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particular piece?

I can think of a few possible reasons.

1. For some composers, particular keys are used to express a particular mood/feeling.

2. Some composers may have favorite keys independent of all other considerations.

3. Key themes or passagework in a piece may fit the hand better in certain keys.

4. Some composers may think main parts of particular piece sound better in a particular key because of the range of the theme on the piano.

5. Depending on the particular stage of the piano's development or popular tuning systems at the time, certain keys may be more/less desirable.

Do you think these are valid reasons? What other reasons can you think of?(Specific examples would be very interesting)

Off hand I can think that Bach reserved E-flat for more reverent things since three flats can symbolize the holy trinity. There may be other symbolic associations with number of flats or sharps etc.

I think point 5. is a big one. Even after tuning systems started to become more uniform I think certain keys had already established themselves in the ear with different associations. There is a kind of collective memory from the sum of known works in the western canon.

I don't see any of these reasons being invalid. There must be a rationale for a composer picking a key to start with. OTOH I don't know how much considering the key alone will provide much insight into interpretation. A lot of that has more to do with what happens within the piece with regards to modulations etc.

It's well-known that certain composers use specific keys for specific purposes - e.g. Mozart used G minor for his Sturm und Drang symphonies, and Beethoven associated E flat with heroism.

But many composers (including yours truly ) are known to change the keys of their pieces after they'd already started composing, for various reasons that aren't to do with any specific association. Vocal works written for specific singers might be tailor-made (or even transposed, in later editions) for them, for instance. Contemporary composers for the piano (like Vine) often like to make full use of the modern keyboard's range, and therefore compose pieces (predominantly) in C or A.

Christian Schubart's 1806 treatise "Ideen zu einer Aesthetik der Tonkunst" discusses key colour. The idea of color was one aspect of the doctrine of affections, which was tied to the idea of keys having a very different sound historically, due to different tuning systems. Composers, pianists, and theoreticians of the era took Schubart seriously.

Prokofiev, born in 1891, would seem a late arrival as one who would be influenced by colour, but, I offer an example.

If you know well the story of Romeo and Juliet, and you know well the eponymous Prokofiev Ballet and associated suites and piano works, then you are in a position to judge the application of key colour yourself. I have provided a few examples from Op. 75 with a brief synopsis and simplified cadential key organization. Read it and play the section first, then read the Schubart key description. WOW!

Go to this site, then select About "Key Colour" (about half way done on the left hand side of the page) Schubart key colours


2. The Street Awakens- Prokofiev sets the stage for the upcoming quarrel - D Maj - F min - D Maj

4. Juliet as a Young Girl - Juliet is in a playful mood, then her parents show up with Paris, whom they expect her to marry, and she runs the gamut of moods - C Maj - F Maj - E Maj - Ab Maj - A Maj - C Maj - F Maj - E min - F min - B Maj.

6. Dance of the Knights - Capulet's Ballroom - Courtly dances, but uneasy atmosphere; Romeo and Mercutio enter in masks - E min - D min - A min - F min - E min

7. Friar Laurence - The Friar, hoping for an end to the feud, marries Juliet and Romeo - Bb Maj

9. Dance of the Girls with Lilies - Prenuptial ritual by Juliet's attendants. The family still thinks she will marry Paris, but she has already taken the potion to make her appear dead - A min - G# min - C Maj - A min - G# min - E Maj - A min - C maj - A min

10. Romeo and Juliet before Parting - They have consummated their marriage and Romeo bids Juliet farewell. (Juliet struggles inwardly as she decides to take the potion.) - Prokofiev foreshadows the things to come in his music - Bb Maj - C Maj - Bb Maj - C Maj - E min - B min - Bb min

Nota bene: I wrote this post on this site some years ago under the alias 'mwm', so I am plagiarizing from myself.

There is a different physicality and ease to playing (certain kinds of passages) predominantly on black keys that composers starting with Chopin often exploited. Try playing a Faure song accompaniment originally in G-flat major transposed to F major. Feels horrid (for the pianist)!

I think piano melodies sound better high in the treble clef instead of smack in the middle of the keyboard, which means composing in keys to put those notes in that range.

With equal temperament and modern tuning fudges, I'm not sure the old "keys having different character" concept still holds.

Interesting points!

Pieces for strings tend to be in sharp keys because they allow open strings to sound.

Pieces for horns, especially in jazz, tend to be in flat keys because they are transposing instruments where Bb = C or Eb = C.

As for piano, I like to write pieces in Db because it falls so naturally and easily under the hands.