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New Piano Piece by Chopin Discovered – Free Piano Score
A previously unknown manuscript by Frédéric Chopin has been discovered at New York’s Morgan Library and Museum. The handwritten score is titled “Valse” and consists of 24 bars of music in the key of A minor and is considered a major discovery in the wold of classical piano music. Read more >>

Topic: First Piano Concerto  (Read 1366 times)

Offline adariation

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First Piano Concerto
on: June 25, 2022, 05:15:52 PM
I have been searching for a piano concerto to tackle and perform in a year or so.
I haven't played a piano concerto before, and the only ensemble piece that I played was Clara Schumann Piano Trio.
My current recital repertoire is:
Ballade 1
Rach prelude in Csharp minor
Scarlatti k466 f minor
Debussy arabesque 1
Consolation 3 liszt.
Haydn variations in f minor
Shostakovich Prelude no 24
Black Earth Fazil say.
The concerto that I was planning on playing was Grieg, however as this is my 1st time, I was wondering if it would be better to start off with something easier like Shostakovich No 2. I have also looked into Chopin Concertos. Any suggestions and advice would be appreciated, thanks.
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Offline nightwindsonata

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Re: First Piano Concerto
Reply #1 on: June 26, 2022, 09:43:57 PM
I was actually going to suggest Shostakovich No. 2. The Grieg is a great piece, though it's trickier than many people give it credit for (especially the third movement). I would recommend both of those before playing the Chopin Concertos, since those really are difficult, especially the last movements of both.
1st-year Master's Program:
- Ravel Piano Concerto
- Liszt Ricordanza
- Liszt 3 Liebestraums
- Liszt 3 Sonnets

- Rhapsody in Blue
- Dante Sonata
- Schubert Sonata D.780
- Mozart Piano Quartet in Gm

Offline hmoll53

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Re: First Piano Concerto
Reply #2 on: June 27, 2022, 05:08:30 PM
For a first Concerto, it's best to do a classical concerto as most people I know suggest. (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven except for 4 and 5)
Granted you can play Ballade No.1, I don't think technique is too much of a problem for classical concerti. But the difficulties of classical pieces are far different comparison to Ballade (Classical requires more precision, clarity, and control imo)
Though not suggested, romantic and modern concerti also have very good starter Concerti.
Gershwin's Variations on 'I Got Rhythm' is very doable, the same goes for the Rhapsody in Blue. If you really want to invest in a larger Concerti, then the Concerto in F isn't too bad either.
Grieg, Shostakovich 2, Saint Saens 2 are all decent options though they each have their technical difficulties. (Saint Saens 2 have some nasty octaves, Grieg has a lot of tremolos in the Cadenza).
Poulenc is also a nice one, I don't understand why it's underperformed.
If you want to do Baroque, Bach's D Minor, F Minor and G Minor Keyboard Concerti are all quite nice and doable.
Chopin Concerti are both very long, though technically it isn't horribly undoable, though they are among the most difficult works written by the composer despite both being a youthful work.
In summary, any classical concerti except for Beethoven's 4th or 5th is fine for a starting piece. Romantic / Modern is a lot more wide ranged in technique, style, and general difficulty. It's your choice to go the safe route or not, but if you have the ability, play any Concerti you like.  :)
Some Current Repertoire:
Scriabin: Sonatas 2,4 and 5
Chopin: Ballade 1,4, Scherzo 1
Rachmaninoff: Concerto 3
Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit
Barber: Sonata
Beethoven: Appassionata
 

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