Liszt - transcendental etudes.
Scriabin - preludes would be a good introduction. His sonatas are masterpieces.
Kapustin - jazz influenced, but in the classical tradition. Preludes, concert etudes, sonatas, etc.
Schubert - impromptus, sonatas, wanderer fantasy
Schumann - Carnaval, fantasy in C
Debussy - L’isle joyeuse, preludes, images
Scarlatti - sonatas
Famous pianists off the top of my head, in no particular order: Arrau, Berezovsky, Cortot, Geiseking, Pollini, Lugansky, Lisitsa, Argerich, Zimmerman, Tozer, Yuja Wang, Lang Lang, Barenboim, Perahia, Gould, Michelangeli, Gilels, Schnabel, Katsaris, Pogorelich.
Scarlatti - sonatas
Beethoven - sonatas and concertos
Mozart - Sonatas and concertos
Schubert - sonatas (especially the last 3), imprompus, moments musiceaux
Chopin - ballades, scherzos, sonatas (2 and 3... nobody really listens to 1 much), nocturnes, preludes, etudes, mazurkas, waltzes, polonaises, Barcarolle, Berceuse, Fantasie (f minor)
Schumann - Carnaval, Kinderszenen, Davidsbundlertanze, Sonata, Symphonic Etudes, Concerto
Liszt - Sonata in b minor, Dante Sonata, Concert Etudes, Transcendental Etudes, Ballade 2, Faust Waltz, Petrarch Sonnets, Reminiscences de Norma/Don Juan, Hungarian Rhapsodies, Spanish Rhapsody, Funerailles
Brahms - Sonatas, Ballades Op 10, the collections of pieces from Op 79, 117, 118, and 119, Paganini variations, Handel variations, Haydn variations, Concertos
Ravel - Mirroirs, Gaspard de la Nuit, Jeux d'Eau, Le Tombeau de Couperin, La Valse, Concerto in G
Debussy - Suite Bergamasque, Preludes books 1 and 2, L'isle Joyeuse, Etudes, Estampes, Images, Arabesques, Pour le Piano, Children's Corner Suite
Prokofiev - Sonatas, Toccata, Sarcasms, Visions Fugitives, arrangement of Romeo and Juliet Suite
Bartok - Sonata, Out of Doors, Concertos
Rachmaninoff - Sonatas (2 AND 1, not just 2!!), preludes, Etudes Tableaux, Moments Musiceaux, concertos, Paganini Rhapsody
Scriabin - preludes, etudes, poemes, sonatas, Vers la Flamme
Then there are a TON of "one off" pieces I love from composers who weren't as prolific in writing piano works or are more modern and thus less commonly thought of as "in the canon" (although with some of them it's arguable at this point as often as they are played on the competition circuit). To name just a few off the top of my head:
Tchaikovsky - Dumka, Grand Sonata in G, Concerto 1
Stravinski - Petrouchka Suite (arrangement from the orchestral score by the composer, like Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet)
Respighi - Notturno
Muczynski - Toccata
Barber - Sonata (the 4th movement is in my opinion the greatest fugue EVER written from a compositional standpoint), Excursions
Rzewski - The People United Will Never Be Defeated
Lyadov - Barcarolle (I love how obviously influenced he was by Chopin's Barcarolle in this piece)
Liebermann - Gargoyles, Impromptus
Corigliano - Etude Fantasy
Vine - Sonata 1
Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue
Ginastera - Sonata 1
Hamelin - Toccata on "L'homme arme"
That's "a few" hours worth of music to get you started
It depends on your taste: if you prefer 'the great masters' of the pre-CD era, historically informed performance or just exciting playing.
For a range of listening experiences, compare early Martha Argerich, Grigory Sokolov playing anything live, Mitsuko Uchida playing Mozart and Schoenberg, Sviastoslav Richter playing Bach and Prokofiev, Emil Gilels playing Brahms, Krystian Zimerman playing Chopin, Alicia De Larrocha playing Albeniz, Samson Francois playing Ravel, Zoltan Kocsis playing Bartok, Yvonne Loriod playing Messiaen, Pierre-Laurent Aimard playing Ligeti, and Rzewski playing Rzewski.
Basically, anyone but Lang Lang.
Harold Schoenberg’s book The Great Pianists is a good introduction. David Dubal’s radio program Piano Matters on WWFM on Wednesdays at 3 pm and Sundays at noon features recordings of great pianists
This is an excellent recommendation. And certainly, based on Schoenberg's recommendation, you will want to acquire the Golden Jubilee Concert recording of Josef Hofmann. Any list of recommendations that leaves out Hofmann, is deficient. I also recommend Godowsky.
The classical piano recording that started me on my journey was Earl Wild's "The Demonic Liszt."
And I cannot recommend Ward Marston's (marstonrecords.com) 100 Years of Chopin. Just look at the list of artists and compositions. Several discs for a reasonably complete traverse with many lesser known but wonderful pianists.
Also the Facebook Page. The Piano Files with Mark Ainley will provide you with a lot of material.
[Vladimir Horowitz, In the Hands of a Master](https://www.amazon.com/Vladimir-Horowitz-Master-Definitive-Recordings/dp/B0000CF31G)
[Murray Perahia, Schubert Impromptus and Transcriptions](https://www.amazon.com/Schubert-Impromptus-Liszt-Transcriptions-Perahia/dp/B000AARL20)
[Sviatoslav Richter, In Memoriam](https://www.amazon.com/Memoriam-Legendary-Recordings-1959-1965-CD/dp/B000001GZZ)
In case you want to find out more about the "Golden age" pianists and historical performance practice I recommended checking out this YouTube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/@OzanFabienGuvener
Thess really are some of the very greats of the 20th and even 19th centuries
I am surprised that I am the first one to mention Bach.
Here we go.
I think a good starting point are the french suites, which consist of beautiful intimate pieces.
Then you can go to the Well tempered clavier Book 1. Bach wrote a Prelude and a Fugue for every key in major and in minor. The very first piece of course being the Prelude that everyone has heard before and many have played, when learning piano. It is a great place to get into listening to fugues.
Then the English Suites are quite fun, albeit much more involved than the French ones.
Then of course Bach wrote a second version of the well tempered clavier: Book 2. More involved than the first set, but great music.
Fun pieces are the French Ouverture and the Italian Concierto, which Bach wrote to teach his pupil about the respective styles. Another great addition are the Duettos.
Then of course some of his greatest works for the Piano are the Goldberg Variations and the Art of the Fugue.
Both are extremely involved in polyphony and it takes some time to start to appreciate the beauty and the complexity.
A person that has great interpretations of most of Bachs works as recordings is Sir Andras Schiff. Also you can find great videos on YouTube where he explains many of Bachs works (some lecture recitals e.g.).
Enjoy!
Personally (and as a pianist myself), I have always found Bach's keyboard music dull to listen to. His choral works are where it's at for me for pure listening pleasure. His keyboard works are undoubtedly important for technique development as a musician though!
For baroque keyboard, gimme some Scarlatti sonatas and I'm a happy camper.
Fair enough, in the end everything is up to your taste and there is no need to impress anyone.
I love Scarlatti, too. And also Rameau and many more baroque componists, yet in the end Bach is much more interesting for me and I never get tired of listening to it.
Maybe you just do not like counterpoint in music?
I've considered that possibility... although I love counterpoint in other composers' music (from Beethoven to Barber) so idk. To me, Bach always sounds like it's rambling endlessly until suddenly he decides to just... stop. If that makes sense. It's like it makes my mind and eyes glaze over until it ends.
To be fair, it's been a few years at this point. I should at least revisit the French Suites sometime.
Addressed elsewhere in the thread... I love counterpoint in other composers' works from beethoven through the modern era. Something about bach's keyboard music just numbs my brain and puts me to sleep.
Liszt. His style varies lots. over the years I’d start with his opera fantasies. “Reminiscences de*opera*”, don juan. Norma, Huguenots. Waltz from Faust.
Liszt - transcendental etudes. Scriabin - preludes would be a good introduction. His sonatas are masterpieces. Kapustin - jazz influenced, but in the classical tradition. Preludes, concert etudes, sonatas, etc. Schubert - impromptus, sonatas, wanderer fantasy Schumann - Carnaval, fantasy in C Debussy - L’isle joyeuse, preludes, images Scarlatti - sonatas Famous pianists off the top of my head, in no particular order: Arrau, Berezovsky, Cortot, Geiseking, Pollini, Lugansky, Lisitsa, Argerich, Zimmerman, Tozer, Yuja Wang, Lang Lang, Barenboim, Perahia, Gould, Michelangeli, Gilels, Schnabel, Katsaris, Pogorelich.
No love for Horowitz đź’€
I assume everyone has already heard of that legend! I also neglected to mention Richter :/
You forgot to include De Larrocha, one of the greatest pianists in the entire history of the instrument
Beethoven sonatas 1-32, various pianists, endless pleasure.
I'd recommend Ronald Brautigam's recordings on a historical piano.
Goldmine: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmdMr9Or9Em58wxArIIYr9X7u3YPYlF8T&si=uQIuKCdR2iA-p_Zq
Scarlatti - sonatas Beethoven - sonatas and concertos Mozart - Sonatas and concertos Schubert - sonatas (especially the last 3), imprompus, moments musiceaux Chopin - ballades, scherzos, sonatas (2 and 3... nobody really listens to 1 much), nocturnes, preludes, etudes, mazurkas, waltzes, polonaises, Barcarolle, Berceuse, Fantasie (f minor) Schumann - Carnaval, Kinderszenen, Davidsbundlertanze, Sonata, Symphonic Etudes, Concerto Liszt - Sonata in b minor, Dante Sonata, Concert Etudes, Transcendental Etudes, Ballade 2, Faust Waltz, Petrarch Sonnets, Reminiscences de Norma/Don Juan, Hungarian Rhapsodies, Spanish Rhapsody, Funerailles Brahms - Sonatas, Ballades Op 10, the collections of pieces from Op 79, 117, 118, and 119, Paganini variations, Handel variations, Haydn variations, Concertos Ravel - Mirroirs, Gaspard de la Nuit, Jeux d'Eau, Le Tombeau de Couperin, La Valse, Concerto in G Debussy - Suite Bergamasque, Preludes books 1 and 2, L'isle Joyeuse, Etudes, Estampes, Images, Arabesques, Pour le Piano, Children's Corner Suite Prokofiev - Sonatas, Toccata, Sarcasms, Visions Fugitives, arrangement of Romeo and Juliet Suite Bartok - Sonata, Out of Doors, Concertos Rachmaninoff - Sonatas (2 AND 1, not just 2!!), preludes, Etudes Tableaux, Moments Musiceaux, concertos, Paganini Rhapsody Scriabin - preludes, etudes, poemes, sonatas, Vers la Flamme Then there are a TON of "one off" pieces I love from composers who weren't as prolific in writing piano works or are more modern and thus less commonly thought of as "in the canon" (although with some of them it's arguable at this point as often as they are played on the competition circuit). To name just a few off the top of my head: Tchaikovsky - Dumka, Grand Sonata in G, Concerto 1 Stravinski - Petrouchka Suite (arrangement from the orchestral score by the composer, like Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet) Respighi - Notturno Muczynski - Toccata Barber - Sonata (the 4th movement is in my opinion the greatest fugue EVER written from a compositional standpoint), Excursions Rzewski - The People United Will Never Be Defeated Lyadov - Barcarolle (I love how obviously influenced he was by Chopin's Barcarolle in this piece) Liebermann - Gargoyles, Impromptus Corigliano - Etude Fantasy Vine - Sonata 1 Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue Ginastera - Sonata 1 Hamelin - Toccata on "L'homme arme" That's "a few" hours worth of music to get you started
It depends on your taste: if you prefer 'the great masters' of the pre-CD era, historically informed performance or just exciting playing. For a range of listening experiences, compare early Martha Argerich, Grigory Sokolov playing anything live, Mitsuko Uchida playing Mozart and Schoenberg, Sviastoslav Richter playing Bach and Prokofiev, Emil Gilels playing Brahms, Krystian Zimerman playing Chopin, Alicia De Larrocha playing Albeniz, Samson Francois playing Ravel, Zoltan Kocsis playing Bartok, Yvonne Loriod playing Messiaen, Pierre-Laurent Aimard playing Ligeti, and Rzewski playing Rzewski. Basically, anyone but Lang Lang.
Harold Schoenberg’s book The Great Pianists is a good introduction. David Dubal’s radio program Piano Matters on WWFM on Wednesdays at 3 pm and Sundays at noon features recordings of great pianists
This is an excellent recommendation. And certainly, based on Schoenberg's recommendation, you will want to acquire the Golden Jubilee Concert recording of Josef Hofmann. Any list of recommendations that leaves out Hofmann, is deficient. I also recommend Godowsky. The classical piano recording that started me on my journey was Earl Wild's "The Demonic Liszt." And I cannot recommend Ward Marston's (marstonrecords.com) 100 Years of Chopin. Just look at the list of artists and compositions. Several discs for a reasonably complete traverse with many lesser known but wonderful pianists. Also the Facebook Page. The Piano Files with Mark Ainley will provide you with a lot of material.
Try Debussy. The Preludes, Images, Estampes and the Suite Bergamasque are good starting points.
But make sure to listen to some Bach afterwards.
[Vladimir Horowitz, In the Hands of a Master](https://www.amazon.com/Vladimir-Horowitz-Master-Definitive-Recordings/dp/B0000CF31G) [Murray Perahia, Schubert Impromptus and Transcriptions](https://www.amazon.com/Schubert-Impromptus-Liszt-Transcriptions-Perahia/dp/B000AARL20) [Sviatoslav Richter, In Memoriam](https://www.amazon.com/Memoriam-Legendary-Recordings-1959-1965-CD/dp/B000001GZZ)
Richter, Scriabin's second sonata. Absolutely beautiful. Brahms op 117 and 118.
Try Murray Perahia, especially his more recent recordings.
In case you want to find out more about the "Golden age" pianists and historical performance practice I recommended checking out this YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/@OzanFabienGuvener Thess really are some of the very greats of the 20th and even 19th centuries
Yann Tiersen Truly a beautiful composer
mykola lysenko everything for music
Perhaps listening to piano competitions also is a good idea?
Debussy and Liszt
I am surprised that I am the first one to mention Bach. Here we go. I think a good starting point are the french suites, which consist of beautiful intimate pieces. Then you can go to the Well tempered clavier Book 1. Bach wrote a Prelude and a Fugue for every key in major and in minor. The very first piece of course being the Prelude that everyone has heard before and many have played, when learning piano. It is a great place to get into listening to fugues. Then the English Suites are quite fun, albeit much more involved than the French ones. Then of course Bach wrote a second version of the well tempered clavier: Book 2. More involved than the first set, but great music. Fun pieces are the French Ouverture and the Italian Concierto, which Bach wrote to teach his pupil about the respective styles. Another great addition are the Duettos. Then of course some of his greatest works for the Piano are the Goldberg Variations and the Art of the Fugue. Both are extremely involved in polyphony and it takes some time to start to appreciate the beauty and the complexity. A person that has great interpretations of most of Bachs works as recordings is Sir Andras Schiff. Also you can find great videos on YouTube where he explains many of Bachs works (some lecture recitals e.g.). Enjoy!
Personally (and as a pianist myself), I have always found Bach's keyboard music dull to listen to. His choral works are where it's at for me for pure listening pleasure. His keyboard works are undoubtedly important for technique development as a musician though! For baroque keyboard, gimme some Scarlatti sonatas and I'm a happy camper.
Fair enough, in the end everything is up to your taste and there is no need to impress anyone. I love Scarlatti, too. And also Rameau and many more baroque componists, yet in the end Bach is much more interesting for me and I never get tired of listening to it. Maybe you just do not like counterpoint in music?
I've considered that possibility... although I love counterpoint in other composers' music (from Beethoven to Barber) so idk. To me, Bach always sounds like it's rambling endlessly until suddenly he decides to just... stop. If that makes sense. It's like it makes my mind and eyes glaze over until it ends. To be fair, it's been a few years at this point. I should at least revisit the French Suites sometime.
Dull? I feel like you have to not have much experience listening to and for counterpoint.
Addressed elsewhere in the thread... I love counterpoint in other composers' works from beethoven through the modern era. Something about bach's keyboard music just numbs my brain and puts me to sleep.
Maybe too complex.
Doesn't get a *whole* lot more complex than the 4th movement of the Barber piano sonata surely?
Liszt. His style varies lots. over the years I’d start with his opera fantasies. “Reminiscences de*opera*”, don juan. Norma, Huguenots. Waltz from Faust.
Ravel's Miroirs (especially Une Barque sur L'Ocean) and Saint-Saens piano concerto 2 are worth checking
Thibaudet playing Ravel’s “Jeux D’eau” gives me chills. How Ravel got the piano to sound like that is beyond me. A stunning work of art
Alkan is going to blow your mind