Search results
- Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Top Keyboard Hits: Prelude in C Major. Prelude and Fugue in C Minor. Goldberg Variations. Best Known For: His religious music and, specifically for keyboard music, his counterpoint—multiple interwoven lines of music arranged in complex, creative, and clever ways.
- Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1752) Top Keyboard Hits: Sonata in D Minor, Kk. 1 “Cat Fugue” (Sonata in G Minor, K. 30) Keyboard Sonata in D Minor, K. 141. Best Known For
- Muzio Clementi (1752-1832) Top Keyboard Hits: 6 Progressive Sonatinas, Op. 36, nos. 1-6. Sonata Op. 25, no.5. 24, no. 2. Best Known For: Charming, beginner-friendly piano sonatinas that sound impressive.
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Top Piano Hits: Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major (“Rondo alla turca”/”Turkish March”) Piano Sonata No. 16 in C Major (“Sonata facile”)
- Who Wrote The Music For The Piano?
- The Melody
- The Accompaniment
- A Minor Key
- A Sense of Hope
- Repetitive Structure
The Piano soundtrack is by English minimalist composer Michael Nyman, who wrote a fittingly captivating and affecting score for the film. The main theme, which is evocatively titled ‘The Heart Asks Pleasure First’, is especially memorable and enchanting. Hauntingly familiar every time you hear it after first discovery, it seems to stay with you and...
A film about somebody using music as a tool to communicate with the world was destined to have a powerful soundtrack. Composer Michael Nyman wrote a simple, memorable and ravishingly beautiful piano melody for The Piano’s theme music.
While the right hand of the piano in Nyman’s theme is accentuating that beautiful, lyrical melody, the pianist is also tasked with swirling semiquavers (sixteenth notes) that create a mesmerising minimalisttexture underneath, and a deep sense of unease.
And it’s in a minor key, which reinforces the uncertainty and longing in the music. The melody and accompaniment together breathe and yearn for love and resolution, echoing the plot of the film. Read more: 10 of the most iconic uses of classical music in film
As Nyman’s musical theme progresses, it reaches a second section that sounds more uplifting and resolute, and every time it comes along it evokes an irresistible feeling of hope. The way the theme music builds and builds also keeps the ear hooked, and creates a wonderful sense of elation. While the pianist busies themselves with the expressive melo...
The way the main melody in the theme keeps circling back makes the piece feel like a never-ending loop of music. Couple that repetitiveness with the minimalist semiquavers, and it becomes a hypnotic and mesmerising experience. And it’s music that you simply can’t get out of your head. We’re lucky it’s such a gorgeous melody, else that might not be ...
- Lang Lang. Born in 1982, Chinese pianist Lang Lang began piano lessons at the young age of three and only two years later gave his first recital. At age 13, he took first prize at the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition for Young Musicians in Japan which drew considerable attention and was the start of a very successful career.
- Franz Liszt. Another well-known piano player was the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt. Liszt revolutionized piano recitals not only with his performance energy but the position he used while playing as he was the first to perform side-on to the audience so that his hands were visible.
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. As a composer, Mozart needs no introduction and is one of the most well-known and prolific composers of the classical era. But, he was also an incredible pianist and was performing for audiences at the age of 5 and was considered by many as a child prodigy.
- Claude Debussy. One of the most famous French composers and pianists, Claude Debussy, began studying the piano at the age of 7. He showed great promise, and by the time he was ten years old, he began studying at the Paris Conservatoire.
People also ask
Who wrote the music for the piano?
Who are the most famous piano composers?
Who is the best pianist in the world?
What did all the famous piano players have in common?
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. If you asked people on the street who is the best pianist in the world, most of them would probably say Mozart. And that’s because Mozart is arguably one of the most famous piano players in history.
- Frédéric Chopin. Frédéric Chopin was one of the most important figures of the Romantic era. In fact, the Polish virtuoso pianist is also one the greatest pianists that ever lived.
- Ludwig van Beethoven. Ludwig van Beethoven is also among the most famous pianists of all time. His compositions are an integral part of every piano school curriculum.
- Franz Schubert. Although he wasn’t well-known during his lifetime, Franz Schubert is now regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time. And many famous pianists cited him as an inspiration or praised him, including Brahms, Schumann, and Mendelssohn.
- Ludwig van Beethoven. As the resounding notes of his most famous symphonies, the name Ludwig van Beethoven echoes across the halls of music history as one of the most famous piano composers.
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Since his 1756 birth in Salzburg, Austria, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has enchanted classical music fans around the world. The famous piano composer was a musical prodigy who composed his first composition at age five, leaving us in awe of his extraordinary abilities and forever being known as one of the fathers of classical music.
- Johann Sebastian Bach. The musical prodigy and famous composer of the Baroque era, Johann Sebastian Bach, was born in Eisenach, Germany, in 1685. Several decades after his death, Bach’s talent as an organist and composer is still unmatched.
- Frédéric Chopin. Frédéric Chopin, the poetic genius hailing from Warsaw, Poland, was born in 1810 and is one of the most famous composers from the romantic era.
Piano Musical artist Paul Wittgenstein (November 5, 1887 – March 3, 1961) was an Austrian-American concert pianist notable for commissioning new piano concerti for the left hand alone, following the amputation of his right arm during the First World War.
Who were the greatest pianists of all time? We asked 100 leading pianists for their favourites. Discover the great performers with BBC Music
