# Masterpieces Off the Beaten Track: Part Two - Solo Piano Works



## Alypius

Earlier I began a thread on off-the-beaten-path string quartets. It has alerted me -- and hopefully others -- to a number of fascinating works. So perhaps, we might follow a similar tack with solo piano works. 
Examples might include either little-known composers or little-known works by famous composers. I realize that "little known" is obviously a matter of degree. Here are some examples:

*Leos Janacek*. Janacek is best known for his operas and a host of orchestral works, especially his _Sinfonietta_. But I only discovered his small corpus of solo piano works about a year-and-a-half ago. My favorite performance is by Andras Schiff, but I have not heard the new release by Marc-Andre Hamelin.

















*Charles Koechlin*. Koechlin, a contemporary of Ravel, is relatively little known composer. His works stand at a sort of halfway point between Ravel's and Mompou's, well-crafted, colorful, brief gems, contemplative in mood. Michael Korstick did the complete set in 3 volumes:










Any recommendations?


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## worov

Schumann's opus 124:






This is never played, never performed. Why ? This is as good as Traumerai.


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## BaronScarpia

I'm a fan of John Ireland's solo piano works. Particularly Rhapsody for Solo Piano and his Piano Sonata.


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## Aramis

Juliusz Zarębski - Les Roses et Les Épines, masterpiece of a suite. I recommended it to some members before and they were impressed. Apart from being filled withgenuine romantic inspiration, it was written by a master harmonist.


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## Alypius

BaronScarpia said:


> I'm a fan of John Ireland's solo piano works. Particularly Rhapsody for Solo Piano and his Piano Sonata.


Baron, Thanks for those. Any recommended performances? It looks like Naxos has (at least) 3 volumes of his piano works (produced from 1998 to 2008).


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## Alypius

worov said:


> Schumann's opus 124 ... This is never played, never performed. Why ? This is as good as Traumerai.


worov, Thanks for the heads up on that. I had a listing of the major solo piano works on my computer that I work from when I'm considering purchasing works of Schumann:

op. 1 - Variations on the name ABEGG:
op. 2 - Papillons: Freire, Perahia
op. 3 - Etudes: 
op. 4 - Intermezzi:
op. 5 - Impromptus: 
op. 6 - Davidsbundlertanze: Perahia, Rosen, Uchida
op. 7 - Toccata: Horowitz
op. 8 - Allegro: 
op. 9 - Carnaval: Freire
op. 10 - Etudes: 
op. 11 - Klaviersonate #1 in F# minor: Andsnes
op. 12 - Fantasiestucke: Perahia
op. 13 - Etudes symphoniques: Perahia, Hamelin
op. 14 - Klaviersonate #3: Schiff (complete), Horowitz (partial)
op. 15 - Kinderszenen: Freire, Argerich
op. 16 - Kreisleriana: Horowitz, Argerich
op. 17 - Fantasy in C: Andsnes, Hamelin, Uchida
op. 18 - Arabeske: Horowitz, Freire
op. 19 - Blumentucke: Horowitz
op. 20 - Humoreske: Schiff
op. 21 - Noveletten: Schiff
op. 22 - Klaviersonate #2: Hamelin
op. 23 - Nachtstucke: Schiff
op. 26 - Faschingsswank aus Wien:
op. 28 - Romanzen: 
op. 32 - Klavierstucke: 
op. 68 - Album fur die Jugend: 
op. 82 - Waldszenen: 
op. 111 - Fantasiestucke: 
op. 133 - Gesange der Fruhe:

I have Hamelin's new performance of Schumann's Waldszenen high on my wishlist to fill in that gap. Well, clearly, I need to add op. 124 to that. I appreciate it. A recommended performance?


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## worov

> Well, clearly, I need to op. 124 to that. I appreciate it. A recommended performance?


I have heard only Denes Varjon, released on Naxos (which is the one from the video). I like it very much. There must be a recording by Jorg Demus, because he recorded the complete piano works.

Opus 124 contains twenty pieces. The one I have linked is only one of them. I'm sure the others must be available in YouTube. You might want to listen to them before buying the recording.


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## worov

Some Prokofiev is truly underplayed too. Does anyone has ever heard this delightful piece ?






I certainly love it.


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## worov

What about this Mendelssohn piece ?


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## worov

What about Emmanuel Chabrier ?


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## Alypius

worov said:


> Some Prokofiev is truly underplayed too. Does anyone has ever heard this delightful piece ? ...
> I certainly love it.


worov, I thought that I had the complete solo piano works of Prokofiev. Well, clearly I was wrong about that assumption. I love all of Prokofiev's works -- concertos, ballets, symphonies, solo piano, you name it. Among his works of solo piano, the War Sonatas are favorites, as is Sonata #2. Oh, also, the excellent _Visions fugitives_. From what I can see, Scherzo is #10 from his _10 Pieces for Piano_, op. 12. Is that correct? I don't know any of those _10 Pieces_. Thanks for the heads up. Any recommended performance?

BTW, here are my favorite collections of Prokofiev solo piano:
*Matti Raekallio, _Prokofiev: Piano Sonatas #1-9_ (4 discs) (Ondine, 2011)
*Boris Giltburg, _Prokofiev: War Sonatas_ (Orchid, 2012)
*Steven Osborne, _Musorsky: Picture from an Exhibition / Prokofiev: Visions fugitives_ (Hyperion, 2013)


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## worov

I have Frederic Chiu's recording of the complete piano works of Prokofiev (Harmonia Mundi). This one :
http://www.allmusic.com/album/prokofiev-complete-music-for-solo-piano-mw0001836061

The Scherzo in C major is Track 33 on Disc no 5. It's a piece Prokofiev composed in his younger years (there are some real gems in these, there are others in the boxset).

I'm very fond of Prokofiev. He's probably my favorite modern composer. I have loved most what I have heard in his compositions. And I have heard a lot : piano pieces, concertos, symphonies, violin sonatas, cello sonatas, string quartets, Alexander Nevsky, Ivan the Terrible, operas.

(Yes, I have all of these at home and everyone of these is amazing music :lol::lol:)

And many pieces have never been recorded. I'm still waitin for a recording of his Urals Rhapsody, Opus 128.

But let's get back to piano.



> BTW, here are my favorite collections of Prokofiev solo piano:
> *Matti Raekallio, Prokofiev: Piano Sonatas #1-9 (4 discs) (Ondine, 2011)
> *Boris Giltburg, Prokofiev: War Sonatas (Orchid, 2012)
> *Steven Osborne, Musorsky: Picture from an Exhibition / Prokofiev: Visions fugitives (Hyperion, 2013)


I haven't heard Raekallio and Giltburg but I will give them a listen. I have heard Steven Osborne and he's amazing as always. The Mussorgsky is very good too.

My favorite performers are Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels. I love Pogorelich's recording of the 6th sonata.


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## Alypius

worov said:


> I have Frederic Chiu's recording of the complete piano works of Prokofiev (Harmonia Mundi). This one :
> http://www.allmusic.com/album/prokofiev-complete-music-for-solo-piano-mw0001836061
> 
> The Scherzo in C major is Track 33 on Disc no 5. It's a piece Prokofiev composed in his younger years (there are some real gems in these, there are others in the boxset) ...
> 
> But let's get back to piano.
> 
> I haven't heard Raekallio and Giltburg but I will give them a listen. I have heard Steven Osborne and he's amazing as always. The Mussorgsky is very good too.
> 
> My favorite performers are Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels. I love Pogorelich's recording of the 6th sonata.


I took a little time this afternoon to see what I had and what I was missing of Prokofiev's piano works. It turns out that I'm missing a fair amount, but they are mostly small fragments (various "Pieces") and mostly pieces that have only rarely been recorded:

Four Pieces, op. 3 
Four Pieces, op. 4 
Ten Pieces, op. 12 
Four Pieces, op. 32
Choses in Soi [Things in Themselves], op. 45 
Divertissement, op. 43bis
Six Pieces, op. 52
Piano Sonatina #1 in E minor, op. 54/1
Piano Sonatina #2 in G major, op. 54/2
Three Pieces, op. 59
Thoughts, op. 62
Music for children, op. 65

From what I can see, other than Frederic Chiu, one other pianist to record the complete piano works has been Boris Berman. And these miscellanea are scattered among his 9-volume collection -- which does not seem to have ever been completely boxed up by Chandos (they did box the 9 sonatas as a 3-CD set). Most seems to be able to be heard on Spotify (I'm listening to op. 52 at the moment). There also seems to have been an older cycle by Gyorgy Sandor (the CDs are out of print mostly, but ArkivMusic has downloads available). Does anyone know these miscellanea? (We noted earlier op. 12 above) How about Berman's or Sandor's performances? Other performances? They seem to have been rarely recorded.


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## TurnaboutVox

Alypius said:


> worov, Thanks for the heads up on that. I had a listing of the major solo piano works on my computer that I work from when I'm considering purchasing works of Schumann:
> 
> I have Hamelin's new performance of Schumann's Waldszenen high on my wishlist to fill in that gap. Well, clearly, I need to op. 124 to that. I appreciate it. A recommended performance?


For op. 124 - Denes Várjon on Naxos is a good modern (1994) performance.

OK, so Schumann off the beaten track:

Op. 56, Etuden in kanonischer Form für Orgel oder Pedalklavier (transcribed for piano by Clara Schumann)
Op. 72, Vier Fugen (Four fugues)
Op. 76, Vier Märsche (Four marches)
Op. 99, Bunte Blätter 
Op. 118, Drei Sonaten für die Jugend 
Op. 124, Albumblätter
Op. 126, Seven Piano Pieces in Fughetta Form

WoO 24, Variations in E-flat on an Original Theme ("Geistervariationen")
WoO 31, Studies in the Form of Free Variations on a Theme by Beethoven

And there's also: 
Op. 66, Bilder aus Osten, 6 Impromptus for piano
Op. 85, 12 Klavierstücke für kleine und große Kinder
Op. 109, Ball-Szenen (Scenes from a Ball)
Op. 130, Children's Ball (Kinderball) (all for piano, four hands)

A bit 'completist'?


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## Hmmbug

Marc-Andre Hamelin certainly deserves a mention here. Not only is he a great pianist, he also has composed a number of delightful works. This is his Variations on a Theme by Paganini. This is the a minor caprice, popularized by variations by Rachmaninoff, Brahms, Lutosławski, and that horrific electronic ringtone.






Check out his other works, like the Barcarolle and his Etudes in Minor Keys, as well as his "joke" pieces: the Minute Waltz in Seconds and his clever Valse Irritation d'Après Nokia.


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## Alypius

Hmmbug said:


> Marc-Andre Hamelin certainly deserves a mention here. Not only is he a great pianist, he also has composed a number of delightful works. This is his Variations on a Theme by Paganini. This is the a minor caprice, popularized by variations by Rachmaninoff, Brahms, Lutosławski, and that horrific electronic ringtone ... Check out his other works, like the Barcarolle and his Etudes in Minor Keys, as well as his "joke" pieces: the Minute Waltz in Seconds and his clever Valse Irritation d'Après Nokia.


Hmmbug, Thanks. I agree. This is a remarkable--and fun--release:


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## worov

> I took a little time this afternoon to see what I had and what I was missing of Prokofiev's piano works. It turns out that I'm missing a fair amount, but they are mostly small fragments (various "Pieces") and mostly pieces that have only rarely been recorded:


Well this is what the thread is about : "pieces that have only rarely been recorded".7

In the list you provided I like all of them.

I don't know Boris Berman performance. I haven't Sandor's Prokofiev recordings, but his Bartok recordings are excellent. (Wasn't aware he recorded some Prokofiev, will definitely check this out).

TurnaboutVox, I like your list, especially opus 99 (and course 124).


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## worov

About Darius Milhaud ?


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## Notung

Any Neapolitan "opera seria", with Porpora and Vinci being the unsung heroes of baroque opera. Countertenors have been rebooting their work, but they are still derided as second tier to Handel. Nonsense.


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## Guest

I like Sofia Gubaidulina's Chaconne.


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## satoru

Is Alkan now considered the mainstream and on the beaten track??


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## worov

I think Alkan is well-known among piano lovers. But I wouldn't say he's mainstream. I like his music very much, especially his Equisses, opus 63 :


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## worov

What about this one ?


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## Dirge

Below are some off-the-beaten-path or frequently overlooked piano works that I happen to like. Because my liking of any given work is often strongly tied to a particular performance of that work, I've included YouTube links and Spotify URIs to my favorite recordings. (Entering a Spotify URI in the Spotify search engine will take you directly to the associated album/track.)

* * *

François COUPERIN: _Les Folies françoises, ou les Dominos_ from «Pièces de clavecin, livre III, 13e ordre» (1722) • Sokolov [Astrée, live'01]




 («Pièces de clavecin, livre III, 13e & 18e ordres»; _Les Folies françoises, ou les Dominos_ begins at about 11'06" and ends at about 19'47")

While decidedly on the beaten path in the harpsichord world, _Les Folies françoises, ou les Dominos_ is slightly off the beaten path in the piano world. I'm not a particular fan of Couperin or Sokolov, so I like this recording more than I ought to. The piece is here described by Angela Hewitt:

«After this relatively innocent beginning, we turn to high drama with the arrival of _Les Folies françoises, ou les Dominos._ It is a miniature theme and variations using the same Folia bass as _Les Folies d'Espagne._ Each variation depicts a character arriving at a masked ball. Philippe d'Orléans frequently hosted such events that became known for their scandal. In the one portrayed here we have Virginity arriving in an invisible cloak (or domino). Then appears Modesty in pink, followed by Ardour in a flesh-coloured cloak. Hope comes next, sporting green, followed by Fidelity in blue. And after Fidelity? Perserverance arrives in flaxen grey, with Languor in purple not far behind. Coquetry livens things up a bit wearing different colours (wonderfully portrayed by the use of three different time signatures in the first four bars). The Old Roués and Pensioned-off Courtesans stumble in, wearing crimson and verdigris. Then come the benevolent Cuckolds in yellow, accompanied by a cuckoo-like musical motif. Silent Jealousy in Moorish grey takes to the bottom of the keyboard in a very sinister variation. The last character to arrive is Frenzy or Despair-in black. As Wilfrid Mellers writes: "The work is a microcosm of Couperin's art, its tragic passion, its witty urbanity, its sensuous charm."»

Although I'm no fan of the harpsichord, I can well understand those listeners who prefer Couperin played on that vile instrument, as Couperin's harpsichord music is so inherently harpsichordish that it never quite naturally translates to the piano. I suspect that the music also gains from being played on an instrument tuned as it would have been in Couperin's day to some unequal temperament scheme in order to bring out key color. Sokolov violates all of this by playing a modernly tuned modern piano, but I favor his account nonetheless.

* * *

Zoltán KODÁLY: "Épitaphe" from Seven Pieces for Piano, Op. 11 (1917) • Sándor [Vox] 




 ("Épitaphe" begins at about 5'24")
spotify:track:6X7Era0W5h2U6P2QnXpWCp

Had Liszt encountered Debussy's "La cathédrale engloutie" in his travels, it would have surely ended up in _Années de pèlerinage_ sounding something like "Épitaphe"-at least as played by György Sándor. Sándor adopts a balanced and well-rounded approach to the piece, strongly suggesting Liszt and Debussy from a still recognizable base of Kodály. The playing here is much more dynamic and dramatic and large-scale, more "Lisztian" and "Kodályan," than in other accounts I know, making the "Debussyan" suggestions stand out more in contrast and lending a more varied feel to the proceedings. If you can imagine something like a cross between, say, "Chapelle de Guillaume Tell" and "La cathédrale engloutie" with just a hint of Dances from Marosszék, then you can imagine something like Sándor's account of "Épitaphe."

* * *

Charles T. GRIFFES: Piano Sonata (1917/18, rev. 1919)
Masselos [M-G-M/Naxos Classical Archives]





While not obscure, Charles T. Griffes's Piano Sonata doesn't get a whole lotta love (as Led Zeppelin is wont to say) and is often overlooked. It always gets mentioned when discussing the best American piano works, yet aside from William Masselos and Garrick Ohlsson (and perhaps a few others that I don't know about), big-name pianists have managed to avoid it … on record, at least. The work is abstract, angular, and dissonant and is based on its own scale, which sort of resembles D minor; it represents an abrupt and drastic change from Griffes's rather Debussyan/impressionistic earlier output. Superficially, the Sonata sounds like an isolated and unexpected stepping stone between Scriabin's "Black Mass" (Piano Sonata No. 9) and Copland's Piano Variations-two works that I would otherwise never think to put in the same sentence-conveying something of the diabolical atmosphere of the former via the etched-in-stone angularity of the latter, and adding an almost Lisztian sense of wandering/journeying to the dramatic narrative for good measure. Indeed, some of it, the slow movement especially, sounds as if it could be from _Années de pèlerinage, Quatrième année: Amérique._

Masselos gives a strong, rugged, relatively volatile performance with a great sense of sweep & momentum and dramatic impulse. His somewhat rough-and-ready brand of virtuosity won't be to all tastes, but he sells the work like no other pianist, big-name or not, putting the music across as if it were conceived in one inspired fell swoop, its parts coalescing into an inseparable (and somewhat intractable) whole to a greater degree than in any other account that I've heard.

* * *

Frank BRIDGE: Piano Sonata (1924) • Jacobs [Continuum]
spotify:album:3uDSJgxy1QmKK2V7XgqLRm (Tracks 1, 2 & 3)

This long (30+minutes), dark, bitter, angry, angst-ridden, war-torn, but occasionally tender work was several years in the making and marks Bridge's bold first step into the Expressionist style that would characterize much of his work to come. The music is quite chromatic and dissonant and full of harmonic ambiguities, but it's bi-tonal or tenuously tonal rather than atonal; and there is much lyricalness to be found throughout, it's just not of the hummable/whistleable Romantic variety. The slowly tolling opening is very reminiscent of "Le gibet" from _Gaspard de la nuit,_ but then the music moves on and develops in a way that sounds like Berg (Piano Sonata) on the one hand and Scriabin (late sonatas) on the other-but Scriabin in a rather sober and formal mood. (By extension, I'm also reminded of the Griffes Piano Sonata, which sounds like earnest late Scriabin with a sprinkling of Debussy.)

Bridge vents pent-up anger and frustration and sorrow from the War years via a decidedly modern language that is more rugged, varied, and emotionally wrought than Berg's but less schizophrenic, hallucinatory, and Romantic than Scriabin's. Harmonically and thematically, there's a nice mix of Berg-, Scriabin-, and Debussy-like things going on, and the general structure of it, especially of the more dramatic music, doesn't quite escape the shadow of the great Liszt Sonata. All that is only a springboard, however, as the music on the whole doesn't sound like anything of its time and especially of its place, for this is certainly not a work that one expects from a proper English composer of the early 1920s.

The long, troubled, dramatic, highly contrasted first movement is in sonata form (more or less … I think) with two major themes, one of which resembles the main theme/motif of the Berg Sonata. The reflective, twilight-y second movement is an elegy that seems to be based on the second theme of the first movement, but it's a tenuous thing. Trouble and bad memories of the first movement return in the third/final movement, a bitter march (occasionally reminiscent of the second movement of Debussy's _En blanc et noir_) which struggles along for the most part and then gives up, finally restating the work's first main theme without a shred of gumption or hope.

Bridge's Sonata was little-known and littler-liked in its time, and it has only recently been getting much positive attention. Whether it's a "masterpiece," as many British homers are now dubbing it, I can't say, but it's certainly one of the most interesting and substantial little-known piano sonatas that I've come across. Jacobs gives it a rugged, wholly sympathetic performance that fully responds to the work's many changing moods and technical demands.

* * *

George ENESCU: Andantino from Piano Sonata No. 3 (1935) • Lipatti [Romanian Radio/Dante]




 (the Andantino begins at about 5'13" and ends at about 13'21")

I've long felt that this movement is the most poignant thing that Enescu ever wrote. Throughout the piece, the fragments introduced at the outset cycle in and out of view, toward and away from one another, fully coalescing in full view only twice: into a beautiful theme about a minute and a half from the beginning and then again about a minute and a half from the end. The variously fragmented states in between hint at, allude to, or outright quote shards of the theme to varying degrees, teasing the listener and keeping him engaged detective-like in the piecing together of the puzzled theme.

Whereas other pianists on record play the movement very slowly and attempt to generate some sort of stasis effect, Lipatti plays it with a natural ebb and flow and formal balance and poetic concentration that is more effective and affecting in every way. [The Dante transfer is slower/lower-pitched than the EMI transfer; the YouTube transfer claims to be corrected for pitch, and its timing/speed is virtually the same as that of the Dante transfer.]

* * *

Stefan WOLPE: Passacaglia from «Four Studies on Basic Rows» (1936) • Tudor [hat ART]
spotify:track:2Apma9zzwvhVk9BBeibJB5

This twelve-minute twelve-tone piece is basically one big accelerating crescendo with a cool-down at the end. It has more forward sweep and a stronger sense of purpose than is common in twelve-tone music, and the volatile and ever-pressing David Tudor plays it with fearless commitment. (Wolpe revised the work well after the Tudor recording was made, so more recent recordings-those by Serkin, Holzman, Ohlsson, Hamelin-may be using that version.) Wolpe also orchestrated the work shortly after he wrote it, and it rather resembles Schoenberg's Variations for Orchestra in that form-and it doesn't suffer in comparison. In fact, in either guise, I think this is one of the most compelling serial works around. To me, Wolpe is at his best when he's working in a strict form such as passacaglia, chaconne, fugue, etc., so it's not surprising that this is a favorite of mine.

For a smaller, easier-to-digest sampling of Wolpe, try his quirky and angular Dance in Form of a Chaconne from _Zemach Suite_ (1939), a slightly deconstructed little ditty of Thelonious Monk-like rhythmic character. There's a fine recording by David Holzman [Bridge]. 
spotify:track:0GxCnyh9LSentIe6Ay6WAw

* * *

György LIGETI: _Musica ricercata VII_ (1953) • Babayan [Pro Piano]




spotify:track:5j7pdaU1fe3Fv7OSJ0ZfVF

This mesmerizing little piece features a relentless seven-note ostinato in the left hand that is rhythmically and dynamically independent from a fetching folk melody in the right hand. The melody starts off very simply and is then played against various transformations of itself in deft counterpoint, including canon-very nice.


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## Guest

For my first contribution:

Everything written for the instrument by Henri Dutilleux


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## Alypius

Dirge said:


> Below are some off-the-beaten-path or frequently overlooked piano works that I happen to like. Because my liking of any given work is often strongly tied to a particular performance of that work, I've included YouTube links and Spotify URIs to my favorite recordings.....


Dirge, Thanks so much for the recommendations -- and especially the reviews. That's really helpful. Of those, I only am familier with the Ligeti. Wolpe, Enescu, and Bridge have been on my composers-to-be-explored list. Those might be a good entry.


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## Alypius

arcaneholocaust said:


> For my first contribution:
> 
> Everything written for the instrument by Henri Dutilleux


Arcane, Do you have a favorite performance? I've been debating whether to get Robert Levin (ECM, 2010) or Anne Queffelec (Warner / Erato, 1996). Do you know these? Others?


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## worov

Dirge, thank you very much for the recommendations. I already know some of these (Couperin, Griffes, Wolpe). But some are new to me. Will check them out.

Alypius, Queffelec is excellent. I don't know Robert Levin.


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## ptr

^^ Think they are equally excellent, I'd go for Levin, but I think that both are OOP at the moment... 

Don't miss John Ogdon's version of the Dutillieux Sonata, its was the first major recording of it an is still a bench mark.. The EMI Icon Box that have this is littered with interesting and seldom heard solo piano works!










/ptr


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## Guest

Alypius said:


> Arcane, Do you have a favorite performance? I've been debating whether to get Robert Levin (ECM, 2010) or Anne Queffelec (Warner / Erato, 1996). Do you know these? Others?


I haven't heard the Erato disc, but ECM is one of those labels that has yet to fail me. Also, I believe it was this year that DG released his complete works, so that's something to consider, as you'll get chamber works that include piano too.

Edit: Looks like DG uses the Robert Levin disc as well. http://www.amazon.com/Henri-Dutille...=1403355704&sr=1-1&keywords=dutilleux+edition


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## Blancrocher

Dirge said:


> George ENESCU: Andantino from Piano Sonata No. 3 (1935) • Lipatti [Romanian Radio/Dante]
> 
> 
> 
> 
> (the Andantino begins at about 5'13" and ends at about 13'21")

















I'd also recommend these recent Enescu disks featuring the pianist Luiza Borac.


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## TurnaboutVox

Following Dirge's suggestion of Frank Bridge's Piano Sonata, here is a further selection I'd recommend. (You didn't think I'd be able to resist that, did you?) The recordings I have are by Ashley Wass in Bridge: Piano Music Volumes I & II, on Naxos.

Three Pieces (1912)
Poems (1914)
Lament for Catherine (1915)
Fairy Tale Suite (1917)
Miniature Pastorals, for piano, Set 1 (1917)
Improvisations for Piano left hand (1918)
The Hour Glass (1919 - 20)
Three Lyrics: Heart's Ease (1921); Dainty Rogue (1922); The Hedgerow (1924)
Piano Sonata (1921-4)
In Autumn (1924)


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## worov

What about Norman Dello Joio ?


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## Il_Penseroso




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## Mahlerian

Toru Takemitsu's late piano works have gotten more attention than his earlier ones. It's a shame. One of his first truly characteristic works is "Uninterrupted Rest", which seems to blend influences from Messiaen and Schoenberg's Three Piano Pieces (the group Takemitsu was associated with at the time, Experimental Workshop, put on the first performance of Pierrot lunaire in Japan). The third movement, "Song of Love", is fascinatingly brief.


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## clavichorder

There are many wonderful Scarlatti sonatas waiting to be heard.
This one has remarkable modulations that sound so wonderfully coherent to the direction of the piece:





Many many more...


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## Alypius

clavichorder said:


> There are many wonderful Scarlatti sonatas waiting to be heard....
> Many many more...


Clavichorder, Could you list some more? Or perhaps a favorite collection / performance? Thanks.


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## clavichorder

Alypius said:


> Clavichorder, Could you list some more? Or perhaps a favorite collection / performance? Thanks.


I'll have to work on it Alypius. But in the mean time, I have a friend who has many Scarlatti videos up on youtube, and he is a very fine player. Harpsichord and piano, and even clavichord.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0EB3271EA0C1F4B0


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## worov

I'm glad to see Scarlatti's sonatas mentionned on this thread. Rameau and Couperin are right up there too.


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## SottoVoce

Not exactly completely off the beaten track, but Mendelssohn's Variations Serieux are a set that have been played by a lot of major performers and never truly gotten into the mainstream. It's silly to compare, but I think it shows a far greater capability for piano writing for Mendelssohn than the Songs Without Words (great as some of those pieces are). Here is Richter, as always, playing masterfully:


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## worov

I highly enjoy Mendelssohn's piano writing and have several recordings of the Variations sérieuses. There are definitely a masterpiece (though Songs without are still my favourite pieces of Mendelssohn).

What about his Preludes and Fugues ?






(This recording is out of print and have never been released on CD. That's a shame, the music is amazing.)


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## Alypius

For several years now, my familiarity with the piano repertoire has been expanded thanks to the consistently bold artistic choices made by the Canadian pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin. I get the sense that his choices have, in the long run, come to expand the performance repertoire for younger pianists. For instance, I have the sense that he was the one who brought Alkan to many people's attention. Let me highlight three of his performances that have changed what I listen to:

*Marc-Andre Hamelin, Medtner: Complete Piano Sonatas (Hyperion, 1998)*

Favorite piano works by Nikolai Medtner:
*Sonatas for Piano ("Triade"), op. 11/1-3 (1904-1908)
*Piano Sonata in E minor ("Night-Wind"), op. 25/2 (1911) 
*Piano Sonata in B flat minor ("Sonata Romantica"), op. 53/1 (1931-1932)










*Marc-Andre Hamelin, Kapustin: Piano Music (Hyperion, 2004)*

Favorite works by Nikolai Kapustin:
*Eight Concert Études, op. 40 (1984)
*Variations, op. 41 (1984)










*Marc-Andre Hamelin, Busoni: Late Piano Music (Hyperion, 2013)*

Favorite works by Ferruccio Busoni:
*Sonatina 'ad usum infantis Madeline M* Americane', BV268 (1915)
*Sonatina 'in diem nativatitis Christi MCMXVII, BV274 (1917)
*Fantasia after J.S. Bach, BV253 (1909)


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## Piwikiwi

And again I'm going to recommend Dukas and Lily Boilanger's theme and variations are also interesting


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## GioCar

I don't know if these are "masterpieces" or not, but I recently downloaded this recording:










Viktor Ullmann - The Complete Piano Music

I have never heard of him before. He lived in the first half of the last century, he died in Auschwitz in 1944.
He wrote 7 piano sonatas (some of them written when he was in the Theresienstadt Nazi Lager) and I listened to the first 4 so far.
A very interesting and enjoyable listening, particularly the 3rd and the 4th sonata.


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## GreenMamba

William Duckworth's Time Curve Preludes are a personal favorite of mine.


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## Alypius

GioCar said:


> I don't know if these are "masterpieces" or not, but I recently downloaded this recording:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> 
> Viktor Ullmann - The Complete Piano Music
> 
> I have never heard of him before. He lived in the first half of the last century, he died in Auschwitz in 1944.
> He wrote 7 piano sonatas (some of them written when he was in the Theresienstadt Nazi Lager) and I listened to the first 4 so far.
> A very interesting and enjoyable listening, particularly the 3rd and the 4th sonata.


Gio, I saw that on PrestoClassical's "Future Releases". Is it out already? (Perhaps in Europe). In any case, please write up a review / summary whenever you get a chance. I've never heard of the composer before. Thanks.


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## Alypius

GreenMamba said:


> William Duckworth's Time Curve Preludes are a personal favorite of mine.


GM, That's a personal favorite of mine as well. This is the version that I have:


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## GioCar

Alypius said:


> Gio, I saw that on PrestoClassical's "Future Releases". Is it out already? (Perhaps in Europe). In any case, please write up a review / summary whenever you get a chance. I've never heard of the composer before. Thanks.


Yes it is.
I bought it on eclassical.com (the downloading website of the BIS label)
For the time being I could listen to the the first 4 sonatas only. I'm planning to finish it soon, hopefully.
Here is the presentation text from eclassical.com:
"Set up for propaganda purposes as a 'model Jewish settlement', the Theresienstadt concentration camp has become a symbol of the immense cynicism that the Nazi regime was capable of. At the same time, the composers and artists incarcerated there, and their endeavours to continue their creative work under such conditions, have come to be regarded as a shining example of how art can transcend life and its everyday realities. While acknowledging all of this, Christophe Sirodeau in his illuminating liner notes states his own aim in making this recording: 'Viktor Ullmann should be studied and played not as a victim of the Nazis but on his own merits, which in my opinion earn him an illustrious place in twentieth-century music.' Although the release of this two-cd set of Ullmann's piano music coincides with the 70th anniversary of the composer's death, it is thus rather intended as a celebration of his life and work as a composer - from the Schoenberg Variations, which in their very first incarnation saw the light of day in 1929, to Piano Sonata No. 7, completed a few weeks before Ullmann's final deportation and death in Auschwitz. The seven piano sonatas sum up the composer's highly individual style, on the edge of both the traditional tonal system and of Schoenberg's method. The first four, composed in Prague before Ullmann's deportation, pay tribute respectively to Mahler, Janácek, Mozart and, more obliquely, Bartók. But also in the three sonatas that he wrote in Theresienstadt, Ullmann includes references to other composers and compositions. Most impressively this occurs in the Finale of the Seventh, entitled Variations and Fugue on a Hebrew Folksong. The imposing closing fugue also makes conspicuous use of the BACH motif, a Hussite chorale and the Lutheran chorale Nun danket alle Gott, testifying, in Christophe Sirodeau's opinion 'to a desire to reaffirm - faced with the Nazi refusal to accept Jews who had been integrated into German culture for centuries - that he, Viktor Ullmann, was completely devoted to the long-lasting German cultural heritage' - under the circumstances a true composer's gesture of resistance."


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## Alypius

A recent arrival:

*Charles Koechlin, Les heures persanes, op. 65 (1913-1919)*










This is a massive work, over an hour to perform, comprised of 16 vignettes (plus a final coda). Koechlin didn't know Persia from personal experience. It was more imaginary (think of Henri Rousseau's paintings of an Africa of the mind). The titles remind one of Debussy: "Sieste, avant le depart"; "L'escalade obscure"; "A l'ombre, pres de la fontaine de marmbre". The music itself is reminiscent of Debussy and Ravel. There are several performances. I have the one by Michael Korstick on SWR Music from 2008. There is also one on Naxos, and one by Kathryn Stott on Chandos:


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