Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner If you could only play once piece by each composer

This is one of those "island" threads.

If you could only play one piece by each composer for the rest of your life, which pieces would those be? You can pick two per composer if you really can't decide on only one.

(for the sake of this activity, just assume you have virtuoso technique)

For which composers?

As many as you want to list.

My answers will all be different tomorrow.

Impossible, including because I'd be a different person.

Bach: Sorry that it's an arrangement: Bach-Busoni (and further tweaked by 'the performer') Toccata Adagio & Fugue
Scarlatti: Dunno, let's say E major, L. 430, K. 531
Haydn: Sonata in Eb major (the big one)
Mozart: Concerto in Bb major, K. 595
Beethoven: Op. 110
Schubert: "Little" A major Sonata
Schumann: Carnaval
Chopin: Sonata in B minor
Liszt: 2nd Hungarian Rhapsody
Mendelssohn: Fantasy in F# minor
Brahms: 2nd Concerto
Scriabin: 9th Sonata
Debussy: L'isle joyeuse
Ravel: Miroirs
Moszkowski: Etincelles
Joplin: Pine Apple Rag

If I really could also assume what you want us to assume:
Henselt Concerto

I'm assuming the OP was referring only to solo work, so I'm going to reply with that in mind.

Bach: Goldbergs, what else.
Scarlatti: Sonata.
Haydn: Agreed, or perhaps the Variations in F minor.
Mozart: D major sonata, K576.
Beethoven: Opus 120.
Schubert: 960 - again, what else.
Schumann: Fantasy.
Chopin: Agreed.
Liszt: Sonata (don't see how you can say what you said. )
Mendelssohn: Agreed, or maybe the good old Variations.
Brahms: Opus 118 or 119. Must I choose?
Scriabin: Probably the G# minor sonata.
Debussy: Agreed, or perhaps Bergamasque.
Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit (saying Miroirs might be cheating, Mark. )
Moszkowski: Not familiar with most of it. Caprice Espagnol?
Joplin: The Chrysanthemum

Excellent pick!

What about your pick of the Liszt 2nd Rhapsody?

Bach: Goldberg Variations
Busoni-Bach: Chaconne in D Minor
Chopin: Fantasie Impromptu
Beethoven: Symphony No.5 Arrangement
Mozart: Sonata in A Minor (KV310)
Brahms: Hungarian Dance No.5
Joplin: The Entertainer
Gershwin: Prelude No.1
Scarlatti: Sonata in D Major
Debussy: Golliwogs Cake-Walk
Rimsky-Korsakov: Flight of the Bumble Bee

Most of these are because I've played them in the past for exams or because they're popular If I new more about classical music, I'd probably have different choices

Bach: BWV 850
Haydn: Hob.XVI:23
Mozart: K. 330
Beethoven: Appassionata sonata
Schumann: Grillen
Chopin: Op. 58
Liszt: Liebestraume No. 3
Brahms: Op. 118 No. 2
Scriabin: Op. 8 No. 12
Debussy: Images, Book I
Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit
Joplin: Fig Leaf Rag (a high class rag! )

Maybe we should use this list.

I'd do some rearranging of that list:

Bach no.1
Mozart no.2
Liszt no.3
Chopin no.4
Beethoven no.5

Edit: This is of course my 100% biased unprofessional unknowledgeable list (I haven't even heard of 1/4 of them!)

Good one.

I might do some rearranging of my own, but it's not about the order in this case.

I'm sorry, but Liszt doesn't belong with those others in my opinion.

You're probably right, I'm no expert
But I'd definitely put Bach in position 1.

I wouldn't do precisely that, but that's a valid opinion. Liszt being in front of Beethoven is not.

Okay, pick three pieces from Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin. Three each.

I'll take a stab at the first 20 composers on the list.

Wagner - no comment.
Tchaikovsky - The Seasons.
Handel - Suite in E, Bb, E minor.
Stravinsky - Tango in D minor.
Dvorak - is there anything?
Verdi - searched on Verdi piano music and came up with this. Needless to say, not a masterpiece.
Mahler - I don't know of a single work.
Berlioz - equally sparse.
Vivaldi - he wrote some keyboard suites, but I'm not familiar with them. I doubt I'm missing much.

Well, fair enough, I've never even learned anything by Liszt anyway
But from my experience with Beethoven, a lot of his music is very... bland, almost. Some of it is extremely memorable, such as Symphony no.5/no.9/Fur Elise/Moonlight Sonata, but a lot of it sounds the same, and being quite simplified.
I know I'm treading dangerous ground here (either that of I jumped off the cliff already), but it seems to me like it's just complex ideas, simplified over simple chords, if that makes sense.
Sort of hard to explain my position

I'll just leave it at that

You're right. I don't think it's Verdi good either.