My favourite form of music is probably the Piano Concerto.
Here are my favourite Piano Concertos in no particular order. Sorry if they are a bit predictable..

1)Piano Concerto No.2 and 3 (Rachmaninov)
2)Piano Concerto No.1 in Bbm (Tchaickovsky)
3)Piano Concerto in Am (Grieg)
4)Concerto in F (Gershwin)
5)Piano Concerto in Am (Schumann)
6)Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No.1 in Eb (Liszt)
7)Concerto for the Left Hand (Ravel)
8)Piano Concerto No. 1 to 5 (Prokofiev)
9)Piano Concertos No. 1 and 2 (Chopin)
10)Piano Concerto No. 1-5 (Beethoven)

Any other recommendations?

Gae

You can't have left many out there .

Not a fan of Mozart then?! If you listen to Mozart's number 20 you'll probably know it (particularly the middle movement) there are some other real gems in there too. Also there are those who love Brahms's piano concerti too (cue Maggie!). Of the ones that you've mentioned I'm quite a fan of Beethoven's, especially 3 and 4; Chopin's; Grieg's and Tchaikovsky's....

Thank you !
Brahms number one.

M

QUOTE

If you listen to Mozart's number 20 you'll probably know it (particularly the middle movement) there are some other real gems in there too

Yes, I'm familiar with the "Elvira Madigan" music. I forgot that. In all honesty, although I hear Mozart's Piano Concertos played a lot of the time, I'm not that familiar with any one in particular. Although beautiful sounding, at the risk of sounding a Philistine, to my ears, one Concerto does tend to sound like another when you dont know them very well. Possibly, Mozart suffers from having written too many Piano Concertos.
Also, my favourite Centuries are the 19th and 20th. Thats just my personal preference. I prefer the more muscular, Romantic, Tragic Piano Concerto over the lighter, more playful kind.

Gae

Rach 2+3
Tchaichovsky 1
...
*gives up*

Either of the Brahms - MusicMinusOne rules - but I'm going to have to fork out for one of their funky "slow it down to idiot proof speed" CD players...

Minor correction - Mozart 20 is the D minor concerto K466 (a fine piece, and my personal favourite, in spite of having part of it as a set work at A Level) The first and second movements were used in Amadeus.

The one used in the film Elvira Madigan is the slow movement of number 21, in C major (K467 for catalogue spotters) - still a fine piece, but not as good as its immediate predecessor.

I can't really dispute any of Gae's choices.

Has anyone else round here actually sat through Elvira Madigan (the film, not the concerto!), or noticed how many piano concertos end up in films (Rach 2 - Brief Encounter (my favourite film!!!); Rach 3 - Shine)

Ravel G major.

Some new ones (I like lots of those already mentioned): Brahms 2nd, John Ireland, Mozart 23 in A (K488), 12 in A (K414: has a gorgeous slow movement in memoriam, and based on a tune by, his friend J C Bach, JSB's youngest son, whom he had met on his London visit in 1764) and (my favourite) 24 in C minor (K491). The last was the inspiration for Beethoven's 3rd, in the same key, and superior to it, IMO, though I like the Beethoven too.

Not exactly a piano concerto, but I love the Rachmaninov "Paganini" Variations.

QUOTE

Not exactly a piano concerto, but I love the Rachmaninov "Paganini" Variations.

Totally agree with you Kenm. Its a wonderful piece. I used to play the 18th variation solo and play along to the strings that I'd sequenced on my keyboard. The times I played along to the strings theme was a wonderful feeling and almost made me feel like I was the soloist in an orchestra. Not as good as the real thing I'm sure, but a second best maybe. Towards the end of the "Rhapsody" there is a staccato/pizzicato motif that plays quietly at first and builds up to a cymbal crash and variation with full orchestra. This is the limit of my playing. In this passage there is a moment where each hand is playing 5 finger diminished chords, each in a different inversions, playing up and down tonaly and chromatically up to speed. After trying to and failing to play this part I realised the true nature of "virtuoso"..or at least "extremely large hands"!
I'm just in the processing of "digitizing" my old LP of Delius' Piano Concerto in Cm and Debussy's Fantasie for Piano and Orchestra. Is anyone familiar with these works? I know them a little but want to get to know them more, hence the transfer to computer.
Yes, "Elvira Madigan" is No. 21 sorry. I had a suspicion it wasn't 20 but couldn't be bothered looking through CDs to find out.

Gae

My favourite has to be Rach 2, but have to admit I'm not that familiar with the repertoire, so I'm unduly biased to the one I actually know well and have played in the orchestra for!

Sarah, what part did you play in the orchestra? Flute? Is it easy or a difficult part to play?

Gae

2nd violin.

It wasn't too hard as I remember (we are talking 8 years ago though!) though that feeling is slightly suspect as I was playing in an orchestra where probably 75% of the players had already learned and performed the piece the year before, and it's much easier of course to get swept into it and feel how the piece fits together when everyone else knows what they're doing and you just have to go along with it, whereas if the whole orchestra is learning a piece from scratch the feel is entirely different. But generally, yes, a *wonderful* piece to play in, we even got the tune a few times in the tuttis, and I remember it as an entirely enjoyable experience. And even given the fact that the orchestra had played it before... we had two rehearsals, a run through in the hall with the soloist, and then performed it, so it didn't require much in the way of getting back into it from the seasoned members, and I think we gave a pretty good rendition from comments afterwards. This was the top county youth orchestra: standard mostly 7 - 8 in the strings generally, and 8 plus in woodwind, approximately

Tchaikovsky No. 1 is really my favorite!

Beethoven's aren't bad, either.

Well, I wish I could hear a recording of the Rachaminov concertos.

QUOTE (DGA @ Mar 4 2005, 12:01 PM)

Well, I wish I could hear a recording of the Rachaminov concertos.

I don't know what country you're in and if you can get it there but Naxos have a recording of Rachmaninoff playing Rachmaninoff (and it's only £4.99, although you only get two of the concerti for that). It's actually quite enlightening to listen to it he plays his pieces in a far more Chopinesque manner than most concert pianists do today. It's worth listening to if you're playing any Rachmaninoff (not that I have played any...) just to see how his own playing of his works differs from more modern interpretations of them.

ok.Its kinda hard to narrow this down. There are so many awesome pieces out there, but Ill give it a try....
Rachmaninoff no's 2 and 3
Tchaicovski no. 1
Liszt no.1
Chopin no's 1 and 2
Mozart no. 24 ( i think..)
Schumann A minor
Gershwin
Grieg
Beethoven concerti

QUOTE (chopet @ Mar 4 2005, 02:38 PM)

Schumann A minor Gershwin

How could we have forgotten these two IMO, the Schumann compares favourably with most of the later Romantic ones (Prok 3 at least as good, however, & the two Brahms incomparable). I particularly love the extended coda to the last movement, where you know the ending is coming, but he keeps postponing it by finding new invention, new, but beautifully judged modulations, and some of the best orchestration he ever wrote.

I like the Gershwin Piano Concerto better than either of the Rhapsodies. If you haven't seen "An American in Paris" (5 Oscars, 4 stars in Halliwell's Guide) take the first chance you get, and watch Oscar Levant playing everything in the Concerto (he really was the pianist).

Kenm, you know the Second Rhapsody by Gershwin? "Rhapsody in Rivets" wasn't it? I've got the Michael Tilson-Thomas version of it and I think its great. I even prefer it to "Rhapsody in Blue" simply because I've heard that too many times. Still neither are as "great" as the "Concerto in F"...definately my favourite of the bunch. "An American in Paris" is probably a close 2nd.

Gae

any of Mozarts and Rachmaniov's 2nd

QUOTE (kenm @ Mar 4 2005, 03:03 PM)

If you haven't seen "An American in Paris" (5 Oscars, 4 stars in Halliwell's Guide) take the first chance you get, and watch Oscar Levant playing everything in the Concerto (he really was the pianist).

What a great movie! Although I didn't even realise there was a piano concerto in it... when does it get played (it's a while since I've watched it, but I have it on dvd...)

Re: Rachmaninov: anyone else heard Stephen Hough's recordings of the piano concertos? Good stuff. That NAXOS cd with the man himself playing sounds like great value... and yup, the Rhapsody is really great.

(edit) all the Rachmaninov concertos are available on amazon played by the composer... ASIN: B000026B8F and ASIN: B000026B8G... they've just gone on my wishlist *grin*

Beethoven's 3rd and 4th, Brahms's 2nd (I love the solo cello part) and all Mozart's. Stephen Hough's recordings of the Rachmaninov concertos are wonderful. Check out his recordings of the five Saint-Saens' concertos - heavenly!

QUOTE

What a great movie! Although I didn't even realise there was a piano concerto in it... when does it get played (it's a while since I've watched it, but I have it on dvd...)

Sarah, in the movie, Oscar Levant plays the part of a struggling Concert Pianist and there is a dream sequence in which he imagines himself playing as a virtuoso with an orchestra. In the sequence, every person playing in the Orchestra is actually him and I seem to remember that he plays the complete 3rd movement "Allegro Agitato" from the Concerto. Have a look at it if you get the chance.... 'S Wonderful!

Gae

Ahhh now I know the exact bit you mean - it's very funny! I didn't know that it was a Gershwin Concerto he was playing.

Has anyone heard the piano concerto in B minor op 85 by Hummel? This is an exhilarating piece. The first movement opens with just timpani a la Beethoven violin concerto, and is rich in woodwind and filled with bravura and technical fireworks. The second starts with a gorgeous chorale for four horns. Also from this period and style are the Mendelssohn G minor concerto and works by Weber.

QUOTE (Gae @ Mar 4 2005, 03:31 PM)

Kenm,  you know the Second Rhapsody by Gershwin?  "Rhapsody in Rivets" wasn't it?   I've got the Michael Tilson-Thomas version of it and I think its great.  I even prefer it to "Rhapsody in Blue" simply because I've heard that too many times. Still neither are as "great" as the "Concerto in F"...definately my favourite of the bunch.  "An American in Paris" is probably a close 2nd.   Gae

Yes, I played bass in that about 15 years ago. Philip Fowke was the excellent soloist. Gershwin never conquered symphonic form, even in the concerto, so one values his music for its succession of great tunes and, in the later works, a good ear for orchestration.

The shorter piano solos are interesting. I particularly enjoy attempting his variations on "I got rhythm".

QUOTE (AnotherPianist @ Mar 4 2005, 07:20 PM)

QUOTE (DGA @ Mar 4 2005, 12:01 PM) Well, I wish I could hear a recording of the Rachaminov concertos. I don't know what country you're in and if you can get it there but Naxos have a recording of Rachmaninoff playing Rachmaninoff (and it's only £4.99, although you only get two of the concerti for that). It's actually quite enlightening to listen to it he plays his pieces in a far more Chopinesque manner than most concert pianists do today. It's worth listening to if you're playing any Rachmaninoff (not that I have played any...) just to see how his own playing of his works differs from more modern interpretations of them.

Ahhhh......thanks for the advice but very unfortunately I'm living in Indonesia. impossible.

QUOTE

The shorter piano solos are interesting. I particularly enjoy attempting his variations on "I got rhythm".

I attempted "I Got Rhythm" from the "Gershwin at the Keyboard" arrangement a few years ago and one day I was playing it in a mediocre fashion at the local music store. Just at that moment one of the "Technics" representatives, an ex-Concert pianist, sat down and preceded to play the whole piece from memory, note perfect and at full speed. Dont you just hate it when people do that?

I've also played the "3 Preludes" at one point or another and sections of "Rhapsody in Blue". There's a lovely piano solo of "Promenade (Walking the Dog) which features in a Fred Astaire and Ginger Roger's film.."Top Hat" I think. I've played that too. The story goes that they were short of music for the film and Gershwin wrote this little gem and arranged it for the band in the morning...incredible! What a tragedy he died so young. I suppose there's always a price to pay for Genius and an intense work rate! After all, he wrote "Rhapsody in Blue" in just a few weeks didn't he?

Gae

P.S. Philip Fowke is indeed an excellent soloist. I've got a recording of him playing Tchaikovsky's one movement "3rd Piano Concerto" and his performance of that incredible cadenza was one of those highlights of music that got me into the piano in the first place. I attempted the 4-5 page cadenza when I was a naive and idealistic youth ready to conquer the world. I ended up playing a very bad performance of it but I got through it which was an achievement at the time and went no small way to improving my reading. When you are always reading 5-6 ledger lines above the Grand Staff, normal music become so easy to read. Now where is that old tape recording I made?