Top 5 favourite piano pieces (solo / concerto)

[bach-busoni chaconne]

What are your top 5 favourite piano pieces? Both solo and orchestra-accompanied pieces are allowed!

[liszt-and-the-galops]

Solo piano, sorted by composer (ten because I can't decide on only five, let alone the order lmao):
Alkan - Op. 33 Grande Sonate "Les Quatre Âges" (Ronald Smith and Marc-André Hamelin both have good recordings, with Hamelin's being higher quality but a bit too fast for my liking)
Alkan - Op. 39 no. 8 Concerto for Solo Piano mvt. 1 (Jack Gibbons)
Alkan - Op. 39 no. 11 "Ouverture" (Jack Gibbons)
Alkan - Op. 39 no. 12 "Le Festin d'Ésope" (Jack Gibbons) (the entire set is fantastic, though)
Chaminade - Op. 60 Les Sylvains (Takashi Sato)
Chaminade - Op. 89 Theme and Variations (MAH)
Liszt - S. 140 no. 3 "La Campanella" (the 1838 version) (Sung Chang/Traum on youtube)
Liszt - S. 219 Grand Galop Chromatique (Gyorgy Cziffra)
Liszt - S. 393iii Sonnambula de Bellini (Giovanni Bellucci)
Liszt - S. 420 Grande Fantaisie de Bravoure sur La Clochette (Sergio Fiorentino)
Saint-Saëns - Op. 111 no. 6 "Toccata d'Après les Cinquième Concerto" (François-René Duchâble) (again, the entire set is fantastic)

Crap, that's eleven...


Anyways, favorite pieces for piano + orchestra:
1. Medtner - Op. 60 Piano Concerto no. 3 "Ballade" (Tatiana Nikolaeva)
2. Chaminade - Op. 40 Concertstück (Christina Harnisch)
3. Liszt - S. 124 Piano Concerto no. 1 (Gyorgy Cziffra)
4. Prokofiev - Op. 26 Piano Concerto no. 3 (Martha Argerich)
Can't decide on a #5.

[thorn]

This is a very difficult question as it changes all the time. My staples are early 20c French/Spanish repertoire though- in no order + favourite recordings:

Ravel - Gaspard (Ondine if can only have one)
Ravel - Concerto in G
Debussy/Gryaznov - Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (beautiful arrangement)
Albeniz - Iberia (couldn't give one, it's a tie between Albaicin/Jerez)
Falla - Noches en los jardines de España (seriously underrated because the piano part isn't as difficult as soloists/audiences expect in a concerto, shame that's all that matters)

So that was 6 

[bach-busoni chaconne]

(In order of year of composition)

Solo works:
Chopin: Barcarolle in F-sharp major, Op. 60
Bach-Busoni: Chaconne from Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004
Liszt: Transcendental Étude No. 12 "Chasse-Neige"
Scriabin: Piano Sonata No. 5, Op. 53
Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit, M. 55

And concertos
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16

[ned174849]

It’s hard to choose just five works…
For solo works:
Albeniz Iberia Suite (I couldn’t choose a particular one, Love them all)
Meitner sonata op 25 no 2 (or his op 53 sonatas)
Beethoven Hammerklevier op 106.
Schubert piano sonata no 21 D 960
Godowsky Passacaglia 
Ravel Gaspard de la Nuit
Prokofiev sonata no 4 op 29
That’s more than five works and it would probably change a bit on a course of a few weeks…
As for the concertos:
Medtner piano concerto no 3 op 60
Prokofiev piano concerto no 2 op 16
Brahms piano concerto no 2 op 83
Rachmaninoff piano concerto no 3
Ravel Left hand piano concerto

[lelle]

Hard to pick just 5!

And it changes with times.

But long term, recurring favorites include

Chopin - Preludes op. 28
Chopin - Ballade no. 2 (with the right pianist!)
Chopin - Ballade no. 4
Scriabin - Sonata 2
Scriabin - Sonata 5

[ash120]

Only 5?! If you ask me tomorrow, the whole list will be different!

- Solo -
1. Schumann/Tausig "The Smuggler"
2. Alkan - Etude Op. 39/10 (Concerto for Solo Piano - III)
3. Prokofiev - Scherzo Op. 12/10
4. Scriabin - Prelude Op. 11/14
5. Moszkowski - Etude Op. 72/13
6. Chopin - Fantaisie Impromptu (Op. 66)*

whoops thats six

- Concerto/Chamber -
1. Mozart - Piano Concerto no. 20 (k. 466)
2. Kalkbrenner - Concerto no. 1 (Op. 61)
3. Chopin - Concerto no. 1 (E minor)
4. Mendelssohn - Piano trio no. 1 (op. 49)
5 Moszkowski - Suite Op. 71 (2 violins & piano).

- Composers -
1. Alkan
2. Chopin
3. Scriabin
4. Prokofiev
5. Liszt

*Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu is not one of my favorites in the traditional sense (it's very lovely though) but I have an interesting history with that piece so it will always stay in my heart, if not on my Spotify playlist on repeat

[dizzyfingers]

*Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu is not one of my favorites in the traditional sense (it's very lovely though) but I have an interesting history with that piece so it will always stay in my heart, if not on my Spotify playlist on repeat

Be careful, prolonged exposure to c# minor can cause neuroses - -