# Short-like Sets/Cycles of Piano Works



## SonataSonataSonata (Sep 14, 2010)

I am compiling a list of short-ish cycles of short-ish piano works. (Backstory and pedagogy behind this is irrelevant other than it's just for myself; I am consulting other more formal sources, as well).

The track my mind is on _*would *_include the sets below; think "character pieces" but absolutely not limited to any musical era:

Ligeti: Musica Ricercara
MacDowell: Woodland Sketches; Fireside Tales; Sea Pieces
Eubanks: 5 Interludes
Bartok: Roumanian Folk Dances
Rachmaninoff: 5 Pieces, Op.3
Schubert: Moment Musicaux

Cycles like the below _could maybe_ work, but would be borderline regarding my idea of focus, mainly _due to overall length_. I could always break them up, but I would prefer to stick to complete sets for this project.

Chopin: Preludes, Op. 28
Beethoven: Bagatelles, various sets
Bartok: 14 Bagatelles, Op. 6
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Ex.
Schumann: Carnaval
Greig: Lyric Pieces, various sets
Mendelssohn: Songs w/o Words

When I talk about a cycle, I am definitely _not_ talking about cycles in this manner:

Chopin: Etudes; Mazurkas; etc
Bach: WTC; Toccatas; etc
Debussy: Preludes

Of course I would be most interested in obscure sets of pieces, but of course the standards are welcome, too, as I am sure the most obvious examples have escaped me and may never return to my mind without prodding in that direction.

I am excited to see where this leads! :trp:


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Juliusz Zarębski - Etrennes (from French: presents, gifts). Short cycle of six piano miniatures.

Some time ago I've uploaded it on YouTube:


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## SuperTonic (Jun 3, 2010)

Gubaidulina has a set of piano miniatures called Musical Toys. 14 pieces total. If I recall correctly it takes less than 20 minutes to play through all of them.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Also, Zarębski wrote another cycle - Róże i Ciernie (Les roses et les epines). It's one of those romantic era works that predicted impressionism. But I'm afraid that I can't provide you with recording.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Hi SSS. How about Satie's pithy 'Sports et Divertissements'? 21 short pieces most of which last less than a minute. There are a few Satie cycles that could theoretically match your criteria but this is fun as well as topical. Many recordings available.


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## SonataSonataSonata (Sep 14, 2010)

This is all great, amazing stuff--exactly what I am looking for. Thanks so much.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I guess suites wouldn't exactly fit, so Debussy's _Children's Corner_ would be out?

Here are some that might work from my collection:
Brahms - Piano Pieces (8), Op. 76
Faure - Nocturnes (I don't know if you'd call these miniatures or not.)
Glass - Metamorphosis
Louis Moreau Gottschalk - (almost his entire body of work is small piano character pieces. You may not call this a cycle however.)
Grieg - you already mentioned the Lyric pieces
Mendelssohn - Seven characteristic pieces, op. 7 (These may not be short-ish. I can't recall)
Nielsen - Humoreske-bagatelles, Op. 11
(better not go near the 500+ Scarlatti sonatas, I guess)
Schumann - Album for the Young
Shostakovich - 24 Preludes, Op. 34
William Grant Still - Five Preludes; Seven Traceries
Suk - Lullabies for piano, Op. 33; 6 piano pieces, Op. 7

And that's quite enough from me I would think.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Aramis said:


> Juliusz Zarębski - Etrennes (from French: presents, gifts). Short cycle of six piano miniatures.
> 
> Some time ago I've uploaded it on YouTube:


These are really nice, Aramis. I'll have to add Zarebski to my ever growing want list.


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## Serge (Mar 25, 2010)

Perhaps from the obvious category, but Tchaikovsky - The Months cycle (also known as The Seasons.)


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## Air (Jul 19, 2008)

Prokofiev's _Visions Fugitives_ - inspired by Serge's username


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

*Dohnanyi* - Ruralia Hungarica (originally for piano, then orchestrated I believe)
*Saygun* - various piano works, eg. From Anatolia; Inci's Book; 12 Preludes on Askak Rhythms; 10 Sketches on Askak Rhythms (these are all on a Naxos disc I have)
*Alkan* - Esquisses (Sketches) (maybe not the most perfect example, as they can take about an hour to play collectively, but all of them are very short individually)
*Milhaud* - Paris (a short suite, but this is for FOUR pianos!)...


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## Air (Jul 19, 2008)

Also good are Medtner's sets of _Fairy Tales_ and Villa-Lobos's _Ciclo brasileiro_. And of course there's Bartok's fiendish _Out of Doors_, which can be much more categorized as a set of "character pieces" then some of the already mentioned, such as Ligeti's _Musica Ricercata_.

Much of Schumann's output for piano fits into the second category, the _Papillons_, _Davidbundlertanze_ and _Kreisleriana_ being my favorites, but the list goes on and on. I think the Papillons is the shortest of the three.

A bit longer, but for Alkan there are also the _Trois morceaux dans le genre pathétique_. The first mouvement-piece, the _Aime-moi_, is IMHO, as good as anything Chopin ever wrote.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Weston said:


> These are really nice, Aramis. I'll have to add Zarebski to my ever growing want list.


You can find links to his other work in thread about him - http://www.talkclassical.com/6497-juliusz-zar-bski.html


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