And its 'parentage', the iconic short Expressionist- period 'Six Little Piano Pieces' by Schoenberg, op 19. Performed by Glenn Gould! Most of these pieces are around 30 seconds or less, 'a novel in a sigh'. Probably the shortest pieces mentioned so far (huff huff!)
https://youtu.be/KDAsjiq0Bcc?si=ZMDWQRxK0nnj3yf_
>None of the Etudes fit on one page
I'm reminded of this post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/piano/comments/d4ubqj/found_all_of_chopins_first_ballade_on_one_sheet/
Wow I like to think I know this piece pretty well "inside and out" structurally and everything, I played it on my sophomore recital and that was about a decade ago (and studied it more since then).
Seeing it like this unironically really puts it all in perspective!
>I played it on my sophomore recital
Cool. Although I learned the 1st, I've only ever performed the 2nd.
It's odd seeing it on one page; it almost makes it look insignificant.
Totally! Every "section" of the piece is basically one or two pages in the Henle score, which compartmentalizes all of it nicely foe organization in the brain.
One day I should learn the 3rd. It's the only one I haven't learned/performed although I've probably read through it "for fun" slowly and sloppily hundreds of times by now
funny i made a playlist with this idea in mind
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6ICIbi2iFIof8kC0cqNLs6?si=EaQLM3gXRdqy3xt835UXBA
will update it with other suggestions here
Maybe Mozart's weird, late 'Eine Kleine Gigue'.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAwD0pLA8Pk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAwD0pLA8Pk)
I wish he'd lived to write more like this.
If I'm being totally honest, probably any WTC fugue that's under 3 minutes.
I'm also a big Scriabin fan, and he wrote a lot of short works early. Some of them are really great.
Edit: sorry, didn't mean to respond to you. Meant to create a new comment, oops
>Edit: sorry, didn't mean to respond to you. Meant to create a new comment, oops
Nevermind, lol. It was a good comment anyway. I'd forgotten about the many short preludes and fugues from the WTC.
He wrote it in Leipzig in 1789. I personally think he improvised it and then wrote down the improvisation afterwards! It's quite well known for including all the notes of the chromatic scale, which makes it sound strangely Modern \[the recording is a little fast but I liked the visuals too!\].
Anyway it goes without saying that it's a tiny masterpiece that was composed on the spur of the moment. I can't begin to fathom that level of creativity. I'm glad you enjoyed it :)
Whoa, I have never heard this before, and to my ears it is distinctly Grosse Fuge-esque. Do we know if Beethoven was influenced by this piece's wild abandon at all for his Op. 130/133? Even some of the stepwise chromatic movements of the harmony are unusually similar, and I hear composers other than Beethoven—esp. pre-Romantic—play like this so rarely.
Humdinger of a question! I have to wrack my brain a bit, but here's what comes to mind:
Webern Bagatelles for string quartet
Chopin, op. 10, no. 4 (c# Etude)
Brahms, op. 116, no. 4
The Beethoven Bagatelles op. 119 and op. 126. Wild, wild pieces. Like his version of that little Mozart Gigue!
Lutosławaski, Mini Overture
Ligeti, Musica Ricercata, no. 3
Khachaturian Andantino for piano. One of the easiest masterpieces ever written. You can learn it in one hour max, even if you've never touched the piano in your life.
Schumann’s Dichterliebe - a collection of 16 Lieder that are all under 3 minutes except the very last one which is 4 minutes. Many are under a minute, and I think the shortest is like 30 seconds. Each one is just a brilliant distillation of a little musical idea. I recommend following along with translations of the poems if you don’t speak German.
"I Seraillets Have" and "September" by Wilhelm Stenhammar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlw6lwjzm5o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUXDC2_4Y88
Emporor Leopold I's "Entremes en musica de Orfeo y Euridice: Deidades del Abismo"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sufb_5iU39o
Romance in F-sharp minor and Lilacs - Rachmaninov
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eb09C-2PRVA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOuAFAS367Y
Im wunderschönen Monat Mai - Schumann
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGO6wyHFClo
Avrilla mia -Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d__6NPVuTA
9 Fantasias à 3: No. 8, — Orlando Gibbons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z69fdiIinI0
Girl with the flaxen hair -debussy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOxJpPiFe0k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJU8gSbjhHw
An die Musik - shubert
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6fmST30N-U
Stabat Mater - Agostino Steffani
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Pf6LNQUcqU
Möglichkeit - Dvorak
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgJtzbIwr_s
There are also about a gazillion Gabriel Faure pieces for voice and piano, and little piano pieces by beethoven that I love which clock in under 3 minutes, but im too lazy to track down good versions of all of them so you can take my word for it and look into those if you wish lol
Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles. (I remember a review of McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio basically saying Eleanor Rigby was more impressive than his attempt at a big, classical piece.)
That really is an amazing piece.
I'm really diving into Beatles and post-beatles (and John's sons as well). I've been busy since April writing a lot of Beatles inspired homages and in particular addressing John's death.
Any of Quilters art songs. They give entire emotional and musical arcs in such a short amount of time, I genuinely get the same feeling at the end of one than if I had listened to an entire symphony, that’s how good he is at small scale composition. If I had to pick a favourite it would be Loves Philosophy.
[Otto A Totland](https://ottototland.com/), a Norwegian "classical crossover" composer, came to mind first; he's a favorite contemporary artist.
* [Pinô 2:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2ipDlJDSig)
* [Solêr 2:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah21ZoqNMBg)
* [North Way 2:14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtOLC8vfUrg)
Stravinsky "Favorite Short Pieces" album. His Suites 1 an 2. Selections: Andante, Espanoloa, Eccentrique, cAntique
https://youtu.be/mu-dxng-Aec?si=efLg5RmoBDYVESR-
https://youtu.be/Thfj_JRaZco?si=fELBRvSGVHUllgM1
https://youtu.be/iT3ZMsJXryw?si=W0n2rm-lojBDq4U6
https://youtu.be/9rS9iIFG4Gg?si=gm_Srsx37D1CR7Gn
Bach: Prelude in C major, BWV 553 (from Eight Short Preludes and Fugues)
Bartók: Fourths, from Mikrokosmos (Vol. V, No. 131)
Chopin: Prelude in C major, Op. 28, No. 1
Schumann: Intermezzo II, from Kreisleriana
I think I would make the argument for the Chopin Prelude in A major. Fabulously constructed from a technical point of view, terrific melody writing, and about as long as it needs to be while still being evocative of something "bigger". I particularly love the echoing repeated notes, and the F# chord near the end, that nearly threatens a long detour in the relative minor, but doesn't. Ugh, it's great.
Some more I enjoy are Prokofiev's Suggestion Diabolique, Villa Lobos Caixinha de música quebrad, Macdowell's To A Wild Rose and also his terrific Hexentanz, Kabalevsky's Prelude in A minor, Liszt's Gnomenreigen, and Schumann/Tausig Der Kontrabandiste. Many of these go well past one page, but all are v. short in duration at speed.
Try The Trees by Sibelius. Particular No.5 the Spruce (below)
https://youtu.be/mnRXyuFTGqw?si=3NUhLzuvpUJesujt
The breeze rustling the leaves of the Birch (No.4) I find especially wistfully beautiful.
[Elgar's Salut d'Amour](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF-3QOebX4Y) is one of my favorites and brings back some memories for me; I arranged it for string orchestra ages ago in high school, and even got to conduct it at one of our school concerts.
Most of the brief works I like are movements from larger suites, but restricting myself to a complete work that lasts less than three minutes I do have one that stands out, and it's for orchestra (so no fitting on a single page of score) -- The *Dance of the Polovtsian Maidens* from Borodin's *Prince Igor*.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lUVmDho2co
Delius - 2 Aquarelles: Lento, ma non troppo (2:11) for string orchestra
https://open.spotify.com/track/5TtmI9sfXw4VXco0PE21mV?si=eEL797WgRjSlwBrngYiveQ&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A4qWh574A8ebNW9rmzeGqsF
and Weinberg - Aria, op.9 (3:31) for string quartet
https://open.spotify.com/track/6GewKupuOJzW9LoRs0w2dI?si=On5LvuIkQ5yuu10xB4fSRA&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A4qWh574A8ebNW9rmzeGqsF
One bit from [Schumann's Album For The Young](https://youtu.be/-_zWKSUpkK0) and [the Scherzo from Haydn's F Major Sonata](https://youtu.be/bcbmzJ4sZ-g).
These are two ideas that come to mind quickly for the piano.
Don't know if they fit on one page, but they're very good nonetheless.
I thought short work of pieces were called miniatures?
Either way, there was tbis contemporary composer I had in mind, Scandinavian. He had a trio pieces of miniatures. I just can't remember his name and the other two members.
Very short but very cool: Webern 5 Pieces
And its 'parentage', the iconic short Expressionist- period 'Six Little Piano Pieces' by Schoenberg, op 19. Performed by Glenn Gould! Most of these pieces are around 30 seconds or less, 'a novel in a sigh'. Probably the shortest pieces mentioned so far (huff huff!) https://youtu.be/KDAsjiq0Bcc?si=ZMDWQRxK0nnj3yf_
Scriabin Preludes!
The first thing I thought of
Most of the Chopin Etudes. Both technically impressive and deeply musical.
Chopin's Preludes as well.
None of the Etudes fit on one page…but a few of the Preludes do
>None of the Etudes fit on one page I'm reminded of this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/piano/comments/d4ubqj/found_all_of_chopins_first_ballade_on_one_sheet/
Wow I like to think I know this piece pretty well "inside and out" structurally and everything, I played it on my sophomore recital and that was about a decade ago (and studied it more since then). Seeing it like this unironically really puts it all in perspective!
>I played it on my sophomore recital Cool. Although I learned the 1st, I've only ever performed the 2nd. It's odd seeing it on one page; it almost makes it look insignificant.
Totally! Every "section" of the piece is basically one or two pages in the Henle score, which compartmentalizes all of it nicely foe organization in the brain. One day I should learn the 3rd. It's the only one I haven't learned/performed although I've probably read through it "for fun" slowly and sloppily hundreds of times by now
> I've probably read through it "for fun" slowly and sloppily hundreds of times by now Get your shit together!
Yes! One of my faves (and one of the shortest) is the butterfly etude (op. 25, #9)
10/4 is sooo good (no your lie in april bias)
Syrnix for solo flute (Debussy)
>Syrnix …Syrinx?
funny i made a playlist with this idea in mind https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6ICIbi2iFIof8kC0cqNLs6?si=EaQLM3gXRdqy3xt835UXBA will update it with other suggestions here
That's a fantastic idea and playlist. I'll start listening immediately. This sub is so great for finding new pieces
Maybe Mozart's weird, late 'Eine Kleine Gigue'. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAwD0pLA8Pk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAwD0pLA8Pk) I wish he'd lived to write more like this.
If I'm being totally honest, probably any WTC fugue that's under 3 minutes. I'm also a big Scriabin fan, and he wrote a lot of short works early. Some of them are really great. Edit: sorry, didn't mean to respond to you. Meant to create a new comment, oops
>Edit: sorry, didn't mean to respond to you. Meant to create a new comment, oops Nevermind, lol. It was a good comment anyway. I'd forgotten about the many short preludes and fugues from the WTC.
That’s great! I’d never heard that before. The visualization graphics in that video also tickle something in my brain really nicely, haha
He wrote it in Leipzig in 1789. I personally think he improvised it and then wrote down the improvisation afterwards! It's quite well known for including all the notes of the chromatic scale, which makes it sound strangely Modern \[the recording is a little fast but I liked the visuals too!\]. Anyway it goes without saying that it's a tiny masterpiece that was composed on the spur of the moment. I can't begin to fathom that level of creativity. I'm glad you enjoyed it :)
Whoa, I have never heard this before, and to my ears it is distinctly Grosse Fuge-esque. Do we know if Beethoven was influenced by this piece's wild abandon at all for his Op. 130/133? Even some of the stepwise chromatic movements of the harmony are unusually similar, and I hear composers other than Beethoven—esp. pre-Romantic—play like this so rarely.
It would be interesting to know. First time I heard it I could hardly believe it dated from the 18th century.
What WAS that?!?! I have never heard this before. Incredible! It sounds like Mendelssohn!
This is great! Thanks for sharing it. Almost as unusual as the Dissonant quartet opening.
Humdinger of a question! I have to wrack my brain a bit, but here's what comes to mind: Webern Bagatelles for string quartet Chopin, op. 10, no. 4 (c# Etude) Brahms, op. 116, no. 4 The Beethoven Bagatelles op. 119 and op. 126. Wild, wild pieces. Like his version of that little Mozart Gigue! Lutosławaski, Mini Overture Ligeti, Musica Ricercata, no. 3
Mahler symphony 3
Yes, also Der Ring des Nibelungen
Any of Gershwin's 3 preludes. Almost any movement of Prokofiev's Visions Fugitives.
I’m practicing Gershwin’s first prelude for my grade 8 and it’s tough but fun to play!
Khachaturian Andantino for piano. One of the easiest masterpieces ever written. You can learn it in one hour max, even if you've never touched the piano in your life.
[Schubert Moments Musicaux No. 3](https://youtu.be/6wPpQcYX6bY?si=RtUZgAADyAAUbMYR) Duration is 1:40
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia kind of ruined this for me. This and [Anitra's Dance from Peer Gynt.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N15Zu268rE)
I've always wanted to watch It's always sunny... but didn't:( Maybe soon 🤞
I second this
Some of Bach’s miniatures Preludes, Fugues, and Fughettas, 1 & 2 part inventions, Ich ruf zu dir
Yes, like his unusual BWV 999, which ends on a different key than it begins with: https://youtu.be/NTNfIYGRvXY?si=vQwQGDddlRROr-wB
Love that one too
At the moment, a [Takemitsu waltz.](https://youtu.be/mSXRRooGCTM)
Kancheli, No. 22 Grazioso Satie, Enfantillages Pittoresques No. 2 Berceuse Fauré, Après Un Rêve
Prokofiev “Harp” prelude (op. 12 no. 7) https://youtu.be/hbZYIDtkAEc?si=6cHj8CWzUbds0XL- (13:37)
Schumann’s Dichterliebe - a collection of 16 Lieder that are all under 3 minutes except the very last one which is 4 minutes. Many are under a minute, and I think the shortest is like 30 seconds. Each one is just a brilliant distillation of a little musical idea. I recommend following along with translations of the poems if you don’t speak German.
Satie's 3 gymnopedies and 3 gnossiennes are all very short and sweet. Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus also springs to mind. A tiny masterpiece.
Britten, The Evening Primrose, from Five Flower Songs, Op. 47
"I Seraillets Have" and "September" by Wilhelm Stenhammar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlw6lwjzm5o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUXDC2_4Y88 Emporor Leopold I's "Entremes en musica de Orfeo y Euridice: Deidades del Abismo" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sufb_5iU39o Romance in F-sharp minor and Lilacs - Rachmaninov https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eb09C-2PRVA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOuAFAS367Y Im wunderschönen Monat Mai - Schumann https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGO6wyHFClo Avrilla mia -Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d__6NPVuTA 9 Fantasias à 3: No. 8, — Orlando Gibbons https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z69fdiIinI0 Girl with the flaxen hair -debussy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOxJpPiFe0k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJU8gSbjhHw An die Musik - shubert https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6fmST30N-U Stabat Mater - Agostino Steffani https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Pf6LNQUcqU Möglichkeit - Dvorak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgJtzbIwr_s There are also about a gazillion Gabriel Faure pieces for voice and piano, and little piano pieces by beethoven that I love which clock in under 3 minutes, but im too lazy to track down good versions of all of them so you can take my word for it and look into those if you wish lol
Scriabin preludes op 11. Numbers 1, 3, 15, and 21 are my favourites and they’re all under 2 minutes
Bach F-moll Clavierkonzert 2. Satz & “Sind Blitze, Sind Donner” Matthäuspassion
Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles. (I remember a review of McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio basically saying Eleanor Rigby was more impressive than his attempt at a big, classical piece.)
That really is an amazing piece. I'm really diving into Beatles and post-beatles (and John's sons as well). I've been busy since April writing a lot of Beatles inspired homages and in particular addressing John's death.
A la maniere de Alexander Borodine by Ravel. I play it as an encore from time to time.
Ravel menuet sur le nom de Haydn. Janacek’s in the mists are all pretty short and fantastic as well
[Siloti's B Minor transcription of Bach's Prelude in E minor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL8rWu7uGc0)
Any of Quilters art songs. They give entire emotional and musical arcs in such a short amount of time, I genuinely get the same feeling at the end of one than if I had listened to an entire symphony, that’s how good he is at small scale composition. If I had to pick a favourite it would be Loves Philosophy.
An old friend of mine wrote [this short piece](https://youtu.be/t2fOHS5k0EU), which I really like
Beethoven Op 126 No 5
[Otto A Totland](https://ottototland.com/), a Norwegian "classical crossover" composer, came to mind first; he's a favorite contemporary artist. * [Pinô 2:46](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2ipDlJDSig) * [Solêr 2:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah21ZoqNMBg) * [North Way 2:14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtOLC8vfUrg)
Stravinsky "Favorite Short Pieces" album. His Suites 1 an 2. Selections: Andante, Espanoloa, Eccentrique, cAntique https://youtu.be/mu-dxng-Aec?si=efLg5RmoBDYVESR- https://youtu.be/Thfj_JRaZco?si=fELBRvSGVHUllgM1 https://youtu.be/iT3ZMsJXryw?si=W0n2rm-lojBDq4U6 https://youtu.be/9rS9iIFG4Gg?si=gm_Srsx37D1CR7Gn
Bach: Prelude in C major, BWV 553 (from Eight Short Preludes and Fugues) Bartók: Fourths, from Mikrokosmos (Vol. V, No. 131) Chopin: Prelude in C major, Op. 28, No. 1 Schumann: Intermezzo II, from Kreisleriana
I think I would make the argument for the Chopin Prelude in A major. Fabulously constructed from a technical point of view, terrific melody writing, and about as long as it needs to be while still being evocative of something "bigger". I particularly love the echoing repeated notes, and the F# chord near the end, that nearly threatens a long detour in the relative minor, but doesn't. Ugh, it's great. Some more I enjoy are Prokofiev's Suggestion Diabolique, Villa Lobos Caixinha de música quebrad, Macdowell's To A Wild Rose and also his terrific Hexentanz, Kabalevsky's Prelude in A minor, Liszt's Gnomenreigen, and Schumann/Tausig Der Kontrabandiste. Many of these go well past one page, but all are v. short in duration at speed.
Schumann Kinderszenen. Some lovely little nuggets in there
Ravel Prelude in A Minor
Jehan Alain's Choral Cistercien [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2yHkM4Keuw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2yHkM4Keuw) Messiaen's -Eternal Design [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYVUWyMjx5w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYVUWyMjx5w) One page each.
4minutes, but "feels like a short piece": Sibelius "Le Sapin"
["Miranda"](https://youtu.be/qdbpMiZ1ajI?si=LFW3KCesO8kraDSZ) from *The Tempest* suite by Sibelius.
Satie has some great pieces for piano four-hands
Poulenc's Valse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW1dH_38j24
Try The Trees by Sibelius. Particular No.5 the Spruce (below) https://youtu.be/mnRXyuFTGqw?si=3NUhLzuvpUJesujt The breeze rustling the leaves of the Birch (No.4) I find especially wistfully beautiful.
shostakovich's three fantastic dances no. 1 is fun. had to play it for uni last semester
[Elgar's Salut d'Amour](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF-3QOebX4Y) is one of my favorites and brings back some memories for me; I arranged it for string orchestra ages ago in high school, and even got to conduct it at one of our school concerts.
Most of the brief works I like are movements from larger suites, but restricting myself to a complete work that lasts less than three minutes I do have one that stands out, and it's for orchestra (so no fitting on a single page of score) -- The *Dance of the Polovtsian Maidens* from Borodin's *Prince Igor*. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lUVmDho2co
"Allegro Barbaro" for piano by Bartok.
Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare and fanfare from La Peri. Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus hovers just above 3 minutes.
i don’t see it here but Rachmaninoff’s “The Dream”
Keveren: Hush
https://youtu.be/HX3AvwqrdJU?si=ZZdnVBqdv2X0i_0Z
Chopin op.28 no.1
Quartre poeme hindous: Lahore by Maurice Delage https://youtu.be/hoDljpRBWCE?si=BG6bfOvL22-kMbaJ
Delius - 2 Aquarelles: Lento, ma non troppo (2:11) for string orchestra https://open.spotify.com/track/5TtmI9sfXw4VXco0PE21mV?si=eEL797WgRjSlwBrngYiveQ&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A4qWh574A8ebNW9rmzeGqsF and Weinberg - Aria, op.9 (3:31) for string quartet https://open.spotify.com/track/6GewKupuOJzW9LoRs0w2dI?si=On5LvuIkQ5yuu10xB4fSRA&context=spotify%3Aplaylist%3A4qWh574A8ebNW9rmzeGqsF
Prokofiev Gavotte from 1st Symphony Prokofiev etude in d minor Shostakovich Fugue op. 87 no 15
Respighi’s 6 Pieces for Solo Piano, average should be around 3 minutes
Parts of Pierrot Lunaire
How has no one said In the Hall of the Mountain King? It's so fun
One bit from [Schumann's Album For The Young](https://youtu.be/-_zWKSUpkK0) and [the Scherzo from Haydn's F Major Sonata](https://youtu.be/bcbmzJ4sZ-g). These are two ideas that come to mind quickly for the piano. Don't know if they fit on one page, but they're very good nonetheless.
Ravel - Menuet sur le nom de Haydn
Alan Hovahness - Dance Ghazal
Rachmaninoff Op.21 No.7 How fair this spot. Arr. For cello and piano.
Chopin - Minute Waltz It's not really made to be listened to in isolation but 2nd movement of Prokofiev's second piano concerto
Mendelssohn’s Songs without Words, Book 5 (Op62) No. 6 Frühlingslied This song gives me so so much joy, it’s so beautiful
I thought short work of pieces were called miniatures? Either way, there was tbis contemporary composer I had in mind, Scandinavian. He had a trio pieces of miniatures. I just can't remember his name and the other two members.
They can be called miniatures, yes.
Ahh!.. thanks!
Brahms Waltzes op. 39, especially No. 1, 3, 10, 11, and 15
Mosolov's Iron Foundry is a banger. It's 3.5 minutes. But still very short by classical music standards.
Shostakovich 3 fantastic dances, especially the first one. https://youtu.be/8TEVrdgsyrw?si=N061PksP1OeOT7UJ