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- Rachmaninov – Piano Concerto No.2. This colossus of the piano repertoire topped the annual Classic FM Hall of Fame for the first time in 2001 and hasn’t strayed far since, reaching that No.1 spot an impressive eight times so far, since the chart began in 1996.
- Beethoven – Piano Concerto No.5 (‘Emperor’) We all know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but in this case you absolutely can: Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.5 absolutely lives up to its imperial nickname.
- Grieg – Piano Concerto in A minor. The great Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg only completed one piano concerto during his lifetime, and it has become one of the most recognised in the world (thanks, in part, to the iconic comedy sketch by Morecambe and Wise, and the late André Previn).
- Shostakovich – Piano Concerto No.2. Shostakovich himself downplayed this concerto, saying it had “no redeeming artistic merits”, but audiences have always begged to differ.
- The Work's Origins
- Early Recordings
- Rubinstein et Al
- Kovacevich and Hough
- More Superlative Recordings
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But first let us put this much-recorded (over-recorded?) work in context. Grieg studied, reluctantly, at the Leipzig Conservatory (Arthur Sullivan was a fellow student), telling his biographer in 1881: ‘I must admit, unlike Svendsen, that I left the Leipzig Conservatory as stupid as I entered it. Naturally, I did learn something there, but my indiv...
The earliest recording of any section of the Piano Concerto was made in 1908, a mere eight months after Grieg’s death, by his friend Percy Grainger, who made a 10-inch disc for The Gramophone Company of the first-movement cadenza (APR, 4/11 – how he must have kicked himself for smudging the single A natural, seven notes in!). Strange that one who w...
Arthur Rubinsteinplayed for Grieg. He made four commercial disc recordings of the concerto, once with Ormandy (1942, a best seller in its time) and Dorati (1949), and twice with Wallenstein (1956, 1961). There are several others, including one with Giulini and a DVD performance with Previn (1/89). The Ormandy, with a somewhat lemony sound, is the b...
The recording made just 50 years ago (January 1971) by Stephen Kovacevich(or Bishop as he then was) with Colin Davis and the BBC Symphony Orchestra has acquired the same affectionate status as Lipatti’s. Kovacevich’s articulation in the first movement is exemplary. The horn and woodwind solos are beautifully blended with the soloist’s dialogue, and...
Four recordings supersede the classic Lipatti and Kovacevich accounts. The first is by Howard Shelleyon a Chandos disc that, remarkably, has not only the Grieg Concerto but also the Schumann and Saint-Saëns No 2. All three works are, as is Shelley’s custom, conducted from the keyboard. He inspires some wonderful playing from the Orchestra of Opera ...
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- Jeremy Nicholas
People also ask
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- Jessica Duchen
- Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 – and No. 5 too. Composers have been trying to beat Beethoven for 200 years. Few succeed. Choosing the best of his five piano concertos is an unenviable task – and so I suggest both his Fourth and Fifth concertos as equal crowning glories of the repertoire.
- Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2. Come on, don’t be mean – this concerto is perfect. It’s almost impossible to fault one page, one phrase, one note in one of the greatest piano concertos.
- Mozart: Piano Concerto In C Minor, K491. Mozart’s 27 piano concertos comprise the largest body of piano concertos that are regularly heard in concert halls, although (scandalously) a relatively small handful are regularly performed.
- Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1. This concerto took two different forms – symphony, then two-piano sonata – before settling down as a concerto. It was profoundly affected by the fate of Robert Schumann.
- Claudio Arrau – Beethoven "Moonlight Sonata" Germany, 1970. An absolute mastermind at the piano, the Chilean pianist performed pieces from almost every era throughout his career.
- Ivo Pogorelich – Chopin Sonata No 2 Op 35 in B flat minor. Warsaw, 1980. Many of you will be familiar with the 1980 Chopin Competition 'Pogorelich Affair' when, despite his performances being extremely popular with the watching audience, the pianist was NOT admitted to the final round because of his 'unconventional interpretations'.
- Vladimir Horowitz – Mozart, Schubert, Liszt and more. Wiener Musikverein, 1987. As one comment exclaims, "I'm not the first to make this point, but it bears being made twice.
- Yuja Wang – Cziffra's arrangement for piano of the Flight of the Bumble-Bee (Vol du Bourdon) by Rimsky-Korsakov. Verbier Church, Switzerland, 2008. Oh how we love Yuja!
The greatest piano concertos of all time - Classical Music. Here are some of the greatest piano concertos in the classical repertoire. Immerse yourself in classical music at classical-music.com.
Jun 28, 2023 · 28 June 2023, 11:57. 10 of Rachmaninov’s all-time greatest works. Picture: Alamy. By Rosie Pentreath. @rosiepentreath. Famed for his monstrously difficult but heart-achingly beautiful piano concertos, Sergei Rachmaninov’s music is rich, melodious and endlessly rewarding.
21 best piano concertos ever written. Sign in to create & share playlists, get personalized recommendations, and more. 21 best piano concertos ever written. Playlist •...