# New to Concertos



## socksband101 (Sep 9, 2007)

I have been exploring most romantic symphonies lately. Granted, there have been some searing holes in my collection, most notably Beethoven's 9th and the majority of Mahler, Dvorjak, Bruckner, and Sibelius. 

However, the symphony is starting to become a little monotonous, and I wish to put it on hold while I listen to something different. I have decided to listen to some concertos, and am not quite sure which ones to approach. Any recommendations for Piano, Violin, and other Miscelanious concertos would be most welcome.


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## Rondo (Jul 11, 2007)

OH JEEZ! Where to begin?? 

I can offer recommendations, but it's hard not knowing your taste. Going by the ones you mentioned, try Beethoven's Pno Concertos (1-5) and Violin Concerto in D, as well as Sibelius' Vln Concerto in d minor and Dvorak's Cello concerto in b minor. 

If you really want to explore, you can try: Prokofiev's Pno Concerto no. 1, Bartok's Pno Concerto no. 3, Kabalevsky's Vln Concerto in C, and Khachaturian's Vln Concerto in d minor. Other members will have more to add. 

Sibelius' tone poems are also a great addition to any library.


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## BuddhaBandit (Dec 31, 2007)

> OH JEEZ! Where to begin??


Which is why I haven't responded yet 

Socks, you might want to give the Tchaikovsky/Mendelssohn violin concertos a try, as well as the Elgar cello concerto (get the Jacqueline Du Pré recording- it was her signature piece). You might also like the Brahms Double Concerto.

After you've explored a bit, along with Rondo's recommendation for the Bartok piano concerto, try the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra. It's interesting to hear the ways in which Bartok uses the orchestra as a pseudo-solo instrument.


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## opus67 (Jan 30, 2007)

Rondo said:


> OH JEEZ! Where to begin??


Ditto!!

I'm going to go ahead a list all my favourites

*Violin*

Just about everything on the mainstream repertoire is on my fav's list.


Tchaikvosky
Beethoven
Mendelssohn (Op.64)
Bach
Brahms
Sibelius
Bruch (No.1)
Paganini (No.1 and No.2)
Vieuxtemps(No.5 and No.6)
Dvorak

*Piano*

Mozart (especially the later ones, from No.20 onwards. I adore No.20)
Brahms 
Schumann
Grieg
Beethoven
Tchaikovsky
Bach (most of the harpsichord concerti are actually transcriptions of his violin concerti)

*Cello*

Dvorak
Elgar
Haydn (No.1 and No.2)
I'd probably include Boccherini too, but I'm not very familiar with those

*Multiple Instruments*

Bach - BWV 1043 (Two Violins)
Mozart - Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola, K.364
Beethoven - Triple Concerto (Piano, Violin and Cello)
Brahms - Double Concerto (Violin and Cello)
Mozart - Concerto for Two Pianos No.10, K.365

*Wind Instruments*

Mozart - Just about anything he wrote. The one for clarinet is my favourite

Well, I hope that gives you a place to start. (But please note that you'd have just scratched the surface with this list. ) Some might note a glaring omission in my list: *Vivaldi*. He wrote so many concerti for diverse instruments, that I decided to mention him at the end.


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## Guest (Mar 25, 2008)

*socksband101 *

Was that a serious question?? Use the same criteria that you used for the Symphonies.


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## confuoco (Feb 8, 2008)

So...there is a great scal of concertos. The lists of basic concerto repertoair for each instrument are easy available, so I'm going to be subjective. My favourite concertos:

*Piano:*

Brahms No. 2 (in my opinion the best concerto ever for any instrument)

Brahms No. 1
Beethoven No. 5
Schumann
Tchaikovsky No. 1
Ravel in G major
Bartók No. 3
Poulenc: Concerto for two pianos in d-minor

*
Violin:*
Brahms
Sibelius
Prokofiev No. 1
Khachaturian

*
Cello:*
Haydn No 1
Schumann
Saint-Saëns No. 1
Shostakovich No. 1
Kabalevsky

*Winds:*
_Clarinet:_
Mozart
Webber 1 and 2


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