[NightWoundsTime]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bunnyears Forget the Nocturnes. Go out and get a good recording of Chopin's Polonaises.

Amen on Polonaises for Chopin. I started off my Chopin playing in high school with a Polonaise and when I got handed a Nocturne and a Prelude I couldn't handle it. Just too boring (yes there's melody in there SOMEWHERE. It's up to the pianist to find it and point it out to you.)

Another favorite is Lizst's "Years of Pilgrimage". (Annees de Pelerinage). The first piece of the second year is amazing. This is one of the most emotional solo piano pieces I've yet heard. Not in a dark way either, it's celebrating a wedding. Or rather taking inspiration from Raphael's painting of the Virgin Mary's marriage. There's plenty of dark emotion in these pieces though.

Ok, here's a link to the Annees de Pelerinage on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=glance&n=5174

I'm going to go out on a limb after reading your comments on this thread and highly recommend it.

 

[kwitel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grassy Hello, I'd like to recommend Ludovico Einaudi's I Giorni cd, he's very similar to Michael Nyman and his pieces are extremely melodic. Amazon Link

THANK YOU!
I just sampled this and it sounds like exactly what I am looking for!
Its just beautiful, melodic, flowing piano that you can do anything to.
Can you give me more recommendations along these lines?
And for future reference, what "style/genre" is this piano?

 

[FalconP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwitel Pires. Is there no "modern" piano? Im looking for the Pink Floyds and U2 of piano...beautiful music thats not too complex and will introduce me to the genre.

In which case, why not start with some new-age piano discs? After all, you are not obliged to plunge straight into classical.
Here are a few CDs that is very melodic and with a folk influence.

Greenwoods by Paul Machlis (inspired by Scots-Irish folk music)
Summer by George Winston (inspired by American folk music)
Count Me In by John Boswell (inspired by jazz and folk music)

 

[daycart1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ffodor Ah, finally, someone else who puts Moravec on top for the Nocturnes. I agree! As for the request for "pop classical piano", I'd third the Satie recommendation. Why not taste some Mozart? The Sonatas #10 to #13 (K330 to K333) are probably the most well known. If you are not giving up on Chopin, the Polonaises and especially the Préludes are good suggestions.

Moravec also rules for the Preludes and Ballades!

 

[bigshot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwitel And for future reference, what "style/genre" is this piano?

Crossover, Easy Listening, Soundtrack, New Age... I have a couple of other names for it, but I'll refrain.

See ya
Steve

 

[wang228]

I started my Chopin experience with the Waltzes, since then i've worked my way to probably most of his music. The waltzes are very melodic and probably most immediately accessible of all chopin piano sets.

 

[Grassy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwitel THANK YOU! I just sampled this and it sounds like exactly what I am looking for! Its just beautiful, melodic, flowing piano that you can do anything to. Can you give me more recommendations along these lines? And for future reference, what "style/genre" is this piano?

.

 

[SomeoneElse]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boodi Try the Preludes , and the ETUDES , all of them , they're quite dramatic too . NAXOS' Idil Biret performance add some "feminine" passion and a sense of urgency onto the dramatic-fast presentation that pertains to many of them . Idil is my favourite Chopin performer , and her plays are very lively , quite anxious at times , very energetic and emotional , ans sweet too but only when the moment needs - you can't go wrong with her . Naxos recordings are also cheap .

I'll second those thoughts! Although like you say there's the sweetness when required, she avoids 'romanticizing' the music.

 

[Sleestack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwitel To me, many of the Nocturnes sound cold and lacking melody. Am I crazy...I dont hear "songs" in these nocturnes, I cant seem to follow any melody. It just seems like nice Piano play to me but nothing I could hum along to or eventually recognize. I KNOW its probably my untrained ear not being able to make sense of what its hearing, so I will keep listening. However, this wasnt the type of piano I was looking for. I love the piano in a lot of the Movie Soundtracks like "The Piano" and "The Hours", by Nyman and Glass respectively. To me, its dramatic, emotional and extremely melodic piano play...but then again, I have NOTHING to compare it to. I dont even know the different styles of piano; ive only recently gotten in to classical. :

YIKES! You like the soundtrack to the Piano but not Chopin's Nocturnes (not that they're my favorite)? If that's the case, you make like George Winston Richard Clayderman or John Tisch...ok j/k. Really though, the soundtrack to the Piano is good as a soundtrack but as far as piano music goes is quite simplistic and mundane.

Check out some Beethoven or Rachmaninov. I tend to prefer the darker sounding composers.

 

[Bunnyears]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwitel THANK YOU! I just sampled this and it sounds like exactly what I am looking for! Its just beautiful, melodic, flowing piano that you can do anything to. Can you give me more recommendations along these lines? And for future reference, what "style/genre" is this piano?

From the clips at amazon that I sampled, this is not classical but New Age stuff, sort of like Yanni but just for piano. Try Yanni if you like this type of thing. It sounds just like the music they always play at the place where I get my facials.

 

[SennFan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwitel To me, many of the Nocturnes sound cold and lacking melody. Am I crazy...I dont hear "songs" in these nocturnes, I cant seem to follow any melody. It just seems like nice Piano play to me but nothing I could hum along to or eventually recognize. I KNOW its probably my untrained ear not being able to make sense of what its hearing, so I will keep listening. However, this wasnt the type of piano I was looking for. I love the piano in a lot of the Movie Soundtracks like "The Piano" and "The Hours", by Nyman and Glass respectively. To me, its dramatic, emotional and extremely melodic piano play...but then again, I have NOTHING to compare it to. I dont even know the different styles of piano; ive only recently gotten in to classical. Where to go from here? I hear so much about the classics like Rachmaninov, Liszt and Schubert and I have no idea if any of them would be my type of style. I guess I like the more modern, darker sounding material? Please help!

Check out Wagner and Dvorak
A very good DVD-A covering some of Dvorak's work is available featuring Symphony No 9 "From the New World" and the "Water Goblin".

A pretty nice, comprehensive collection of classical can be had with the "Classical Masterpieces of the Millenium Box Set". I got it for $30--an absolute steal for 20 CD's covering 20 different composers. The sound quality is fantasitc, too which is always nice