orchestral part on a second piano, although this would not be a cheap option either.

[thalbergmad]

There are a considerable number that can be played as solos.

Thal

[pytheamateur]

There are a considerable number that can be played as solos.

Thal

Are you thinking of the slow movements of Chopin's concertos, e.g. as transcribed by Balakirev and Earl Wild?

[flashyfingers]

The minus one discs can be fun, but the music is unpredictable. You see no conductor and have no opportunity to lead the orchestra with piano parts.

You could always hire or find an accompanist!

[thorn]

Of course playing along with music minus one is unnatural!

However that doesn't make it a bad option. They were developed for this purpose?

In fairness, I was a flautist before I was a pianist and I used to practice all of my exam pieces with a CD of the piano part- so I'm probably more used to this sort of thing than most!

[louispodesta]

What's your advice for an amateur pianist who is interested in playing concertos but is not good enough to play concerts with a professional orchestra or rich enough to hire one?  What about playing with Music Minus One discs?  Anyone who has experience doing that? Is that a very unnatural process or does it bear some resemblance with playing with an orchestra?  I suppose the other option would be to have another pianist play the orchestral part on a second piano, although this would not be a cheap option either.

From my own, soon to be personal experience, I advise the following:  However, I need to preface my remarks to explain that because classical music is in serious decline, especially the piano, there are conductors, on a local level, who are available as practice coaches.

If you are good enough, at this point in your development, then they will be able to teach you how to play a concerto with orchestra.  AND!!!!, there are muchismas Youth Orchestras who are begging for someone to rehearse with.  Your conductor/practice coach will know of these groups.

Nevertheless, I have found "Music Minus One" to be of no help for the inexperienced concerto player.  Please do it the way Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and a whole lot of other pianists did it when they were first learning this repertoire. That is, find yourself a conductor practice coach.

[phillip21]

You could keep tabs on this new app: https://bit.ly/1dGYiY6.  It doesn't seem to have any piano concerti available yet, but if it works as well as promised, I see no reason why it won't in the future!