Any advice picking a piano concerto to learn?

[getsiegs]

Hey everyone, it's been awhile since I posted here but I'd love anyone's input on my little concerto dilemma. My teacher wants me to start learning a concerto for next semester and we've narrowed it down to three options, but they're all so different and I can't decide which one I want to learn. The options are:

Mendelssohn concerto 1 (G minor) - This one is musically the most straightforward to me; it's super accessible and enjoyable to listen to without feeling boring. It would be a great test of clarity and evenness of touch (such as all the scales in thirds or the entire last movement) which I know is a particular weakness of mine.

Liszt concerto 2 (A major) - This one is musically more complex to me; there's a lot more back and forth in character/mood and I'd have to work on bringing that to life. It's also likely the biggest challenge in endurance and accuracy (all the octaves and jumps). I love playing Liszt though since his music is always intuitive and pianistic.

Prokofiev concerto 1 (Db major) - This is more of a wild card both technically and musically. I've never played any Prokofiev before so it would be an interesting challenge, and it would be a test of personality and phrasing (particularly the middle section). I'd love to explore the more pointy, percussive approach to playing Prokofiev.


So those are my main initial thoughts upon listening to all three of these pieces. They're all so different stylistically and present such different challenges which is why every time I think about which one to pick I land on another choice. Any help?

[visitor]

My best general advice is , first narrow it to two you like best if the three , then from those two , think vs your timeline to learn and or perform it and pick the one you'll get least tired of, this isn't a big deal for shorter periods ie 3/4 months but If youll keep this for 6 months. Year , or more you want to have a piece where you're not checking out mentally from all the time spent on it, it happens and I've had to set down works I was not personally where I wanted them to be just because of the fact I wasn't into the piece all that much anymore way down the line even if learned pretty well it wasn't all the details work I wanted to get done ,
You can mitigate the above with heavy work then putting it in the background and reviews stuff but just let the piece sit in the brain for some time without unlearning or forgetting then couple months later start heavy focused work again etc

[nightwindsonata]

I have heard two of these concertos performed by my peers in my piano studio (doctoral students), often played every week for an entire term. I haven't heard the Mendelssohn concerto played live, but I know it well.

1. I think the Mendelssohn concerto is a fantastic piece. It is very fast, a great crowd-pleaser, and very ear-wormy. It is a brilliant show of virtuosity, and, like most of Mendelssohn's work, it blends seamlessly the aesthetics of late classical structure and organization with fiery romantic passion and enthusiasm. I actually will recommend this one first, since you have only a semester to learn it (that said, I don't actually know how fast you learn pieces so ...), and especially if you are a high-school or undergrad student, or don't have much experience playing concertos.

2. The Liszt concerto No. 2 is a beast. It is easily the most difficult one on this lis(z)t, just for the sheer danger of many of the runs, leaps, and glissandi. Liszt's pianism is evident here, but there are many places where he pushes even the techniques found in the transcendental etudes to an entirely new level; and there are a number of passages with scales in thirds alla the Don Juan paraphrase. There's a reason this piece isn't played much!

3. I actually really like the Prokofiev Concerto in D-flat, though I don't know its details as well. My friend won a concerto competition with it, and the hardest thing about it is not even the playing, it's the ensemble. As with all the Prokofiev concertos, the orchestra-reduction part is unreasonably complicated and hard to put together. Do you have an accompanist willing to play this for you? Give them the score immediately, it will take them quite some time to pull off, even if they are a professional! It is less extreme than the Liszt concerto IMO, though still fiercely technical.

[masterraro]

Hi there,

At this point, I assume you've chosen a concerto and probably learned most of it!  It's very hard to give advice on such a matter without knowing who you are as a pianist... How many concerti have you learned so far? I've played the Mendelssohn and the Liszt myself, not the Prokofiev... The first Prok concerto is seldom played or taken on by concert programmers, it's all about the 2nd and 3rd (which are both crazy hard, especially the 2nd). 

I would say that the Liszt 2nd is not nearly as difficult as the two previous commenters made it out to seem... though it really depends on your particular technical affinities/struggles.  For example, if you are scared off by octaves... Run from the Liszt!  The Mendelssohn is the lightest and most straightforward of the concerti.  Lots of fast passage work (as always with Mendelssohn), but it's mainly arpeggios when things get heated up and then lyrical melodies for the rest (you really need to make Mendelssohn melodies sing!)  I once read that he composed this piece while in transit, while on vacation in Europe.  He wrote his father later on that he couldn't believe audiences were swooning over a piece he practically wrote in his sleep! To be fair, it is quite simple, musically, compared to Prokofiev, and even the Liszt.

Another thing to note is that the Liszt cannot really be divided into movements, despite there being some degree of separation... it's really all one continuous formal structure.  This makes it harder to use and implement as a conservatory or conservatory-prep student (it seems like you are one of these?).  Can't bring a first or third movement to a master class, a prescreening, etc...

I suggest you learn the Mendelssohn if you haven't learned many concerti, or at least romantic concerti.  It will help develop the fundamentals of your technique for sure, and provide plenty of struggle despite the overall simple character of this masterpiece.  And it is really a masterpiece.  Mendelssohn is underrated!  One of the best melodists to ever live.

Good luck, and keep us updated on what you chose to do

M

[perfect_pitch]

I personally love the Liszt more than anything, but that's just me. The 2nd Piano Concerto in A isn't as overplayed as the E flat, and thus why I think it's got more Majesty - especially in that 3rd movement with the gigantic leaping chords.

Which one do you wish to see yourself perform on the stage??? Close your eyes and listen to all 3 in a row (each by a pianist who you think plays it the best), and see which one makes you want to perform it.

[bachmoninoff]

Hi there,

I would say that the Liszt 2nd is not nearly as difficult as the two previous commenters made it out to seem... though it really depends on your particular technical affinities/struggles.  For example, if you are scared off by octaves...

I guess you are right for the most part in that the Liszt is definitely dependent on struggles that vary person to person. Then to prove your point, I can’t help but find it on par with the difficulty of Rachmaninov Piano Concerto no. 2 (played the Liszt and learning the Rachmaninov). Then again, I deal much better with awkwardness than speed