[Target1]

There is probably some info on this if I do a forum search, but I'm in a rush so I figured I would take the shortcut. I have a new found passion for Classical music, and the piano in particular. My current collection consists of some Chopin, Rachmaninov, and Tchaikovsky's first piano Concerto (my personal favorite though I have overlistened to it and am giving it a rest). I have a local library with a fantastic selection of composers, so i can listen to anyting before purchasing, but I wanted a bit of direction on where to start. Thanks for all opinions.

Mark

 

[Bill Ward]

Schumann; Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54; Grieg; Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16

Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsodies. Totentanz

Schubert - Fantasy for Piano in C Major, D760 (Wanderer); Piano Sonata in A Major, D664; 4 Impromptus, Op. 90, D899

Prokofiev - Piano Concertos (5)

Brahms - Ballades, Op 10; Rhapsodies, Op. 79

Brahms - Piano Concertos (2)

Tchaikovksy - Piano Concerto No. 2

Saint-Saens - Piano Concertos (5)

BW

 

[daycart1]

All the aforementioned standard biggies are great. But don't miss out on Alexander Scriabin. His early stuff is like Chopin, the middle is like Rachmaninov, and the late is very distinctive.

 

[gabedamien]

[EDIT: oops, didn't notice you already said you've got Rachmaninov. Well, just in case you're missing one of the basics

].

Rachmaninov's piano concertos 1-4 and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Beethoven: some über-famous piano sonatas: Pathetique, Mondschein, Waldstein, Appassionata
Mozart's piano sonatas. I like this disc by virtuoso pianist V. Horowitz.

These two are unique and not to everyone's taste, but you may be one of the random people who gets obsessed with them:
Keith Jarrett (his Koln Concert, a brilliant improv work, is widely considered one of his finest.)
Erik Satie

 

[FalconP]

Some other classical musicians that you may look for --

Mendelssohn -- not just his famous "Song without Words"; his Preludes and Fugues are also surpremely satisfying.

Alkan -- near contemporary with Chopin with a rather similar style.

Ravel -- for his work for solo piano, the incredibly giddy Piano Concerto in C, and his exquisite Piano Trio

Bartok -- not many people like his piano works, but in expert hands his Piano Concertos can work wonders. (e.g. Zoltan Kocsis/Hungarian Festival Orchestia/Ivan Fisher)

 

[Target1]

I am making a nice big list, and will be heading to the library tomorrow. At 1 pound a pop, you cant really go wrong.

Thanks again all,

Mark

 

[Target1]

Are there any special recordings to look for, or avoid of the aforementioned music, or is it all pretty good? Thanks again.

Mark

 

[Bill Ward]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Target1 Are there any special recordings to look for, or avoid of the aforementioned music, or is it all pretty good? Thanks again.

If you're just checking out new composers and compositions, I wouldn't be too concerned about the recording. Once you want to add things to your collection, you might like to post for performance/recording recommendations.

Incidentally, let us know what you end up liking, and you might get some additional leads.

Happy hunting.

BW

 

[Bunnyears]

Schubert, Impromptus -- I love Orkis lambert's recording.
Schumann, Waldszenen -- Look for Sviatoslav Richter
Chopin, Chopin, Chopin -- Claudio Arrau, Krystian Zimermann, maurizio Pollini among others
Beethoven Sonatas -- Rudolph Serkin, John O'Connor
JS Bach -- Rosalyn Tureck
Mozart Piano concertos -- Geza Anda

Scarlatti Sonatas -- Alexis Weissenberg

Anything recorded by Vladimir Horowitz! Especially later recordings when the audio quality was so much better.

Peter Serkin playing Bach's Goldberg Variations

Erik Satie Piano Music -- especially Gymnopedies and Gnossiennes (I like Pascal Roge)

so many choices! too many to get into all of them.

 

[Ferbose]

I would recommend three paino recordings that feature some amazing pianists

Bach: Goldberg Variations--Glenn Gould, Sony
(one of the most the eccentric and creative pianists)
Debussy: Suire Bergamasque et al.--Claudio Arrau's Final Sessions vol 2, Philips
(a maestro who studied with one of Liszt's students)
Bach: Well-Tempered Piano--Sviatoslav Richter, RCA
(To me the greatest pianist of 20th century, a legendary and mysterious character)

 

[earful]

i second gould on the goldberg variations. if you want different, try him on beethoven sonatas 30, 31, 32. compare with ashkenazy doing the same.

for well tempered clavier, i like joao carlos martins.

for hungarian rhapsodies, try edith farnadi.

for schumann's kinderszenen, look for horowitz.

for brahms concerto no. 2, try ashkenazy.

all of these fall into the category of sublime.

 

[Jasper994]

You might try Olga Kern's Rachmoninov Transcriptions, damn that chick can play...

 

[saint.panda]

I really like Chopin piano ballades and etudes. His ballades are said to be his piano masterpieces although you may disagree. His nocturnes are great as well. However, the Chopin sound might not for everybody. A publisher once asked him whether he could compose waltzes because dance music sells the best. Chopin answered that if he was to compose waltzes, they could only be danced to by elves, which turned out to be true in the end.

For a contrast programme, you could check out Beethoven's piano sonatas, especially the Appasionata, Waldstein, Pathetique and Mondschein. Intense, passionate, pathetique.

Bach's Goldberg variations is always a good choice and I like Gould's second interpretation than his (rather implusive) first one.

 

[Dave Clements]

Nojima plays Liszt - available from Amazon (USA). Very definitely one of the finest piano recordings of all time. Superb quality.
It is also worth investigating the increasingly popular British artist Stephen Hough. He is rapidly gaining the respect he deserves, and has numerous recordings including the 4 Rachmaninov concertos plus Variations on a Theme by Paganini, the 4 Scherzi & 4 Ballades by Chopin, and other popular offerings.
Horowitz performances are exceptional, but the quality is what you would expect for dated recordings. The same goes for Richter, Gilels, Van Cliburn etc.
More recent artists include Kissin and Lang Lang.
That should be enough to be going on with !

Happy hunting, and joyful listening.

 

[Bunnyears]

Does anyone know if there are any remastered recordings by Arthur Schnabel available yet? I used to have the Schubert sonatas on vinyl (recording stolen when I was in college!), and would love to replace it.