your most Fun to play pieces?

[dizzyfingers]

Picking up on mister Transitional's idea from another post -

What are the top 1, 2 or 3 FUN-to-PLAY pieces you've ever played?
And why?
I'm talking about the physicality of playing the piece rather than where it takes you emotionally/mentally, though maybe it's hard to separate that.

[perfect_pitch]

Always a crowd pleaser.

[dizzyfingers]

Seems most of my fun pieces are from my teenage years (does that imply I stopped having fun @ piano?)
Those include:
- Kachaturian toccata
- Joplin Maple Leaf Rag
- Chopin polonaise in A

I'm definitely going to explore playing for fun in the coming weeks - -

[thorn]

Off the top of my head (in no order)- Debussy L'isle joyeuse, Liszt Harmonies du soir, Albéniz Rondeña.

[jesujuva]

Maple Leaf Rag is always a banger. I'd also say La Campanella is pretty fun to play, except that to get to the point where playing it feels fun is extremely demanding on the performer.

[klavieronin]

For me nothing beats the feeling of playing a Bach fugue. I don’t know what it is but they just feel good to play. They are a pain to learn for me but once they are in my hands I love playing them.

[dizzyfingers]

For me nothing beats the feeling of playing a Bach fugue. I don’t know what it is but they just feel good to play. They are a pain to learn for me but once they are in my hands I love playing them.

Now that you mention it, I recall that feeling - it's been a long time since I worked hard on a Bach fugue.. hmm..

[pianistavt]

I think playing your bucket list pieces, no matter how badly, can be fun. The pieces you've always wanted to play.
When I was a senior in high school, my piano teacher let me play one of these - Chopin Ballade 1. I really really enjoyed working on that.
When I go back and play it now, many years later, it doesn't have that kind of vibe at all. It's no longer a dream piece.

So, I guess the point is to dive into one of your Dream pieces now and then, no regard for the official learning cycle we adults (and our teachers) put ourselves through.

Then again, some pieces are just fun - like Maple Leaf Rag.

[parkerthepianist]

Revolutionary etude is also always a fun piece to mess around with

[lelle]

The Chopin Ballade No. 1 never gets old!

[pianistavt]

If the 19th century romantic era had a theme song, I think it could be Chopin Ballade 1.

I would venture that most ragtime is fun to play. Due to Hollywood, Joplin has taken the limelight, but there are many other composers.  Check out Black and White rag played by Winifred Atwell - if her smiles at the camera are any indication, it's balls of fun to play.

The Banjo by Gottschalk will hopefully end up in the fun bucket, once I get it learned.

[pianistavt]

In addition to Ragime, there's Novelty Piano, rather overlooked by classical pianists - this is not easy music, and boatloads of fun. I go back to this one over and over.

[dizzyfingers]

Does anyone play works by Astor Piazzolla?
.. those sound fun

Is Scarlatti fun?
... I've never played any, sounds fun

[brogers70]

Scarlatti is definitely fun; hundreds of short sonatas to choose from, lots of them brilliant and fun to play with showy hand crossing and lots of excitement. There are also plenty that are less virtuosic, just simple and beautiful.

[gbina]

Horowitz loved Scarlatti and often began or ended his concerts with one of his Sonatas.  They are, indeed, very fun.  On the easy end, Schumann's "Merry Farmer" and Kabalevsky's "The Clown" are favorites of my students.  Chopin's Black Key Etude is super fun once you master it.

[katkat22]

How about “The Cat and the Mouse” by Copland or “O Polichinello” by Villa-Lobos - both heaps of fun

[jaquet]

For me, scriabin 4th sonata and any sort of fast beethoven sonata movement. I just find the beethoven so fun to play because of how much character it has. But its not exactly fun when u havent mastered it. i might add Liszt etude no 10 has been particularly fun as well to mess around with. Bach fugues i also find incredibly fun to mess around with and play with all sorts of articulations, i just love piano so much .

[lisztoholic]

I have so many but I think my favourites are Shchedrin's "Humoreske" and Billy Mayerl's "Bats in the Belfry."

[dizzyfingers]

For me, scriabin 4th sonata and any sort of fast beethoven sonata movement. I just find the beethoven so fun to play because of how much character it has. But its not exactly fun when u havent mastered it. i might add Liszt etude no 10 has been particularly fun as well to mess around with. Bach fugues i also find incredibly fun to mess around with and play with all sorts of articulations, i just love piano so much .

There are a lot of fast Beethoven sonata movements that, like you said, are fun once you master them, most of them being last movements.  Any in particular? 
Here are some that come to mind for me.

The Moonlight last movement - Presto agitato
The Tempest (op 31 no 2) last movement - Allegretto
What else?
Op 31 no 3 last movement - Presto con fuoco - fun or too manic?

[essence]

Yes. I would add last movements of op 2 no 1, and op 79

The latter (I may be wrong) led to the opening of op 109.

Every year I play the slow movement of the hammerklavier.

[thorn]

The slow movement of Hammerklavier is one of my favourite individual movements of the 32. I don't play it (yet) but often listen to it without the other movements!

As for fun to play last movements the best imo is Waldstein. Or if we're thinking more dark/angsty then Appassionata. I played that sonata for an undergrad exam so spent lots of time on it and the 3rd mvt was always fun to practice. The 1st and 2nd less so- the former had some parts that were a headache to get right and the middle movement was a "started out loving it, after a few months of practicing I was so f-ing bored of it, then say a year after my exam I loved it again" piece

[essence]

Earlier today I played the first 2 movements of the Hammerklavier (very badly) , and half of the slow movement.

I don;t play much nowadays, and am getting old, and lost mental stamina finishing the slow movement.

[dizzyfingers]

Earlier today I played the first 2 movements of the Hammerklavier (very badly) , and half of the slow movement.
I don;t play much nowadays, and am getting old, and lost mental stamina finishing the slow movement.

Well, you had fun for a while, I'm sure!

I'm no spring chicken, but have a lot of motivation to practice, so I just take frequent naps - - if I get tired after some intense practice (30', 45', 60'), I lie down and do a short meditation, if I fall asleep, all the better.  It's important to stay off your phone and really try to meditate, i.e. empty the mind, breathe deeply, so it can rest.