# I like Chopin. Can you point me to more piano music?



## Mesenkomaha (Jun 24, 2014)

Yes well the title really says it. My go to music is Chopin, particularly the sonatas and nocturnes. I'm trying to expand my romantic era piano listening and have started to include some Debussy (greatly enjoy the Suite bergamasque). I've tried listening to Liszt a few times and just have never been able to get into it. If this makes sense in the world of piano music, I find Liszt's works just too hardcore and heavy (unless I'm just missing his softer, more gentile side).

Anyway, I know you guys can help me find some nice romantic era piano gems.


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## Guest (Oct 11, 2014)

Good places to start based solely on a liking of Chopin: probably Schumann, Brahms, and Faure.


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## Wicked_one (Aug 18, 2010)

John Field's nocturnes.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

*Grieg*: Lyric Pieces (with Gilels, for example) 




Softer *Liszt*: La Lugubre Gondola I-II 



Benediction de Dieu 



Concert Etudes, Liebesträume

Early *Scriabin*:
24 Preludes 



12 Etudes 




*Schumann*: for example
Davidsbündler Tänze - Ugorski´s recording is very original


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## stevens (Jun 23, 2014)

*Rachmaninov*
Schumann


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## Polyphemus (Nov 2, 2011)

Wicked_one said:


> John Field's nocturnes.


John O'Connor on Telarc is the one to get.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

I'd say the most natural steps are to the piano music of Schubert, Liszt, Mendelssohn, and Beethoven. I agree with the suggestions of Rachmaninov and Schumann and Brahms, and Field is a must if it's the nocturnes that you're loving; but I feel you might be most at home with the first four I mentioned. Fauré seems like a bigger step to me, but when you get time do give it a try, because if you enjoy it that's all there is to it!

In particular, you might consider:

- Schubert's Piano Sonatas #19-21 (D. 958, 959, & 960) - Uchida is a popular choice these days, and maybe my choice too (not that I am in a place to judge). You might consider going directly to Kempff because if you like Schubert's solo piano that'll be something you'll want to hear eventually. The truth is that for D. 960 (#21) Richter is my personal choice, but he plays it his own way so that might not be as good for a start. Heck, though, 'sup to you!

- Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words (Lieder ohne Worte) - Barenboim has been the popular choice for a long time. These are quite sweet, and if you enjoy them you might move on to Gilel's disk of Grieg's Lyric Pieces.

- Liszt's Piano Sonata; particularly the recording by Zimerman because I like the other works it's paired with very much (for example, it includes La Lugubre Gondola, mentioned by joen_cph above). I don't personally know what I'm talking about but my sense from listening to more knowledgeable people is that Zimerman gives a solid, reliable rendition of the piano sonata. Another one to consider for the same reasons is Yundi Li's recording. If you wanted to try it with more fireworks, go to Argerich (either in the solo piano box set from DG or on the disk titled "Debut Recital"), but I see that you might want a softer approach, and you might find Pogorelich more to your liking.

- Beethoven wrote a heck of a lot of solo piano music. For the sake of just getting started, coming from Chopin, I feel you won't want to miss the Bagatelles (including the famous "Fur Elise"), probably you want the Brendel recording because anything else will be a bit tougher to get anyway. But there's a very good chance you will enjoy all of the most famous piano sonatas - the ones with the famous nicknames, like Moonlight, Appasionata, Pathétique, Quasi una Fantasia, Pastorale, Tempest, and perhaps especially Waldstein, as well as the last 5, numbers 28-32. For the late ones, a good first disk is Pollini's. For the nicknamed ones, you might start with Gilels but if you're considering buying the individual disks you might consider the probability that some years down the road you'll want the Gilels box. I think my recommendation for the nicknamed ones would be Jandó on Naxos. Naxos is has a reputation for being iffy, but the best judges of piano playing that I know have very nice things to say about Jandó. It's a good place to start at any rate. With Beethoven as with Schubert, you might also consider that if you get into this, you might want the Kempff box someday, so perhaps you should consider starting there.

I'll fill in some of the other recommendations a bit too. For Rachmaninov, probably you want to start with piano concertos #2 & 3, performed by let's say Byron Janis for now. I think you're gonna like Rachmaninoff's music quite well if you get into it. The Preludes (probably the Ashkenazy recording) could be another good place. Chopin didn't write any piano trios, but you might try Rachmaninoff's.

For Schumann, the truth is your guess is as good as mine. I might suggest Schiff's recent disk for ECM, but if you're gonna take my word for anything, don't do it here.

For Brahms, you might look for Lupu. I think that might be a good place to start. If you want to go big, just jump up to the Katchen box. IMO, Brahms is a good place to jump from Chopin into the rest of the repertoire, rather than only solo piano music and piano concertos, which is pretty much all Chopin is famous for. Brahms will seduce you. I'd say you might start with his first piano trio, his piano concertos, and his violin and cello sonatas. That's a lot of good stuff.

Fauré is like Brahms: come for the solo piano if that's your thing, but stay for the chamber music! The Kathrynn Stott set of Fauré's piano music is a bit pricey but I like it very much. No matter what you think of Fauré's piano music, check out the piano quartets and quintets. And, I should probably add, his Requiem, but that's obviously a step further away.

Now that I've thought about it a bit more and I think Fauré's and Brahms's chamber music might actually be the best next step for you - because of their tenderness and beauty - and maybe also Rachmaninoff, for the same reasons, though Rach has some fire in him too. Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn and Liszt are closer to Chopin chronologically, and I still think they're all fine places for you to consider exploring next. Field is a bit obscure but his music is pretty and he influenced Chopin, so that's good too. And if you really want to try some random, rarer stuff, maybe Dussek, Chaminade, Clementi.... If you like Debussy and Fauré, try Ravel and Albéniz for sure, and also Mompou!

Have a good time, man. There's a lot of great music out there for you and you're on your way. Have a _great_ time!


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## OlivierM (Jul 31, 2014)

I've recently made a compilation for colleagues to introduce their ears to the era, so I'll give you the tracklist:
01 - Déodat De Séverac - Cerdana (1908-11) - Les Fêtes, Souvenir De Puigcerda
02 - Georgy Catoire - Cinq Morceaux, Op 10 - 1 - Prélude
03 - Georgy Catoire - Cinq Morceaux, Op 10 - 2 - Capricioso
04 - Jean Cras - Paysages (1917) - Maritime
05 - Cécile Chaminade - L'Ondine, Op 101
06 - Charles-Valentin Alkan - Grande Sonate, 'Les Quatre Âges', Op 33 - 20 ans, Très Vite
07 - Gabriel Pierné - Etude De Concert, Op 13 (1887)
08 - Louise Farrenc - Trente Etudes Dans Tous Les Tons Majeurs Et Mineurs, Op 26 (Sélection) - I
09 - Alexander Glazunov - Idylle, Op 103
10 - Anton Arensky - 6 Esquisses, Op 52 'Près De La Mer' - No 2 Allegro Vivace
11 - Julius Isserlis - Capriccio In A Minor, Op 12
12 - Niels Gade - Piano Sonata In E Minor, Op 28 - Allegretto
13 - Ernest Chausson - Grande Sonate En Fa Mineur - Allegro Scherzando
14 - Emmanuel Chabrier - Dix Pièces Pittoresques (1881) - Menuet Pompeux
15 - Frédéric Chopin - 2 Valses, Op 69 - No 2 En Si Mineur
16 - Charles-Valentin Alkan - Troisième Recueil De Chants, Op 65 - Esprits Follets - Prestissimo
17 - Mili Balakirev - Chopin, Piano Concerto No 1 In E Minor, Op 11 - Romanza, Larghetto


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Schumann, Carnival, Symphonic Etudes, Fantasie in C.

Brahms, Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel.


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

Not quite what the OP is looking for, probably, but here's a list of variations on Chopin's music by other composers:

Jurriaan Andriessen: Variation on a theme of Chopin (Prelude in C minor, Op. 28/20) (for organ)
Jørgen Bentzon: Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 1[6]
Benjamin C. S. Boyle: Variations on a Theme of Chopin (piano; 2002)
Ferruccio Busoni:
Variations and Fugue in Free Form on Chopin's Prelude in C minor (Op. 28/20), Op. 22, BV.213 (piano; 1884)
10 Variations on a Prelude by Chopin, BV.213a (piano; 1922)
Steve Hackett: Variation on a Theme by Chopin (guitar)
Friedrich Kalkbrenner: Variations on a Mazurka by Chopin, Op. 120 (piano)
Federico Mompou: Variations on a Theme of Chopin (piano; 1957)
Zygmunt Noskowski: "From the Life of a Nation": Symphonic Variations on Chopin's Prelude in A, Op. 28/7
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22 (piano; 1903)
Roger Smalley: Variations on a Theme of Chopin (piano; 1988-89)
Rafał Stradomski:
Largo: Variations on a Theme by Chopin (piano; 2000)
Notturno: Variations on a Theme by Chopin (piano; 2004)
Georg Tintner: Variations on a Theme of Chopin (piano)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...by_another_composer#Fr.C3.A9d.C3.A9ric_Chopin

I'm looking forward to tracking down pieces from this page.


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

Schubert's piano sonatas obviously.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Glad to see that with the Debussy, you've expanded your sphere of listening beyond the romantic era!


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

PetrB said:


> Glad to see that with the Debussy, you've expanded your sphere of listening beyond the romantic era!


Being a Drama Queen and having an _excuse_, I can understand why its important for people to like what _I_ like, but why is it important for people to like what_ you _like?

Are _you _a Drama Queen too?


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## TurnaboutVox (Sep 22, 2013)

You've received many thoughtful recommendations already, especially those from Science, which should fit the bill. But - I was also wondering what Liszt you'd tried to listen to? He really did write a phenomenal amount of piano music from original works to transcriptions.

I didn't really cllick with Liszt until I heard his Années de pèlerinage ('Years of Pilgrimage') - three collections of piano miniatures. Years I and II were written between 1848-54 and 1837-49) are especially accessible, poetic and beautiful. Perhaps you could try, for instance the three 'Petrarch Sonnets' from the 'Second Year: Italy' first.

I particularly like Wilhelm Kempff and Jorge Bolet's accounts of these, but Jeno Jando has done a good and inexpensive complete survey more recently.


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

This is an obscure but worthy suggestion. Try this CD of the piano music of Ferdinand Hiller:









The Ballade from the 6 Klavierstucke is not available in professional recording on youtube, but it is a delightful piece. Hiller's music is really nice.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

TurnaboutVox said:


> You've received many thoughtful recommendations already, especially those from Science, which should fit the bill. But - I was also wondering what Liszt you'd tried to listen to? He really did write a phenomenal amount of piano music from original works to transcriptions.
> 
> I didn't really cllick with Liszt until I heard his Années de pèlerinage ('Years of Pilgrimage') - three collections of piano miniatures. Years I and II were written between 1848-54 and 1837-49) are especially accessible, poetic and beautiful. Perhaps you could try, for instance the three 'Petrarch Sonnets' from the 'Second Year: Italy' first.
> 
> I particularly like Wilhelm Kempff and Jorge Bolet's accounts of these, but Jeno Jando has done a good and inexpensive complete survey more recently.


Post was deleted.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Mesenkomaha said:


> Yes well the title really says it. My go to music is Chopin, particularly the sonatas and nocturnes. I'm trying to expand my romantic era piano listening and have started to include some Debussy (greatly enjoy the Suite bergamasque). I've tried listening to Liszt a few times and just have never been able to get into it. If this makes sense in the world of piano music, I find Liszt's works just too hardcore and heavy (unless I'm just missing his softer, more gentile side).
> 
> Anyway, I know you guys can help me find some nice romantic era piano gems.


Scriabin's nocturne for the left hand, Grieg's Lyric Pieces and Ballade, Mendelssohns's Songs with without Words, Schubert's Moments Musicaux, Impromptus, Klavierstcke and some sonatas, Beethoven's op 121 bagatelles, Tchaikovsky's Seasons, Brahms op 117-119, Rachmaninov's preludes, études-tableau and Moments Musicaux, Shostakovich's preludes and fugues. I'll suggest good recordings if you're interested.

One Liszt thing (in a way) which you may enjoy is Hexameron. Chopin collaberated in it with him.


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