I like Bartok 3 and Prokofiev 1. They're both substantial works that are fun to learn and play. Prokofiev 3 is also a great choice, but there are a couple of massive technical hurdles in the second and third movements (the first isn't so bad.) Bartok 1 is rarely played. I like it, but it seems to be an acquired taste for many.

I thought about some other 20th Century concertos, and the most popular to come to mind is the Gershwin, Ravel, plus some other Russians, like Shostakovich's and Kabalevsky's. Off the beaten track would be Bernstein's Symphony The Age of Anxiety and maybe Szymanowski's Symfonia Koncertujaca (my edition is Polish!), or maybe Françaix' concerto.

Or you could play the Reizenstein Concerto Popolare. That way you would learn a whole bunch of concertos all at once.

Upon thinking about it, you might want to look at the Khachaturian, the Poulenc Concerto and Aubade, and maybe Milhaud's concertos and the Carnival D'Aix. Perhaps you should look through Hinson's book Music for Piano and Orchestra.

Thank you for the suggestions everyone! I haven't gotten to listen to all of them yet, but I will by tonight. Prok 3 is initially my first choice... How much easier is it than Prok 2?

Oh, and I forgot to mention... I will probably learn the full concerto

Are those double note glissandos in the third movement even possible?

Are you talking about those passages where you are supposed to play seconds with fingers on the cracks between the notes?

I assume they are possible with a lot of practice (and wide fingers would help), although I couldn't tell you which pianists actually play them that way and which don't. I think most pianists simply play regular glissandos at that point, or else fingered scales. Learning to do the trick with the seconds seems a waste of time unless you are really into it, since at tempo it is pretty unlikely anyone listening will be able to tell the difference.

Quite possible
Argerich

Is she playing fingered scales??

Some play it fingered, some play the cracks between, and some people just play a regular glissando.

I always found the 2nd movement of Prokofiev 3 the most difficult. A couple of the variations are an absolute nightmare. The last movement is tough and has some passages that are annoyingly resistant to memorization, but it lies well under the hands and it great fun to play.

As for its difficulty relative to the second concerto, I can't say. I can say that the third is harder than the first and less difficult than the fifth. (The fifth is a fantastic piece that deserves a lot more attention than it gets!)

Well I think I'm going to go with Prokofiev 3, I love that piece. Thank you for your help everyone! Kreisler... Just out of curiosity, what are some of the hardest variations? BTW I'm probably going to play regular glissandos... I can't see myself doing it any other way