Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Top 10 Greatest Piano Concertos!

Well guys due to the success and fun of the ongoing 10 greatest pianists thread, I figured it'd be fun to have the official PW Top 10 Greatest Concertos as well.

Rules: Once again post your top 5 to 10 concertos in order please (otherwise I can't rank them )

Once again #1 will receive 10 points, #2 will receive 9 points, #10 will have 1 point, etc.

Now remember, this is any "Concerto" from any style or time period which features keyboard as its main soloist. Thus this includes clavier/piano/harpsichord/organ/etc concertos of all types.

Once again I shall initiate the ceremony with my list to determine the top 10 Greatest Keyboard Concertos of All Time!


1. Beethoven #5 Eb major "EMPEROR"
2. Brahms #1 D minor
3. Mozart #23 A major
4. Bach D minor
5. Beethoven #4 G major
6. Brahms #2 Bb major
7. Beethoven #3 C minor
8. Mozart #20 D minor
9. Rachmaninoff #3 D minor
10. Schumann A minor

I know my list isn't very interesting, standard popular pieces but these are truly which I love beyond any others! I am however looking forward to the more distinctive choices which will doubtlessly ensue such as the Shostakoviches, Prokofievs, Tchaikovskys, Saint-Saens, Mendelssohns, et al!

Good luck to all composers and their concertos ;-)

1. Bartok 2
2. Tchaikovsky 1
3. Rachmaninov 3
4. Shostakovich 2
4. Prokofiev 5
5. Prokofiev 2
6. Prokofiev 3
7. Rachmaninov 2
8. Bartok 1
9. Ravel G Major
10. Grieg

WOW lol Sam...I expected some diversity but nothing like that! I have yet to hear 90% of that list Well I heard pieces of most of them but I want to hear them all

But Bartok 2???????? Hardly even knew he wrote 2...

Bartok wrote 3 Piano Concertos.

and you should definately listen to every one of those concertos I mentioned, especially Bartok 2. :p


( listen to excerpts of Bartok here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006OS5YS/sr=8-1/qid=1142142457/ref=sr_1_1/104-1776810-0299927?%5Fencoding=UTF8 )

In no particular order:

Rach 2, Rach 3, Tch 1, Mendelssohn Gm, Beethoven "Emperor", Brahms Dm, Grieg Am, Liszt 1, and I'll leave the last two slots open "to posterity" or perhaps "for the gods". :p

Derulux,

What recording of the Mendelssohn is your favorite ?

Sam,

I shall get the Bartok 2, is the Andsnes your favorite interpretation ?

Daniel, I listen to Andsnes's recording:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006OS5YS/sr=8-1/qid=1142142457/ref=sr_1_1/104-1776810-0299927?%5Fencoding=UTF8

Bartok's other concertos are also really good, particularly the 1st.


Have you heard Serkin's recording of the Mendelssohn Concertos?

If these are the "ten greatest concertos", then they are "great" by what criteria?

Or are we saying "These are my ten favourite concertos..." There's a difference.

Certainly these aren't my only 10 favorite (nor are they the 'greatest'), but they are definately among my favorites.

Bruce, it's a combination of the two, "These are the 10 Greatest Concertos in accordance with my Opinion!" ;-)

If these are the "ten greatest concertos", then they are "great" by what criteria?

Or are we saying "These are my ten favourite concertos..." There's a difference.
It is improbable to separate the two. I find it paradoxical for an individual to find anything "great" and yet they do not appreciate it, unless you were to mean something where villains dwell...in which case, there are many composers whose concertos I think fall into that category (of "great" because they are deplorable). But then, the "great" ones that I like far exceed the "great" ones that I find deplorable, so this is still an exercise in futility.

But I will give Saint-Saens 2 an honorable mention for "worst concerto ever". Perhaps we could name this category the "Hitler Great", after a man whom, I'm sure we'd all agree, was great, though deplorably so.

What recording of the Mendelssohn is your favorite ?

Currently, it's actually Lang Lang's, but there are many interpretations left to listen to I am sure.

I think I have serkin's Mendelssohn, they are awesome

as for worst concerto ever I think that (dis)honor goes to Dvorak! It's so bad no one even knows he wrote a concerto but how wrong they are! ;-)

It is interesting. I've never heard Dvorak's piano concerto, but his "New World Suite" is among my favorite orchestral works of all-time.

Dvorak's concerto is quite nice. Richter recorded it 3 times, Ohlsson and Aimard both play it. It's definitely not a bad work.

Try listening to it before you judge it.

Whatever you do, don't getLang Lang's recording - it's pure garbage. The best recording I've heard - and I've heard most of them - is Howard Shelley. LINK

Second best would probably be Serkin.

I tried already Not an experience I'd like to relive

Going to have to disagree seriously with whoever said Lang Lang's Mendelssohn is "pure garbage" - the playing is stunning, and it is the type of work that suits his temperament very, very well. To my ears, he plays it much better than anybody else I've heard, including Thibaudet, Hough, Shelley, Serkin, Perahia, etc.

Unfortunately, the Tchaikovsky on the same disc is rather atrocious in my opinion. But this does not detract from the Mendelssohn. Lang Lang's recording is my favourite for this work by far.

I agree...the Tchaikovsky on the same CD is probably my least favorite. (And I'm not a huge fan of his Rach 2 either.) But the Mendelssohn...very nice.

Well I will say that it's not filled with the usual Lang Lang quirks, but it just feels a little bit 'autopilot' for my tastes. Quite similar to his Haydn sonata at Carnegie hall - he can play the notes, but you get the feeling he has no thoughts to go along with them.

You're right though, the Tchaikovsky is disturbingly bad.

1)Beethoven 4
2)Mozart 23
3)Brahms 2
4)Rach 2
5)Bartok 2
6)Beethoven 5
7)Mendelssohn 1
8)Shostakovich 2
9)Brahms 1
10)Liszt Totentanz

Pianojerome, You can fit in the Tchaikovsky 1 but no Beethoven. For shame :-P