The Concerto repertoire

[frederic]

There are so many posts with many concerto suggestions and most them are very interesting ones like Rubinstein and Medtner and Henselt etc...
Right now I'm very interested in concertos. I just want to listen to as many as i can.
So far i know a few neglected concertos which are very nice. like moszkowski's
So, everyone who reads this, do me a favour, please list as many concertos you think are the best.

Thanks

[rachfan]

Scriabin in f#
Delius in c
Bartok #3
Prokofiev #1 and #2
Rachmaninoff #4
Debussy's Fantaisie pour Piano et Orchestre
D'Indy, Symphony on a French Mountain Aire (this "symphony" is actually for orchestra and piano concertante)
Frank, Variations Symphoniques (really a piano concerto)
Dohnanyi, Variations on a Nursery Song (loaded with humor as he imitates other composers)
Khatchaturian
Korngold, Concerto for the Left Hand
deFalla, Nights in the Gardens of Spain, probably the most famous long piano obligato ever composed.

[dinosaurtales]

What a list!  I have never heard of most of these - RachFan - have you actually played any of these?  Can you describe a few of the more obscure ones?  Why Rach #4?

[PoSeiDoN]

One concerto stands high above the rest, and that is Beethoven's 3rd.

[rachfan]

Hi Dino,

I read through parts of concertos at home, but have never studied and fully prepared one.  The reason is (and some will disagree) that for me it's a poor "investment" in time.  That is, I know I'll never get to perform it.  So I'd much rather get a quicker "dividend" by applying my very limited practice time to the solo repertoire.  (Last summer I admit though that I learned the accompaniments to 12 of Rachmaninoff's Songs, even though I'll probably never get to do them with a singer regrettably.)

A few words on my list:

The Scriabin is pure luxuriousness in its melancholy neo-romantic sound.  Superb.

The Delius is rarely heard and recorded, but once you've been exposed to it (if you're generally into Delius' music) you'll love it.  It's somewhat impressionistic.

Bartok's Third is absolutely nothing like the iconoclastic Nos. 1 and 2.  This one is very serene and was written for his wife to perform after his death so that she'd have an income.  It's extremely lyrical and uncharacteric of Bartok in many ways.

Prokofiev wrote No. 1 as a conservatory student.  It's a one-movement cyclical concerto.  (I believe he won a prize for it.)  I call it "the octave concerto".  It has a marvelous youthful exurberance and it's fun to play its insistent melodies.

The Rachmaninoff 4th is the least familar of the four to many, but is gorgeous and displays R's idiom in every way.  It's very dark in character, but ultra romantic too. Some people malign its themes as being too fragmentary. No way!  If they would just listen to R himself playing it, they'd see how it's all masterfully woven together.  Michelangeli played this concerto every chance he got.

The Debussy Fantasie: Debussy was a bit embarassed by it, because it was a youthful fling with romanticism before he transitioned to his impressionistic style.  I think it's the best piece he ever wrote!!

Katchaturian.   Also a cyclical concerto.  If you haven't heard it you must, and if the first opening measures don't grab you, nothing will.

de Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain has everything from Spain in it--dances, flemenco melodies, dark gypsy themes, and the lushness of the gardens.  The piano part is exquisite.  As a matter of accuracy, it's considered to be a very extended piano obligato rather than a concerto part per se, and the role of the piano is to blend with the orchestra, not outshine it.  Rubinstein premiered this piece in Buenos Aires in 1915 I believe.  You must hear it.

[Colette]

Some less frequently heard/played but deserving concertos:
For the American School:
Barber Op.38
Copland concerto
Hanson Op.36
For the French School:
Ravel Concerto for Left Hand
Messiaen Reveil des OIseaux
Messiaen Turangalia Symphonie for piano and Marteno--(an odd but beautiful instrument that defies explanation...when I saw this performed at Carnegie Hall the audience stayed for at least an hour after the concert to marvel at all the unusual instruments piled on the stage. You'll never hear anything like this. It's space music...)
Francaix Concertino
Rachmaninoff No.1 (and 4) (but only as played by the man himself)
Prokofiev No. 2 Op. 16
Other greats:
Brahms No. 2 Op. 83
Chopin Nos 1 and 2
Ravel in G
I could go on forever...

[ned]

Here are some lesser known concertos that I have listened to many times with great pleasure:

Hummel A minor. Very beautiful. Chopin assigned it to many of his students
Carl Maria von Weber, Concertos in C and E flat, and Konzertstueck, which used to be a popular piece.
Rubinstein No. 4
MacDowell D minor
Milhaud, Carnaval d'Aix
Saint-Saens no. 4
Richard Strauss Burleske (wonderful)

Note that Hyperion has about 21 CDs under its series The Romantic Piano Concerto. Full price, but some really fascinating rarities.  You will never hear any of these in live performance.

I even like the Schoenberg Concerto. Clara Schumann made her debut with the Moscheles Concerto in G minor.  Chopin was also partial to Moscheles in his teaching. I bought the score of his etudes just to see what was there. Not bad at all!
Ned

[rachfan]

It's too bad that the MacDowell in d isn't heard more often.  It's deeply embedded in the Romantic style and in some ways it's Lisztian in its writing and challenges to the pianist.
I've always considered it the best American concerto by far.  A great piece!  

[e60m5]

Totally agree with the dude that said Barber.

The Barber concerto is great.

Listen. Now.

[frederic]

I just like the sound a piano and an orchestra can make. Its such a good match.
I mean i like violin concertos too and other concertos for other instruments but these instruments are already instruments of the orchestra so it wont be so effective.
I really like concertos for instruments apart from piano too, like Tchaikovsky's violin and Mendelssohn's violin and also Elgar's cello. Tchaikovsky's violin concerto is an absolute masterpiece.

Anyone know Lyatoshinsky's Slavic Concerto for piano and orchestra? Its really good.

More suggestions are welcome!

Thanks

[frederic]

Shchedrin's Piano Concerto no. 1 is awsome! I love it! Its recorded on Russian Disc with the composer at the piano. I strongly suggest you go check it out.

[amee]

Mozart no 21 in C - the Andante is lovely!
Elgar's cello
Vivaldi Four Seasons
Bach violin concertos
Prokofiev #2
Chopin #1 and #2
Grieg a minor

[frederic]

Shoenberg Concerto? Isnt that the one which starts with the triangle?

[frederic]

Brahms Violin ConcertoS?
I thought he only wrote one?
Yeah, the Grieg and those 2 Chopin ones are beautiful but to commonly played.

[amee]

I think he only wrote the one in D.  Where does it say Brahm's Violin Concertos?

[frederic]

Yeah, you said somewhere else in the forum that you liked Brahms Violin Concertos.
I knew he wrote one which is impossibly difficult.