# Which pieces are considered standard repertoire for piano competitions?



## 20centrfuge

I live near Salt Lake City, Utah where they do the Gina Bachauer Piano Competition. Once in a while I will get really into the competition. I have noticed over the years that some works seem to get played more than others (probably due to their difficulty and appeal with judges). I'm wondering if any of you could give me a list of works that are considered standard fare for piano competitions. 

Thank you so much!


----------



## chu42

I have made the perfect list for this occasion a while back:

https://sites.google.com/view/repertoireguide/home?authuser=0


----------



## SuperTonic

I live in Fort Worth where the Van Cliburn competition is run every four years. I've followed it closely ever since the '90s. I've listened to most of the competition recitals over the last 3 competitions, either through their live stream at the time of performance, or in their online archive. There are certain works you can expect to hear multiple times in every competition, like Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, or Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit. Liszt if very popular, particularly the Transcendental Etudes and the B minor sonata. And you'll hear a lot of the more difficult Beethoven sonatas. If there is a concerto component to the competition, as their is with the Van Cliburn, you can expect to hear Rachmaninoff's 3rd several times. Prokofiev 2 and 3 are also common, along with any of the Beethoven, Chopin, or late Mozart concertos.


----------



## chu42

SuperTonic said:


> I live in Fort Worth where the Van Cliburn competition is run every four years. I've followed it closely ever since the '90s. I've listened to most of the competition recitals over the last 3 competitions, either through their live stream at the time of performance, or in their online archive. There are certain works you can expect to hear multiple times in every competition, like Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, or Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit. Liszt if very popular, particularly the Transcendental Etudes and the B minor sonata. And you'll hear a lot of the more difficult Beethoven sonatas. If there is a concerto component to the competition, as their is with the Van Cliburn, you can expect to hear Rachmaninoff's 3rd several times. Prokofiev 2 and 3 are also common, along with any of the Beethoven, Chopin, or late Mozart concertos.


Yes. This is all the standard fare. I would add:
Rachmaninov Concerti 1&2
Tchaikovsky Concerto 1

Lesser played competition concerti but still present are:
Bartok 2&3
Brahms 1&2

And here are the popular concerti that are a bit lighter than the above:
Schumann
Saint-Saens 2, 5
Grieg
Mendelssohn 1


----------



## Fenestella

Balakirev: Islamey
Busoni: Chaconne
Godowsky: Die Fledermaus
Mendelssohn: Variations serieuses
Moszkowski: Caprice espagnol
Schulz-Evler: Blue Danube
Schumann: Toccata
Scriabin: Fantaisie


----------



## architecture

Ravel Gaspard de la nuit
Various Beethoven sonatas
Liszt Dante sonata
Rachmaninoff Sonata 2


----------

