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What are the "must own" Romantic-era Piano pieces/albums?

post #1 of 18
2/19/13 at 7:57pm
Thread Starter 

I love classical piano but unfortunately only (thoroughly) know Ludovico Einaudi (modern/minimalist), Erik Satie (just Gymnopides) and Chopin (Nocturnes).

 

I dont mind complex but would rather start with the more emotive and somewhat more accessible pieces from the greats (Rach, Chopin, Lizst, Debussy, etc.)

 

Am open to other composers too.

 

Thanks!

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post #2 of 18
2/19/13 at 8:54pm

liszt's hungarian rhapsody,liebestraum, la campanella
Beethoven's moonlight sonata 3rd movement :D
Rach's 2nd or 3rd (forgot which one).

And if you ever feel like getting out of piano and into violin, Mendelssohn's violin conceerto, St. Saens' 3rd violin concerto, Preludium and Allegro by Kreisler, Paganini la campanella, Sarasate carmen fantasy (originally by bizet as an opera)/ zepateado/ zigeunerweisen, and the list goes on ~

Hope this helped!

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post #3 of 18
3/6/13 at 3:05pm
Thread Starter 

Anyone else?

Id like to buy 5-10 albums tomorrow...

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post #4 of 18
3/6/13 at 9:48pm

Are you looking for piano concertos or sonatas? Because there are certain composers who favored one or the other.

 

Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata is definitely a must-own, along with Fur Elise. I don't know of specific recordings though.

 

As far as concertos go, I own these and like them a lot:

http://www.amazon.com/Rachmaninov-Piano-Concertos-Nos-Sergey/dp/B00000427L/

http://www.amazon.com/Saint-Sa%C3%ABns-Piano-Concertos-Camille-Saint-Saens/dp/B00000425S/

http://www.amazon.com/Tchaikovsky-Concerto-No-Rachmaninoff/dp/B000003EUG/

 

I don't own these recordings but the track listings look good and they have strong user reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/Liszt-Favourite-Piano-Works-Franz/dp/B00000427O/

http://www.amazon.com/Liszt-Piano-Works-Box-Set/dp/B00005ND3L/

http://www.amazon.com/Chopin-Favorite-Piano-Works-Frederic/dp/B00000427J/

 

Or you could always get one of those "various composer" type compilations, like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/F%C3%BCr-Elise-Romantic-Piano-Music/dp/B0000013VM/

 

Brahms and Saint-Saens were major Romantic-era composers who did a lot of work for piano but I'm unfamiliar with their body of work. Also look into Debussy's Clair de Lune, a must-own.

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post #5 of 18
3/6/13 at 10:03pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Asr View Post

Are you looking for piano concertos or sonatas? Because there are certain composers who favored one or the other.

 

Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata is definitely a must-own, along with Fur Elise. I don't know of specific recordings though.

 

As far as concertos go, I own these and like them a lot:

http://www.amazon.com/Rachmaninov-Piano-Concertos-Nos-Sergey/dp/B00000427L/

http://www.amazon.com/Saint-Sa%C3%ABns-Piano-Concertos-Camille-Saint-Saens/dp/B00000425S/

http://www.amazon.com/Tchaikovsky-Concerto-No-Rachmaninoff/dp/B000003EUG/

 

I don't own these recordings but the track listings look good and they have strong user reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/Liszt-Favourite-Piano-Works-Franz/dp/B00000427O/

http://www.amazon.com/Liszt-Piano-Works-Box-Set/dp/B00005ND3L/

http://www.amazon.com/Chopin-Favorite-Piano-Works-Frederic/dp/B00000427J/

 

Or you could always get one of those "various composer" type compilations, like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/F%C3%BCr-Elise-Romantic-Piano-Music/dp/B0000013VM/

 

Brahms and Saint-Saens were major Romantic-era composers who did a lot of work for piano but I'm unfamiliar with their body of work. Also look into Debussy's Clair de Lune, a must-own.

 

ASR-you always give great recos...

 

As for your question, I dont know the difference between Concertos and Sonatas. I will however look that up.

 

That said, I just want the must haves in the genre, preferably those that are both dark, yet emotive.

Am open to single composer-based albums and compilations.

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post #6 of 18
3/6/13 at 10:44pm

A piano concerto basically means piano with symphony orchestra; while a sonata means solo piano.

If you like Chopin's Nocturnes, you'll also like Liszt in general. I'd recommend picking up one of those Liszt CDs like Favorite Piano Works, along with the Tchaikovsky/Rachmoninoff combo (containing two great examples of a piano concerto).

And you should definitely get Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata too. I like how this recording sounds (from the streaming samples):
http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Piano-Sonatas-Nos-Opp/dp/B0000CD5GS/


Edited by Asr - 3/6/13 at 10:47pm
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post #7 of 18
3/7/13 at 12:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Asr View Post

...

http://www.amazon.com/Tchaikovsky-Concerto-No-Rachmaninoff/dp/B000003EUG/
...




Seconded. Fantastic album, and now would be a sadly appropriate time to pick it up.
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post #8 of 18
3/7/13 at 8:30am
Couple of popular Rachmaninov Preludes :
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post #9 of 18
3/8/13 at 11:59pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Asr View Post

A piano concerto basically means piano with symphony orchestra; while a sonata means solo piano.

If you like Chopin's Nocturnes, you'll also like Liszt in general. I'd recommend picking up one of those Liszt CDs like Favorite Piano Works, along with the Tchaikovsky/Rachmoninoff combo (containing two great examples of a piano concerto).

And you should definitely get Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata too. I like how this recording sounds (from the streaming samples):
http://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Piano-Sonatas-Nos-Opp/dp/B0000CD5GS/

 

Got it-thanks.

I picked up Rachs first 4 concertos (Ashkenazy) and already very much enjoying it. The second movement of the 1st conecrto (Andante?) is really beautiful.

To be honest, im not such a fan of Chopins Nocturnes as I find them a little sterile...but that could be because I havent really given them a proper listen yet.

 

Also, I dont really like the faster paced material (Rach 1st concerto; 3rd movement). Am looking for the slower paced, more emotive and even somewhat darker material.

 

Are there any post-romantic or modern piano concertos that you would recommend??

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pudu View Post





Seconded. Fantastic album, and now would be a sadly appropriate time to pick it up.

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by chrisjackson View Post

Couple of popular Rachmaninov Preludes :

 

Thank you both!

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post #10 of 18
3/9/13 at 12:16am
You should get Liszt! Liszt is to me the most of a genius, for example, "la pensée des morts" where you follow the dead through purgatory before arriving at around 7min to piano heaven!
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDA67445

Breathtaking and Complex.
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post #11 of 18
3/10/13 at 12:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kwitel View Post
Are there any post-romantic or modern piano concertos that you would recommend??

 

I don't really know of any, sorry.  I've already posted the extent of my knowledge in this area. wink.gif

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post #12 of 18
3/10/13 at 4:29pm
From your first post I guessed (incorrectly) this rather dramatic Nocturne was a favourite :
Chopin Nocturne Op 48 no 1 : 
 
Wistful and melancholic is not uncommon in solo piano from Romantic era. Here (with no small degree of angst too) late Schubert; Fantasia in F minor D 940 for four hands :
 
Second movents of piano concertos tend to be the slow ones. Second movement of Grieg's Piano Concerto :
 
Second movement Ravel's G major piano concerto :
 
And Mr Violin, if you're reading, guess you'd recommend the second movement of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No 2 (from 21 minutes) wink_face.gif
 
Bit of dark in here; Alkan La Chanson De La Folle Au Bord De La Mer :
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post #13 of 18
3/10/13 at 6:25pm
Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisjackson View Post

 

And Mr Violin, if you're reading, guess you'd recommend the second movement of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No 2 (from 21 minutes) wink_face.gif

It's Tchaikovsky :D  even w/ out the violin it sounds amazing. But yeah, sounds wonderful.

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post #14 of 18
3/25/13 at 11:28am
Thread Starter 

Ok-

 

So I picked up Rach's Piano Concerto's; 1-4.

Some great movements here but I find alot of it a bit too bombastic and up-tempo (if that makes any sense).

 

I prefer the more emotive, slower pieces (although not everything needs to be slow, per se).

 

What should I try next?

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post #15 of 18
3/27/13 at 11:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kwitel View Post

 

Are there any post-romantic or modern piano concertos that you would recommend??

 

Bartok Piano Concertos are dark, emotional, and still cutting edge (even though they are 80+ years old). This is very different from what has been mentioned so far... try before you buy :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxoaUCAqkGo

if you like it, I'd recommend this recording

 

 

 

Another recommendation in emotional contemporary piano would be Ligeti

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVimTS6t0C8

the youtube excerpt is from Aimard "reference" recording 

 

 

 

Also I can't resist mentioning my favorite piano piece (actually my favorite music piece), which happens to be very emotional but not dark at all

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ndv73B-pVas

This is Pollini playing the Arietta from Beethoven last sonata. It does not get any better than this!


Edited by calaf - 3/27/13 at 11:57am
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