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Favourite solo piano pieces written after 1945

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Topic: Favourite solo piano pieces written after 1945 (Read 8550 times)

thorn

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Favourite solo piano pieces written after 1945

on: February 12, 2024, 12:54:31 PM

I thought I'd start this off to partner the pre-1945 top 5 thread. This one excludes Shostakovich and Prokofiev

Mine isn't ranked:
Ligeti Automne à Varsovie and Galamb Borong from the Etudes
Ginastera Sonata 1
Tanaka Crystalline II
Knussen Prayer Bell Sketch- Takemitsu to whom this is dedicated gets an honourable mention, but I prefer his instrumental works to the piano ones these days.

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klavikord

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Re: Favourite solo piano pieces written after 1945

Reply #1 on: February 13, 2024, 01:22:46 AM

Focusing on collections large and small

Shostakovich's Preludes and Fugues
Ligeti's Musica Ricercata
Kapustin's 8 concert etudes op 40
Glass's "Solo Piano"
Bolcom's 3 Ghost Rags
Dutilleux's Trois Preludes
Mompou's Musica Callada

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pianistavt

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Re: Favourite solo piano pieces written after 1945

Reply #2 on: February 13, 2024, 01:35:40 AM

Great idea - - I was going to post the same in due time.

I'm much less familiar with solo piano pieces after 1945 - more familiar with the piano concerti.
Possibly bending the rules a bit:
John Adams Hallelujah Junction (2 pianos)
... if that's not acceptable then his Phrygian Gates
The piano sonatas of Carl Vine (not sure what exactly I've listened to and what not, but I fully appreciate everything I hear by him)
Rzewski - The People United Will Never Be Defeated! (1975)
That's all for now. I may edit.

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pianistavt

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Re: Favourite solo piano pieces written after 1945

Reply #3 on: February 26, 2024, 03:06:56 PM

No many comments on this one - - I wonder why.

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thorn

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Re: Favourite solo piano pieces written after 1945

Reply #4 on: February 26, 2024, 05:51:36 PM

I'm not surprised to be honest. Most people just don't play anything written after 1945 unless it's a Shostakovich P+F or Prokofiev's 9th Sonata (which is why I excluded these composers but even then someone mentioned Shosta

). It's a shame because I don't believe that people wouldn't find a single piece they liked in almost 80 decades of piano music if they just popped their ears out of their bubbles for 5 minutes.

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transitional

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Re: Favourite solo piano pieces written after 1945

Reply #5 on: February 26, 2024, 10:11:24 PM

Haven't gotten a huge share of this period but I'll have to second Musica Ricercata.

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thorn

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Re: Favourite solo piano pieces written after 1945

Reply #6 on: February 27, 2024, 10:38:05 PM

I forgot about Hamelin's Erlkonig (no.8 from Etudes in all the Minor Keys). I actually think it works better as a piano piece than the Liszt-Schubert transcription because Hamelin directly illustrates the poem using the piano (like Ravel with Gaspard). I love the original Schubert song by the way, I just don't think it works as a solo piano piece.

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pianistavt

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Re: Favourite solo piano pieces written after 1945

Reply #7 on: March 04, 2024, 06:06:05 PM

Quote from: thorn on February 27, 2024, 10:38:05 PM

I forgot about Hamelin's Erlkonig (no.8 from Etudes in all the Minor Keys). I actually think it works better as a piano piece than the Liszt-Schubert transcription because Hamelin directly illustrates the poem using the piano (like Ravel with Gaspard). I love the original Schubert song by the way, I just don't think it works as a solo piano piece.

Thanks for mentioning this, I took a listen and saw a bunch of other pieces by Hamelin - quite an output. I liked Toccata on "L’Homme armé", probably more than Étude No. 8 in B-flat minor "Erlkönig, after Goethe".
What other Hamelin pieces do you give high ratings to?

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lelle

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Re: Favourite solo piano pieces written after 1945

Reply #8 on: March 06, 2024, 03:17:50 PM

I wrote a fugue once which I kinda like, it's more in a baroque style though

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klaviator.02

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Re: Favourite solo piano pieces written after 1945

Reply #9 on: May 14, 2024, 01:25:50 PM

Lowell Liebermann - Gargoyles op. 29. Pianistically interesting suite with a wonderfully dreamy 3rd and showy 4th movement. Not easy, but quite rewarding

Also, York Bowen, Toccata op. 155.

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Topic: Favourite solo piano pieces written after 1945 (Read 8550 times)

Piano Street Magazine:“The Sound Always Comes First” — Andrea Bonatta on Teaching Liszt

Piano Street Magazine:
Argerich-Alink’s Piano Competitions Directory – 2025 Edition

Piano Street Magazine:
“The Sound Always Comes First” — Andrea Bonatta on Teaching Liszt