which concerto?

[iceman]

Which out of these concertos would you play for a competition, or other event and why? If other, which one (excluding rach 2 and 3!)? Discuss each one - good things, bad things, difficulty etc...

Thanks

[Goldberg]

Right now, my ideal concerto, if I'm considering competition (note that I am generally against competitions) would be the 2nd Bartok Concerto. I also would consider the 1st or 4th Rachmaninoff concerto. Of those listed, for a competition, I would either do the Brahms 1st or the Liszt second; but I marked the "other" choice anyway.

On the other hand, if not for a competition I would learn both the first two concerti, the 2nd Beethoven concerto, several Bach concerti (namely the D minor, A major, and F minor ones), Mozart concerti such as 12, 18, 21, 23, and 25, Sauer's E minor concerto, Schoenberg's, Ligeti's, and Liszt's 2nd, Totentanz and Hungarian Fantasy. And possibly Chopin's Fantasy in A...

But that wasn't the question! Sorry, I'm a little tired now and can't really get into details.

[steinwayguy]

Ah! Prokofiev's Third, no doubt. I'm disappointed to not see Brahms' 2nd, the better of the two in my opinion.

[Rach3]

Yeah, where is Brahms 2? It's definitely what I'd love to play, were I to overcome my passionate hatred for competitions. I'm voting Beethoven 4; though if this were a real competition, I'd go with something with less pressure - probably Rach's Paganini rhapsody.

Oh, and where's Beethoven no. 3? Or the Shostakovich? Or Prokofiev no. 5? Or Barber?

[iceman]

I didn't put Brahms no 2 because I've never heard it. (shocking isn't it!) Also i think that Beethoven 3 is a bit corny and overplayed, but thats just me. What's appealing about Bach concerti? I've never heard them either.

[Rach3]

Brahms no 2 because I've never heard it

Beethoven 3 is a bit corny

Bach concerti? I've never heard them either

Well, this makes your poll rather insufficient, doesn't it?

[Teddybear]

I voted for Schumann (which I actually just started playing and might be playing at a competition later). It's a wonderful concerto, but practising this piece it's mentally hard because it's so sad. There are days when I just have to stop to get away from the anxiety.

T

[gorbee natcase]

mozarts 21st and 25th

[apion]

Brahms 1 or Brahms 2 would be my choices: they have nearly everything the pianist, audience, judges, and critics seek in a concerto.  Very challenging yet very rewarding.

[dbrainiak914]

Liszt 2, Rach 4 or SCRIABIN.

Heck yeah.

[markov]

I voted for Schumann (which I actually just started playing and might be playing at a competition later). It's a wonderful concerto, but practising this piece it's mentally hard because it's so sad. There are days when I just have to stop to get away from the anxiety.

T

I played that one with a youth orchestra.  I would choose that one, because it is not really technically challenging, therefore a "safe" concerto.  However, I chose chopin no.1 because I'm working on it and I'm in love with it

[musicsdarkangel]

I am currently working on Rhapsody by a theme by Pagannini 

[aajjmb]

rach 1!!! haha i wish i could play that beast

[Bouter Boogie]

Gershwin's piano concerto in F or Ravel's piano concerto in G     

[pianojems]

How come no one mentioned Macdowell and Saint-Seans?

[viking]

Last year my piano adjudicator gave me a speech about competition concertos.  Her story goes something like this.  She was in this prestigious concerto competition in the USA (not sure which one) but she was an insanely good pianst and performing at carnegie hall soon.  She learned Brahms 2 for competition and didnt advance to the finals.  Her Uncle, a musical professor, talked to her after and condemned her for picking Brahms 2 to compete with.  My adjudicator disagreed with him, but the uncle named 5 out of 6 concertos that made it to the finals without knowing, only guessing.  He said that Brahms was simply too long. NEVER compete with Brahms 2 because although it is a good concerto, it is meant for performance, and not for competition.  The 5 concertos the Uncle got right were:
Tchaikovsky 1
Liszt 2
Prokofiev 3
Chopin 2
Rach 2

The problem with Rach 1, as wonderful as it is, is that it simply isnt memorable.  Wonderful music, but when the judges go to decide, they would far rather pick a Tchaik 1 over a rach 1.  All the above concertos are technically demanding, and musically demanding, and not too long either.  (Tchaik maybe is a little long, but thats the exception). Most  saint-saens, ravel, gershwin, Brahms, are essentialy performance concertos.  They rarely ever do well in serious competition.  Although there are exceptions, the above concertos are IMO by far the best competition concertos.  Other concertos that may be included are ravel concerto for left hand, liszt 1, but never rach 1, 3, 4, or gershwin anything, ravel G, or any saint-saens really.
SAM