ABC Radio, Australia's Top 100 piano pieces.

[lostinidlewonder]

I have been glued to the radio today listening to the countdown, although it will take 3 days.

https://abc.net.au/classic/classic100/countdown.htm

[brewtality]

i bet the number 1 will be something like Fur Elise or Moonlight Sonata 

[lenny]

wow very interesting, and very subjective!

is there any way foreign people can listen to the show?

also i noticed this -

https://abc.net.au/classic/classic100/previous.htm

a peculiar list! , i cant even recall the theme of that clarinet concerto

and it looks like the no1 piano concerto is the emperor, and the highest siano solo piece is the mooonlight i believe?

[SteinwayTony]

wow very interesting, and very subjective!

is there any way foreign people can listen to the show?

also i noticed this -

https://abc.net.au/classic/classic100/previous.htm

a peculiar list! , i cant even recall the theme of that clarinet concerto

and it looks like the no1 piano concerto is the emperor, and the highest siano solo piece is the mooonlight i believe?

The Classic 100 list has nothing by Brahms.  Nothing.  I think his first piano concerto is possibly the greatest ever written, and it's nowhere on the list.  So, already, the list has no credibility with me at all.

Oh, but PURCELL is on the list.  And there is way, way, way too much Mozart.  I've never even heard the Clarinet Concerto.  It must really be something.

[Hmoll]

#1 - Waltzing Matilda

#2 - Variations on "Waltzing Matilda"

#3 - Rhapsody on the theme "Waltzing Matilda"

#4 - Preludium und Fuga uber "Waltzing Matilda"

....

(No offense, and just kidding to the nice Australians here)

[steinwaymodeld]

The Classic 100 list has nothing by Brahms.  Nothing.  I think his first piano concerto is possibly the greatest ever written, and it's nowhere on the list.  So, already, the list has no credibility with me at all.
..

Not as great as Brahms 2nd concerto LOL.... (I was addicted to his first Concerto before too, until i listned to the 2nd one)

But I agree with u, this list has very little credibility.

[brewtality]

its just an opinion poll. Its not like one those lists where "experts" choose the greatest 100 pieces of all time.

[lostinidlewonder]

It is a pretty good opinion poll since they where taken via internet, survey forms in shops etc. It is more interesting than the academic lists  to me because you get a feel for what the general classical music listener likes, which helps in decisions sometimes as to which pieces to play in concert. Since there are more general people than professors sitting in concert halls.

[lenny]

yes its very interesting, but whats with the australian obsession with mozart?

and what about that clarinet concerto, it HAD to be featured in a huge hit aussie movie to be top!

what was it in? crocodile dundee? muriels weddin?

i can just imagine mick dundee wrestling with a croc while chillin out to some mozart adagio 

[brewtality]

blah, i've been listening to this all day and the amount of chopin (it seems like every other piece) highlights the ignorance of the typical classical fm listener. 

[lenny]

however there are a few insanely random entries-

Sculthorpe  Left Bank Waltz
Blake  Walking in the Air

walking in the air is a PIANO PIECE?!?! thought it was a pop song!

[Tash]

oh yeah i was considering seeing them perform this but decided that i was already using up my parent's money enough on 50 other concerts so gave it a miss.
but i think it's based just on people's votes, like randoms who listen to ABC classical, my mum as like VOTE! and i was like smeh
so pretty much it's just a popularity vote, and there is brahms!
hope some more aussie composers get up ther- come on carl vine's piano sonata, and anything by ross edwards love them both!
btw what's so bizarre about the sculthorpe piece?

[lenny]

never heard of him, must be a native aborigine

[brewtality]

the thing is i heard that he was a guest on the countdown and so it seems a dubious selection.

[Brian Healey]

No Bartok or Scriabin (which is blasphemy in itself), and barely any Debussy (only Arabesque no. 1). What a stinky list.......


By the way, SteinwayTony, there are a few pieces by Brahms in there. Handel Variations, Rhap. in G minor, Waltz in A-flat.....I think that's it.


Not impressed,
Bri

[galonia]

I don't think we should criticise the list - as others have said before, it is a popularity contest, with general listeners voting.  Anyone can have a say, and can have as many says as they like.

It doesn't matter if Fur Elise or the Moonlight Sonata is number one.  The vast majority of people who voted probably have little formal training in music, for whatever reasons - they may have prioritised something else in their lives, or they never had the opportunity.  But if a piece like Fur Elise captures their attention, then what's so bad about that?  Pieces like that make piano music accessible to all people.  If this inspires people to find out more about piano music, attend more concerts, listen to more recordings, then I think it's all good.

Sorry, tash, I don't like Vine, but I hope there's more Sculthorpe and Edwards.  Has there been any Hyde?

[lenny]

i think i actually heard some vine and liked it

[brewtality]

forget all those randoms. I'd be happy to see more Liszt and Rachmaninoff. They've both been shockingly under-represented.

[Da Bachtopus]

49.  Joplin  The Entertainer
...
62.   Beethoven  Piano Sonata No.30 in E major Op. 109

 

[steinwaymodeld]

That Nyman The PIano Crap (No.46)
beats Chopin Sonata No.2 and Ravel Gaspard de la Nuit.


Holy.....F.....

[apion]

The Classic 100 list has nothing by Brahms.  Nothing.  I think his first piano concerto is possibly the greatest ever written, and it's nowhere on the list.  So, already, the list has no credibility with me at all.

Steinway Tony, I not only agree that "Brahms first piano concerto is possibly the greatest ever written," but, more importantly, that the D Minor is one of the greatest marvels in the artistic world. 

[apion]

Not as great as Brahms 2nd concerto LOL.... (I was addicted to his first Concerto before too, until i listned to the 2nd one)

But I agree with u, this list has very little credibility.

I perform/study both concertos, and, all things considered, the 1st is an architecturally and intellectually greater masterpiece (it's a long story).   Brahms Op. 15 (#1) is a truly amazing tour de force, even for Brahms.

[apion]

I don't think we should criticise the list - as others have said before, it is a popularity contest, with general listeners voting.  Anyone can have a say, and can have as many says as they like.

It doesn't matter if Fur Elise or the Moonlight Sonata is number one.  The vast majority of people who voted probably have little formal training in music, for whatever reasons - they may have prioritised something else in their lives, or they never had the opportunity.  But if a piece like Fur Elise captures their attention, then what's so bad about that?  Pieces like that make piano music accessible to all people.  If this inspires people to find out more about piano music, attend more concerts, listen to more recordings, then I think it's all good.

Sorry, tash, I don't like Vine, but I hope there's more Sculthorpe and Edwards.  Has there been any Hyde?

Yes, Beethoven's Fur Elise is greater than Beethoven's "Missa Solemnis."  That's obvious.

[SteinwayTony]

forget all those randoms. I'd be happy to see more Liszt and Rachmaninoff. They've both been shockingly under-represented.

Since it's not specifically a piano list, I wouldn't be inclined to give Liszt much room.  He was infatuated with the piano and only the piano; he wrote very few orchestral works, and when he did he must have gotten antsy so he transcribed them for piano. 

I agree with you on Rachmaninoff, on the other hand.  This was a composer who clearly wanted to try out different styles; I think that is most apparent in the 4th piano concerto, and it's such a shame the 4th never really caught on. 

[brewtality]

Actually the current countdown that they're doing is just for piano.

[lenny]

liszt had a natural ear for orchestral colour, he was crap at 1st, but he became a great orchestral composer.

[Brian Healey]

Still not a single piece by either Bartok or Scriabin.....


......that list is crap.   



Peace,
Bri

[apion]

liszt had a natural ear for orchestral colour, he was crap at 1st, but he became a great orchestral composer.

I'm sure Liszt will be delighted to know that his initial attempts at orchestration were "crap."

[Brian Healey]

Oh good lord!

"Chopsticks" was #7?

LMAO 


Peace,
Bri

[galonia]

Well, those who predicted Moonlight Sonata were right, it's number one.  Fur Elise was well down at 15.   

For full list, see:
https://www.abc.net.au/classic/classic100/countdown.htm

[Muzakian]

Oh good lord!

"Chopsticks" was #7?

LMAO 


Peace,
Bri

Yeah, I wouldn't take the list too seriously - Cage's 4'33" got #40! I've always preferred the orchestral version 

[lenny]

I'm sure Liszt will be delighted to know that his initial attempts at orchestration were "crap."

lol, he was painfully aware of it, and enlisted friends to help orchestrate with him at 1st, then he gained mastery of it himself.

[lenny]

and yes, this list is interesting and revealing.

wheres alkan?

the greatest composer for piano, to be sure.

[Motrax]

I don't believe Alkan's obscurity makes him better than Beethoven, or Rachmaninoff, or Bach, or Schubert, etc etc. I do love his concerti da camera, but as for the rest of his output, I couldn't name a single gem. The second movement of the concerto for solo piano is nice, as is one of the mevements from his trio... but none of his works are comparible with Rachmaninoff's preludes/etudes, or Beethoven's sonatas, or Bach's keyboard works (the Partitas especially), or Chopin's Ballades/Nocturnes/Sonatas... there's just so much wonderful music out there, I couldn't see Alkan as someone I'd want to spend too much time on.

As for the list... chopisticks is rather odd, as is 4'33" (though I find it amusing that they included Cage), but I agree that most of the music there deserves to be on such a list, whether or not in the order they gave pieces. I'm especially happy that Schubert's Gb Impromtpu was placed so high - one of the greatest pieces of music ever written, in my very humble opinion.

On the other hand, they made a number of glaring errors when they chose certain pieces by composers for their popularity. Rachmaninoff's Op 3 No 2 comes to mind - in no way is this better than his 5th, 10th, or 12th preludes from Op. 32, and I would place a number of the etudes and other Op. 23 preludes above the first one as well.  Chopin's Fantasy Impromptu is certainly not his best work, as the list might suggest - if they like popularity, they should've at least included the 2nd sonata.

Well, anyway, I have work to do. So there's my two cents.

[lenny]

I don't believe Alkan's obscurity makes him better than Beethoven, or Rachmaninoff, or Bach, or Schubert, etc etc. I do love his concerti da camera, but as for the rest of his output, I couldn't name a single gem. The second movement of the concerto for solo piano is nice, as is one of the mevements from his trio... but none of his works are comparible with Rachmaninoff's preludes/etudes, or Beethoven's sonatas, or Bach's keyboard works (the Partitas especially), or Chopin's Ballades/Nocturnes/Sonatas... there's just so much wonderful music out there, I couldn't see Alkan as someone I'd want to spend too much time on.

alkan's obscurity doesnt make him better, but his symphony for solo piano is a landmark of the piano literature.

his output is too uneven to be considered as great a composer as beethoven, but at his greatest he is comparable.

alkan's op39 i actually consider to be the richest single opus in the piano literature.

the conception alone of a symphony for solo piano is innovative, but the EXECUTION, it shows alkan to be a composer capable of musical inspiration on the level of a beethoven, a schubert, a rachmaninov.

[lenny]

'Jose Vianna da Motta found just the right words to describe the vast first movement of this symphony: 'Alkan demonstrates his brilliant understanding of this form in the first movement of the Symphony (the fourth Study). The structure of the piece is as perfect, and its proportions as harmonious, as those of a movement in a symphony by Mendelssohn, but the whole is dominated by a deeply passionate mood. The tonalities are so carefully calculated and developed that anyone listening to it can relate each note to an orchestral sound; and yet it is not just through the sonority that the orchestra is painted and becomes tangible, but equally through the style and the way that the polyphony is handled. The very art of composition is transformed in this work'.'

i agree with this completely.

[Motrax]

Well, I'm curious, since that's one piece I haven't heard of Alkan's (I have a lot of works by him, but it's a little bit of everything - few complete sets, just a lot of isolated, random works). Which pianist would you recommend for the symphony?