Concerto Recommendations

[bwl_13]

Hey everyone. Today I had a successful audition at a great school in Canada. During the interview the panel told me that it's a good idea to learn a concerto before starting with them in fall and told me to do some listening. I am not super familiar with concertos other than Chopin 1 and Beethoven 3 (neither of which I want to learn at the moment). I've heard the opening to Beethoven 4 a few times and I'm drawn to that, but I'm curious what other people suggest. It's a bit scary taking on this new level of repertoire but I'm definitely up to the challenge. What are some good introductory concertos to listen to?

[frodo1]

Beethoven #4.
Brahms #2 Edit: to listen to only - not to play

[winsto7]

Unpopular opinion, but any of the Hummel Concerto's are really nice and at a basic level. The Grieg might also be achievable (it was the first I learned).

[frodo1]

Sorry.  I re-read your post.  You are looking for concertos to listen to for the purpose of playing?  If so - Brahms #2 is out.  How about one of the Mendelssohn concertos instead?

[themeandvariation]

Bwl 13 " What are some good introductory concertos to listen to? "
Those by Mendelssohn.

[frodo1]

Bwl 13 " What are some good introductory concertos to listen to? "
Those by Mendelssohn.

Normally I read things carefully, but not for this thread for some reason.  I agree with your recommendation.  Of course the other obvious choices are selected concertos by Bach or Mozart.

[anacrusis]

You should definitely listen to the most famous Mozart concertos.

The Beethoven 2nd concerto is not super difficult.

[fftransform]

The Grieg.

[perfect_pitch]

The Grieg.

[nightwindsonata]

The Grieg.

I concur. Just because a piece is popular doesn't mean it's a bad one to study.

[lelle]

Unpopular opinion: The Grieg concerto is a cheesy piece of musical tripe :'(

[perfect_pitch]

Unpopular opinion: The Grieg concerto is a cheesy piece of musical tripe :'(

I didn't think that opinion was unpopular... I thought it was practically known by most pianists across the globe.

I concur. Just because a piece is popular doesn't mean it's a bad one to study.

It's just very repetitive in its themes, almost to the point of boring the listener.

[bwl_13]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I still haven't made a decision but I've found some new pieces to listen to and sit with for a bit.

I'll admit the Grieg is pretty cheesy. I'm not a huge fan. I do like the Mozart concerti I've heard though, I think they're far more interesting and engaging than most of his sonatas (which I don't really care for).

Mendelssohn's are also pretty nice. I like that they're not too long as well, it makes them a bit more manageable to grasp.

I also started really listening to Rach 3, and even though it's out of reach at the moment I've found my new favourite piano concerto (again, I'm not super familiar in the genre). It's far too difficult for the time being but at some point down the road I really hope I'll get the chance to learn it.

[fftransform]

Yeah the Grieg has been played by such "cheesy, trashy" pianists as Rubinstein, Michelangeli, Gilels, Cziffra, Gieseking etc.  It doesn't have any such reputation.  Saying it's bad would be like a violinist shitting on the Sibelius, says more about the violinist.  Way less cheesy than anything Rachmaninov wrote, to start.

The extent of OP's listening is having heard some of Beethoven 4 once?  So they haven't heard Prokofiev 2, Bartok 2, Ginastera, Barber, maybe even the Tchaikovsky etc.  You can't learn these pieces, but you still need to get more context for the concerto rep if you have such bad opinions as 'Grieg sux' haha

[fftransform]

[nightwindsonata]

[bachmoninoff]

Yeah the Grieg has been played by such "cheesy, trashy" pianists as Rubinstein, Michelangeli, Gilels, Cziffra, Gieseking etc.  It doesn't have any such reputation.  Saying it's bad would be like a violinist shitting on the Sibelius, says more about the violinist.  Way less cheesy than anything Rachmaninov wrote, to start.

The extent of OP's listening is having heard some of Beethoven 4 once?  So they haven't heard Prokofiev 2, Bartok 2, Ginastera, Barber, maybe even the Tchaikovsky etc.  You can't learn these pieces, but you still need to get more context for the concerto rep if you have such bad opinions as 'Grieg sux' haha

Sorry, are you saying gieseking, Rubinstein, Cziffra, etc. are actually “cheesy” or are you joking because your joking about the Grieg being bad?

[bwl_13]

Yeah the Grieg has been played by such "cheesy, trashy" pianists as Rubinstein, Michelangeli, Gilels, Cziffra, Gieseking etc.  It doesn't have any such reputation.  Saying it's bad would be like a violinist shitting on the Sibelius, says more about the violinist.  Way less cheesy than anything Rachmaninov wrote, to start.

The extent of OP's listening is having heard some of Beethoven 4 once?  So they haven't heard Prokofiev 2, Bartok 2, Ginastera, Barber, maybe even the Tchaikovsky etc.  You can't learn these pieces, but you still need to get more context for the concerto rep if you have such bad opinions as 'Grieg sux' haha

Yes, hence my asking for people to give me some recommendations. I don't hate the Grieg but it doesn't inspire me to play it, which is different than me thinking it's bad objectively or even having a strong opinion. I'm just not a huge fan of it and I'd prefer to study some of the many more concerti out there.

My extent of listening isn't so barebones as hearing some of Beethoven 4 once but it is quite limited. I'm fairly familiar with the Chopin concerti, Tchaikovsky 1, Beethoven 3 but that's about it.

I'm also not a big Rachmaninoff fan, but I do enjoy some of his stuff and his third concerto is one of them. I don't really understand how an opinion can be bad?

I know I need to listen to more Prokofiev, Bartok etc. so I appreciate those suggestions.

[anacrusis]

Just because Rubinstein, Michelangeli, Gilels, Cziffra, Gieseking etc liked something doesn't mean you have to. Just sayin. There is no police of taste who can order you to like something because the holy government of Rubinstein, Michelangeli, Gilels, Cziffra, Gieseking has said it is good.

[bwl_13]

Just because Rubinstein, Michelangeli, Gilels, Cziffra, Gieseking etc liked something doesn't mean you have to. Just sayin. There is no police of taste who can order you to like something because the holy government of Rubinstein, Michelangeli, Gilels, Cziffra, Gieseking has said it is good.

I've never understood using the opinion of wonderful artists' as justification for your own opinions. If I'm nor\t mistaken, Rubinstein was on record saying that the rondo theme of Beethoven's Op. 90 comes back too many times. I'm sorry to say I must heavily disagree with one of my favourite pianists on that one.

[Bob]

*Bob was thinking Grieg....*