The 10 greatest Piano Concertos ever written

[Anton Bruckner]

1. Mozart 24th c minor
2. Mozart 20th d minor
3. Beethoven's 4th G major
4. Mozart's 21st C major
5. Brahms 2nd B flat major
6. Chopin 1st f minor
7. Tchaikovsky 1st b flat minor
8. Rachmaninoff 3rd d minor
9. Chopin 2nd e minior
10. Beethoven's 5th E flat.



[Edited on 5-22-2006 by Slippery]

 

[New wine skin]

It is no easy task to select the top 10 from among all the great composers, but I was surprised you didnt list anything by Alkan?

 

[Anton Bruckner]

no alkan. too much piano brovado and less musicality. I would have sneaked in Saint Saen's concerto in g minor but i think the list is tight enough.

 

[New wine skin]

Yes, the list is tight. No Liszt either huh?

 

[believer]

I would have to say......."Why did it have to be?".........by my grandson Brett.:bigsmile:......he just won 2nd. place in the state out of over 200,000 entries........and he was 8yrs old when he composed and played it for his school's entrance in the competetion..........the state entrants were between 6-13 yrs old.........all kidding aside it is actually a beautiful piano arrangement about Hurricane Katrina....we are blessed by his God-given ability........

 

[New wine skin]

Congrats to your grandson! It is exciting to have someone in the family who can play at that level.

 

[py3ak]

I think I'd replace Tchaikovsky with Schumann.

 

[Anton Bruckner]

Originally posted by New wine skin
Yes, the list is tight. No Liszt either huh?

and justly so. he butchered the concerto form for the sake of his showing off. his piano sonata has much more structural integrity than his 2 concertos.

as i've said. Wagner couldn't write a symphony and Lizst couldn't write a concerto. the traditioinal forms were too much for them.

[Edited on 5-22-2006 by Slippery]

 

[Anton Bruckner]

Originally posted by believer
I would have to say......."Why did it have to be?".........by my grandson Brett.:bigsmile:......he just won 2nd. place in the state out of over 200,000 entries........and he was 8yrs old when he composed and played it for his school's entrance in the competetion..........the state entrants were between 6-13 yrs old.........all kidding aside it is actually a beautiful piano arrangement about Hurricane Katrina....we are blessed by his God-given ability........

sweet. you're blessed. enjoy it.

 

[Anton Bruckner]

Originally posted by py3ak
I think I'd replace Tchaikovsky with Schumann.

that intermezzo as a 2nd movement was wholly inappropriate in my opinion. that is the only reason why I discounted it. Concertos up to that point were mandated to have a soothing and well developed middle section. Schumann I believe was trying to imitate the 2nd Movement of Beethoven's 4th, but he failed miserably.

Beethoven's 4th was very unique and didn't need an well developed 2nd movement. The 2nd movement was quite appropriate.

In addition, Schumann's piano concerto was originally conceived as a fantasy for piano and orchestra. He subsequently revised the work adding the intermezzo and the finally and retitled it piano concerto.

[Edited on 5-22-2006 by Slippery]

 

[New wine skin]

Originally posted by Slippery

Originally posted by New wine skin
Yes, the list is tight. No Liszt either huh?

and justly so. he butchered the concerto form for the sake of his showing off. his piano sonata has much more structural integrity than his 2 concertos.

as i've said. Wagner couldn't write a symphony and Lizst couldn't write a concerto. the traditioinal forms were too much for them.

[Edited on 5-22-2006 by Slippery]

Would you say the same for Franck? He is another who gets airtime on my CD player. I see your point on making the list with composers who are true to the concerto form. Makes sense.

 

[Anton Bruckner]

I don't mind a composer breaking a form every now and again, but whenever he or she does they better be justified in doing it as manifested in whatever the wrote in a different form whilst retaining the name of the old form. A good case in point of composers breaking the traditional forms and succeeding is Beethoven's c sharp minor string quartet, his 6 and 9 symphony, and Brahms 2nd concerto.

In addition a composer should not make an habitual practice of breaking form and structure.

 

[SmokingFlax]

Ok ...I'll probably get ripped for this but...
my favorite piano concerto has to be J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No.5...even though I know that it isn't (strictly speaking) in the Classical concerto form and also doesn't use a "piano" -even so, it is generally regarded as the first original clavier concerto ever written. Plus we all know that Bach is "da man."

I also really enjoy Mozart's concerto No.21 in C Major. That oboe melody in middle section is gorgeous

 

[kceaster]

What! No Rachmaninov?

I love the 3rd. Great stuff.

It is sad that the movie "Shine" was more fiction than truth. But that does not take away from the greatness of the piece.

KC

 

[Anton Bruckner]

Originally posted by kceaster
What! No Rachmaninov?

I love the 3rd. Great stuff.

It is sad that the movie "Shine" was more fiction than truth. But that does not take away from the greatness of the piece.

KC

I listed the Rach 3 as number 8. Unfortunately only true classical lovers can get into it.

Chris, you are right. The slow movement of Mozarts piano concerto number 21 is heavenly. I believe that should have been given the title, "Moonlight", because whenever I hear it, I think of being in a row boat on a lake on a full moon night.

 

[ReformedWretch]

Originally posted by believer
I would have to say......."Why did it have to be?".........by my grandson Brett.:bigsmile:......he just won 2nd. place in the state out of over 200,000 entries........and he was 8yrs old when he composed and played it for his school's entrance in the competetion..........the state entrants were between 6-13 yrs old.........all kidding aside it is actually a beautiful piano arrangement about Hurricane Katrina....we are blessed by his God-given ability........

That would be my nephew. Also the only peice I would sit and listen to in regard to this topic.