Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner If you were to name three greatest piano solo pieces in the classical repertoire...

You make great points about the Prokofiev, yet (IMHO) the 6th sonata has always been my favourite (after the 3rd and 4th).

Other contributions on this thread have been interesting and have intimidated me a bit. The subject quite put me on the spot. Still thinking about it...

Seriously, ignoring pre-piano music, the greatest pieces from three periods are probably the Appassionata Sonata, Carnival, and Carolina Shout.

Good point. (I love Carolina Shout )

Harold Schonberg speaks of the great "trinity" (a word pregnant with meaning as a church musician) of early romantic piano music: the Chopin Bb minor Sonata, the Schumann Fantasie, the Liszt Sonata. I think he has a valid point. It's a three-way tie and indeed, between them the period is adundantly summed up.

I understand how you feel about Carnival (I happen to love it), but the Fantasie fits the bill just a mite bit better.

Brahms sonata No.3 also. Have you played it? Especially, greatest performance is Arrau's. Katchen is great too. Check out pianists discography at
www.greatconcertartist.com and let's post something. It's so quiet.

No, I have not played it, though I have read through it. I did work on the Eb minor Scherzo, dating from around the same time. (Wonder what BIG sonata that was a refugee from? I don't think Brahms originally wrote it as a stand-alone.)

Katchen is quite special, though I think Kissin's is the greatest recent recording. Arrau bogs down in the last movement. It is not one of his better recordings. Perhaps when he was much younger... I don't think the Brahms F minor lends itself very well to the grand-old-man-of-the-piano treatment. We're not talking the Op. 118. This is young man's music and -like the D minor Concerto- I want to hear it played with all the strife and angst of a man my age. You gotta give 'em heck! :b:

I'm not a big fan of the Brahms F Minor, although I really like Brahms Op. 1.

Actually, brahms Rhapsody in E-Flat recalls the opening of Op. 1. This would be a good ender for a recital which started with Op. 1, I think.

First and last works for piano.

I remember Artur Rubinstein being asked what piece of music he liked most. His anwer: Always the one I am playing at the moment.

Actually I don't get the point of questions like "who/what is the best, fastest, greatest". In my opinion they lead to less than nothing.

----------

http://www.pianistenschule.de

I wouldn't worry about it, nor take it seriously. We're just having fun, and of course nothing is binding. I have found it interesting to read what others have said in this thread, and it has certainly given me a few things to think about.

I take the liberty to enter five pieces, for each section of classical music
1) Baroque - Goldberg Variations (Bach)
2) Classical - Diabelli Variations (Beethoven)
3) Romantic - Polonaise-Fantasie (Chopin)
4) Modern - Out of Doors Suite (Bartók)
5) Postmodern - well, nothing that comes close to the five above

Hey Florhof, don't you think that public declarations like that have already become more cliche than simple participation? Indeed, even stoic non-participation is by now, in the 21st century, more cliche than is simple participation.

I haven't listened to all the solo classical repertoire out there...but my FAVORITE solo pieces that I have heard are as follows:

Liszt Sonata in B Minor - We all know why this is so great. There is no other piece like it, and it's devilishly difficult. Turns me inside out every time I listen to it.

Chopin Ballade No.1 in G Minor - Though I also love his fourth ballade, this one does generally move me more. A strikingly beautiful piece.

Chopin Fantaisie in F Minor - An underrated piece. Truly incredible, if you ask me. Not very easy to play, either

My short list for Beethoven would include the "Hammerklavier", the Opus 111, and the Diabelli Variations. For total length, difficulty and a summing up of Beethoven's keyboard traversal, it would have to be the "Diabelli's".
For the Romantic era, although the Lizst b minor would be a defining moment, perhaps Chopin's b minor would also be a candidate. I opt for Chopin, only because to me he is THE romantic piano composer.
For 20th century, Ravel's "Gaspard de la Nuit", hands down. Also perhaps Messiaen's "Vingt Regards" as well.

undoubtedly for me...

the Lizst transcriptions of Bach's Organ Preludes and Fugues

my top three rotate.

Man oh man..

the best pianist transcribes the best keyboard music ever written by the world's greatest composer for normal pianists

Baroque -- Bach, Goldberg Variations

Classical -- Mozart A minor sonata and Schubert B-flat sonata

Romantic -- Chopin : Sonata No. 3, Barcarolle and Ballade No. 4; Brahms, Sonata No. 1 and Handel Variations

Modern -- Ravel, Gaspard de la Nuit; Messiaen, Vingt Regards; Stravinsky -- 3 Movements from Petrouchka; Rachmaninoff transcriptions; Wild, Fantasy on Themes from Porgy and Bess; Prokofieff, finales to Sonatas 7 & 8

"most of his pieces are those 10-minute long ones that are not extremely complex and cannot be said to be masterpieces on their own right"

Bach - Praeludium 1 from WTC
Beethoven - Für Elise
Brahms - Ballade 3 op10

to keep it simple for a change of perspective...

You did say just three pieces?

1. Bach: Fugue in Eb from the WTC Book I
2. Brahms: Intermezzo, Op, 118, No. 2
3. Debussy: Images I, Hommage a Rameau

Surely the only answer for Postmodern you could give would be "All of them"....? (or perhaps "All of the above")

Jason:
You make great points about the Prokofiev, yet (IMHO) the 6th sonata has always been my favourite (after the 3rd and 4th).

I like the 6th too, but hasn't quite the monumental stature (or thematic strength) of the 8th IMO. The 3rd and 9th are also strong favourites of mine. In addition, I have recently been playing the 1st quite a lot... and it's also the only Tchaikovsky I've ever liked

-Michael B.

You don't like your Tchaikovsky with a generous helping of tears? Some people are so heartless.. :p

All of Chopin's pieces are not 10 minutes. I'd say 90% of them are under ten minutes. And they're not complex? His Polonaises, Etudes, 4th Ballade and Barcarolle aren't complex? That's a scary statement. Not knowing Bach or Mozart well doesn't help either. But oh well, here is my opinion on great pieces in no particular order:

1. Beethoven - Hammerklavier (Apassionata could be here too)

2. Liszt - Sonata

3. Chopin - Ballade 4

I would have mentioned other less overused answers, but I approached the question as "What piano pieces define the instruement and exploit all of its capabilities?"