Hey everyone... I am just about to start a new concerto, and I was looking for suggestions. I have played the first movement of both the Henselt and the Tchaikovsky, but otherwise I do not have many concertos in my repetoire. I love the big romantic concertos that are very melody based, so I'm not looking for anything classical or baroque. Currently, I am looking at Rach 3 and the Macdowell 2nd, but any other suggestions along that line would be appreciated!

Can't go wrong the Prokofiev 2

Picking a concerto or any major work is a very personal thing, and only you can fully appreciate what really speaks to you by studying possibilities. Others may make suggestions, but you have to decide what you like and want to live with for, perhaps, a long period of time.

You wouldn't want me to recommend your next girl-friend (or boy-friend) for you, would you?

Regards,

If you're familiar with something as relatively obscure as the Henselt, I suspect you're already acquainted with most any big melodic Romantic concerto that anyone might suggest.

Steven

Why not Tchaikovsky 2 if you care to tackle a real finger buster? The first movement is totally over-the-top (and with two very self-indulgent cadenzas), but the uncut 2nd movement contains some of T's greatest and most inspired writing for piano trio. Utterly glorious. Alas, the final movement is rather perfunctory, and a bit tedious in places.

Perhaps this explains why the piece is in the shadow of the 1st Concerto. Actually, the 3rd Concerto -in one movement- is probably a better piece than the 2nd. I certainly think so, and as Allegro Brillante it is better known to balletomanes than the average concert goer.

If you are interested in the Romantic concertos, the big ones are the Schumann, Grieg, Mendelssohn, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saens, Brahms, and Rachmaninoff. Of the more obscure, I have a fondness for the Paderewski. Since you do not seem to be interested in learning the complete concertos, you might also consider concert pieces, such as those by Mendelssohn, Liszt, Schumann, Saint-Saens, Faure, and Strauss.

However "big" is defined, I would expect any list of big Romantic concertos to include the two by Chopin.

Steven

Why not finish the Tchaikovsky? The 2nd and 3rd movements are fantastic, and it'll look better on rep lists for auditions and competitions.

I agree with Kreisler--Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto is so wonderful! Nevertheless, if you're looking for something else, my Romantic favorites are Brahms' first, Chopin's first, Dvořák's (although a lot of people I know find it a "weak" concerto), Medtner's second, Moscheles' third, Rachmaninoff's second, Saint-Saëns' second and third, all of Scharwenka's (of course), and Schumann's.

Why do you want to learn another concerto movement, if I may be so bold as to ask? Your reasons may affect the choice. If you plan to perform it with a specific orchestra or for a specific purpose, that may push you in one direction. If you are just doing it for the experience, and at most may have a second pianist to help you conceptualize the work, that may push you in a different direction.

Thanks for the comments everyone! I know that mostly it is what I like the most, but people's suggestions help me find new pieces to decide from. I like the Prokofiev 2nd, but Rach 3 and the Macdowell 2nd are at about the top of my technique level currently, and from what I have heard about that piece, it might be a bit too difficult. Is there any public domain score that I could take a look at? The one on IMSLP does not work. I do like the Padereweski, and at one point considered learning it; however, I got somewhat tired of it. I also love the Medtner 2nd, but not as much as the two that I am currently considering. For some reason, even though Chopin is my favorite composer, I do not like his Concertos (except for the 2nd movement of the 2nd one). I do not plan on going to school for performance (I am hoping to go for composition), and I am very aggravated by competitions making music into, well, a competition, so I do not really participate in those. Because of this, if I love one movement of a concerto, but not the other two (that is the case with the Tchaikovsky, the 3rd movement of the Henselt is just impossible), I don't see any reason to not just learn that one movement. I would like to perform the next concerto with an orchestra, but if my performance is not up to par, I guess I will just be playing it two pianos with my teacher.

Moszkowski has an underplayed concerto that basically has your name all over it!

Matt

how about Scharwenka's first piano concerto???

I have heard the Moszkowski, and it is a great piece! I will give it consideration. I personally do not like the Scharwenka concertos, even though many people seem to. One of the main reasons that I want to learn a concerto is just to learn a new large-scale romantic piece, and I think a concerto fits perfectly. To be honest, I would rather learn Liszt's B Minor Sonata or Godowsky's Passacaglia (spelling?), but I think that they are both currently too difficult.

Yeah... okay. Re the Godowsky, it was Horowitz of all people who exclaimed about the Passacaglia: It takes six hands to play it! The score is certainly available online for examination, but IMO why not put your energy into something more musically rewarding? Perhaps the Brahms F minor sonata?

As for Scharwenka, I've long felt that the Bb minor concerto would make a great alternative to the over-played Russian concertos, and one could say the same -to a slightly lesser extent- of the F minor concerto. S's concertos in C minor and C# minor suffer from structural deficiencies (most particularly the last movement of the C# minor which is really awful), so I'd give them a miss. Alas for the C# minor: the first movement promises great things, but it was beyond Scharwenka's muse to really work through that superb -and inspired- theme which opens the concerto.

I'll bet you're the first and only person in history whose first two concerto movements were the 1st movements of the Tchakovsky and Henselt concerti.

Oh, I am slain! What don't you like about them?

Actually, I gave them all a second listen, and they grew on me. I guess I just didn't hear anything special in my first listen. I think I liked the 4th the most, but I'm not sure if I remember the numbers correctly. About the Passacaglia, what defines something as being "musically rewarding"? If I really like the piece, is that not all the musical reward that I need? And Mark, that is probably pretty odd haha... however, I won't touch a Mozart Concerto. After further listening, I am actually considering the Medtner 2nd, it is such an imaginative piece! Since the scores are not public domain, could someone give me an idea of how difficult it is before I buy a score? It sounds quite challenging, but I wouldn't guess it would be on the same level as Rach 3, would it?

I have always wanted to learn De Falla's Nights in a garden of Spain. It is very romantic!

Most definitely! If you have looked at the score and find it congenial, then go for it. I just found it amusing that if Horowitz found it difficult -unless he was pulling our collective leg- then that should give us a fair idea of what's in store for lesser pianists. I do enjoy Godowsky in reasonable doses, and it's a personal matter if one feels that the monumental challenges justify the time to learn the music.

As for Scharwenka, Alex and I may not completely agree, but I still find the 1st concerto (in Bb minor) the most spontaneous of the four, and feel it deserves a place in the repertoire. Earl Wild's pioneering recording is positively brilliant, though unlike Tanyel and Hamelin, there are some changes in the last movement which I'm not sure I agree with.

Regarding Medtner 2, you might PM me about that.

Yeah I agree that the Passacaglia is too difficult... The cadenza actually looks unplayable. I am also considering Medtner 3, and for some reason that score is public domain while 2 isn't. Wow, it looks difficult! More difficult than Rach 3 I would say... I have not actually played through it yet though.

I doubt that. Rachmaninoff undoubtedly knew the Henselt, so I would suspect that those concertos might have been a real possibility for those who went through the Russian school of pianism at the time.

I suggest that the OP go through the list of concertos and concert pieces (plus Chopin, one always misses something obvious) and make sure that he is familiar with most of them before going off searching for something more obscure. You will not attract people to listen to you play the obscure works until you make your reputation with the basic literature.

I've always loved the fourth one more than the others. It's got a sort of charming inevitability to it whereas the others tend to be a little freer in my opinion.

You can't go wrong with the Rach 2 in my opinion - amazing piece - always been my favourite concerto it's just so beautiful and yet powerful and robust!

xtraheat,

Are you certain you're sufficiently familiar with the pair by Chopin to know that you don't like them (and would therefore rule them out)? I ask only because I'm so genuinely surprised that someone whose favorite composer is Chopin would feel that way; they're so ... well, Chopinesque! Perhaps, with further consideration, they will grow on you.

Steven

Alright, well my teacher said that I should look into a modern one. She suggest Prok 1 or 3, and Bartok 1 or 3. Any other suggestions?

Listening to your performance of Chopin's 1st Ballade, Balakirev's 2nd Piano Concerto will enhance your technique, while providing an enormous challenge.

Otherwise I would do Saint Saens 4th or 5th.

Show me a picture of your girl-friend first.

You don't think that I was even thinking of sharing my girl-friend, do you?

Cheers!

Those are wonderful suggestions, especially Bartok 3.

Why not have a look at Stravinsky's Capriccio? It's great fun and a lot more interesting than his later work from the '50's Movements for piano and orchestra. I've listened to the latter work a number of times, and it certainly has an undeniable intellectual potency, but in the grand scheme it is otherwise quite impotent.

We should all study it (as I did at uni) and marvel at its technical mastery, but then go back to the Capriccio and the even earlier Concerto for Piano & Winds for a renewed appreciation of Stravinsky in touch with his more friendly and worldly muse. IMO of course...