Favorite Solo Piano Works

[EigenUser]

I was searching for a thread on this, but I couldn't seem to find one! I am trying to appreciate this genre more. What are your, say, top five solo piano works (any era, any format, etc.)? Give 10 if you must. Even better if you give a reason why for some/all.

In order (as of now):
1. Ravel Le Tombeau de Couperin
Completely perfect in every way. The whole work seems to have a crystal-like clarity.

2. Bartok's Sonata, Sz. 80
Earthy and rough-edged. Not 'perfect' but not intended to be (i.e. a log cabin isn't made from stacks of perfect cylinders, but from uneven trees). Aggressive, but never angry. Even cheerful in it's own way.

3. Ligeti's Etudes
Like a book of M.C. Escher drawings with staircases running in circles and generally impossible geometry. Favorites include "Fanfares", "Cordes a Vide", "Autumn in Warsaw", and "Fem".

4. Messiaen's Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jesus
I cannot comfortably listen to the entire set of 20 (too long for me). Individually (or in small groups), they are wonderful. The first one is Messiaen at his most beautiful and the 10th one was where I first understood what Messiaen meant when he spoke of "bright, stained-glass colors" in his music.

5. Ravel Gaspard de la Nuit
Gloomy and morose, but far from depressing. It's like peering into a dark room full of sparkling jewels. And the unanswered-question ending is one of the creepiest and most unsettling endings ever written. Scarbo disappears back into the shadows (for good, or is he just hiding? ).

[ZauberdrachenNr.7]

Too hard!!   To keep myself outta the loony bin I had to, at the very least, divide 19th and 20th century works.  The intimacy of solo piano compositions makes selection of one's favorites peculiarly challenging (and guilt-laden re: the unchosen ones). 

19th Century

Fauré Nocturnes (latter ones into the 20th)
Schubert Impromptus
Liszt 12 Etudes d'Exécution Transcendante
Brahms Ballades
Schumann Carnaval

20th Century

Heino Eller Preludes
Janáček On an Overgrown Path
Scriabin Etudes (some in 19th)
Debussy Préludes
Bartok Mikrokosmos

[kishnevi]

You are asking me to pick favorite works.  Well that would be the piano works of
Beethoven
Chopin
Debussy
Ravel
Rachmaninov.

Sorry, you will just have let me list five composers.
Although I should squeeze Bach and Monk in there too.

[Artem]

For Bunita Marcus by Feldman
Kreisleriana by Schumann
Preludes, Book 1 by Debussy

Schoenberg solo piano.

I'll have to think of some more.

[EigenUser]

JS Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier & everything else
Grieg, Lyric Pieces
Fauré, Barcarolles & many others
Debussy, Images & many others
Ravel, Miroirs  & many others
Bartók, Out of Doors & others
Stravinsky, Quatre études & others
Webern, Variations
Berg, Piano Sonata
Schoenberg, Op. 11 & others
Messiaen, Bird Catalogue
Boulez, Sonatas
Stockhausen, Klavierstücke
Ligeti, Études
Donatoni, Françoise Variationen

The sonata is my favorite Berg work, by far (and it would make my top 10). So would Bartok's Out of Doors.

No one ever seems to talk about Bartok's solo piano music on here!

[North Star]

The sonata is my favorite Berg work, by far (and it would make my top 10). So would Bartok's Out of Doors.

No one ever seems to talk about Bartok's solo piano music on here!

We're always too busy listening to it
In addition to much of what others have mentioned:

Janáček: In the mist & On the overgrown path
Suk: About Mother
Chopin: Mazurkas
Liszt: Années de pèlerinage
Scriabin: Vers la flamme
Mompou: Música callada
Prokofiev: the 'war' sonatas
Mussorgsky: Pictures
Busoni: Elegies

[Brian]

Here's my "core repertoire" of beloved piano music.
Beethoven: Sonatas 11-18, 21, 23, 25-27, 30-32
Schubert: Impromptus D899
Schubert: Sonatas D664 (in A) and D960 (in B flat)
Schubert: Wanderer Fantasy
Schumann: Fantasie Op 17
Schumann: Fantasiestucke Op 12
Chopin: various mazurkas
Chopin: Ballades
Chopin: Fantaisie in F minor
Liszt: Années de pèlerinage
Liszt: Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude
Brahms: Opp 79 and 117
Blumenfeld: Etude for left hand alone
Rachmaninov: Preludes Opp. 23 and 32
Debussy: Images, Book 1
Ravel: Miroirs
Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit
Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin
A. Tcherepnin: Ten Etudes, Op. 18
Janáček: Sonata 1.X.1905
Gershwin: Songbook
Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues
Kabeláč: Preludes, Op. 30
Mompou: Musica callada
Wild: Seven Virtuoso Etudes on Gershwin Songs
Glass: Suite from "Dracula"
Bolcom: New York Lights
Augusta Gross: various short works

Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk
Charles Mingus: "Myself When I Am Real"

[Dax]

I see nobody has mentioned such repertoire as

Alkan - Solo concerto from the Etudes in minor keys op 39
Szymanowski - Sonata no 3
Godowsky - Passacaglia
Busoni - Fantasia Contrappuntistica
Cage - Sonatas and Interludes
Ives - Concord Sonata

And what about
Medtner
York Bowen
Villa-Lobos
John White (there are 176 piano sonatas)
Grainger
Skalkottas
Sorabji

I'm serious - these would be in my my top dozen or so.

At least Bartok, Scriabin and Ravel have got a mention

[North Star]

Here's my "core repertoire" of beloved piano music.

Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues

DSCH and Alkan, I knew I forgot something..

[Moonfish]

To add to the list:
I know this enters the everlasting instrumental vendetta, but Eigenuser stated "any era, any format"!
I very much enjoy works from the following composers performed on the piano..

Rameau
Couperin
Scarlatti
Haydn


In addition I am shocked that nobody so far has mentioned Mozart....     

Mozart: Piano sonatas

[Drasko]

long list (piano, no harpsichord)

mozart K331
beethoven op.111
schubert D899 & D946
chopin nocturnes & ballades
schumann fantasie op.17
brahms intermezzi op.117
berg sonata
schoenberg op.11
scriabin sonatas 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, op.72, 73, 74
rachmaninov preludes op.32, corelli var.
franck prelude choral et fugue
debussy preludes book I, images, estampes ...
ravel gaspard, miroirs, tombeau
faure nocturnes
satie gnossiennes
albeniz iberia
granados goyescas
janacek sonata 1905
bartok sonata
alkan concerto for solo piano
rzewski people united

specific 5 pieces, irrational choices more than anything

1. Scriabin Sonata No.5
2. Chopin Nocturne Op.48 no.1
3. Debussy Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut
4. Ravel Oiseaux tristes
5. Franck Prelude, choral et fugue

[not edward]

Bénédiction needs a separate mention?

It's from the Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, not the Années de pèlerinage.

I'm honestly not sure what my list would include, beyond the obvious:

Beethoven: last five sonatas
Schubert: last four sonatas
Liszt: Sonata in B minor, various shorter pieces
Alkan: several of the op 39 etudes
Franck: Prelude, choral et fugue
Brahms: late pieces
Faure: Nocturnes
Scriabin: late sonatas; Vers la flamme
Janacek: almost all the mature works
Busoni: Elegies, some of the Sonatinas
Debussy: Preludes, Images, Etudes
Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit
Prokofiev: Sonatas 6 - 8
Nono: ...sofferte onde serene.....
Xenakis: Evryali
Ferneyhough: Lemma-Icon-Epigram
Ligeti; Etudes


The absence of Chopin and Schumann is intentional; they're two of the composers I just don't "get."

[North Star]

It's from the Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, not the Années de pèlerinage.

Ah yes, of course. Silly mistake from me to mix S. 173 & S. 163.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Ten, but it's hard:

1. Liszt: Les jeux d'eau à la Villa d'Este from his third book of Années de pèlerinage (or just get all three books).
2. Prokofiev: Suggestion Diabolique
3. Mozart: Adagio in B minor, K.540
4. Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit
5. Schubert: Wanderer Fantasy (with that sublime central section)
6. Chopin: 3rd Scherzo
7. Beethoven: Op.111 sonata
8. Brahms: Paganini Variations
9. Debussy: Preludes

10. Britten: Introduction and Rondo alla Burlesca for two pianos

[Jo498]

I am cheating a little, but restrict myself to one work per composer

1. Bach WTK, Vol 1 (cheating, if this is too long: the Partita in c minor or the one in D major)
2. Beethoven, Sonata op.109 E major. op.106 or 111, or the Diabellis might be greater but this is the most lyrically beautiful one.
3. Chopin: Ballade Nr. 4 This (and the Polonaise-Fantaisie and to a lesser extent the other Ballades) is a "symphonic poem " for piano, the other essential Chopin for me are the Preludes op.28, so I am cheating again.
4. Schumann: Kreisleriana. Again, very difficult to pick one. Carnaval and the Symphonic Etudes are IMO better for newcomers, the latter is one of the most "classical" pieces by Schumann and Carnaval is entertaining and even flashy. Kreisleriana is a darker and "deeper" piece.
5. Brahms, 3 pieces op.117, the first is serenely beautiful, the others dark and melancholic, for me the easiest of the late Brahms to recommend, although the rest is also great.

[Jo498]

I do not really have a strong preference between books I and II of the WTC. I have a slight preference for book I, but this might be because I know it better. But I would usually recommend book 1 first for a newbie because it is better known, seems more accessible and has the better fugues (II has maybe overall the better preludes). But of course one eventually has to listen to both!

[amw]

Here's a short list of favourites to start with

Alkan - Concerto for solo piano Op. 39/8-10; Grande sonate 'Les quatre âges' Op. 33
Barber - Nocturne (Homage to John Field)
Bartók - Out of Doors; Suite; Dance Suite
Beethoven - Sonatas Op. 2/2, 10, 22, 26, 27, 28, 31, 54, 57, 78, 81a, 90, 101, 106, 109, 110, 111; Diabelli Variations Op. 120
Brahms - Klavierstücke Op. 76, 116, 117, 118 and 119; Ballades Op. 10; Schumann Variations Op. 9; Handel Variations Op. 24
Busoni - Elegies; Sonatinas 1 & 2
Cage - Sonatas and Interludes; Etudes Australes
Chopin - Scherzi 1-4; Ballades 1-4; Preludes Op. 28; Polonaise-Fantaisie Op. 61; Sonatas Op. 35 and 58; Mazurkas; Nocturnes
Curran - Inner Cities
Debussy - Etudes; Preludes I & II; Images I, II & oubliées; Estampes; Khamma; Jeux
Enescu - Sonata Op. 24/3
Fauré - Barcarolles; Nocturnes; Thème et variations
Feldman - For Bunita Marcus
Ferneyhough - Lemma-Icon-Epigram
Finnissy - History of Photography in Sound; Verdi Transcriptions; English Country-Tunes
Grieg - Lyric Pieces
Hindemith - Ludus tonalis
Hummel - Sonatas Op. 13, 81 and 106; Bagatelles Op. 107; Rondo brilliant Op. 109
Ives - Sonatas 1 & 2
Janáček - On an Overgrown Path; 1.X.1905; Intimate Sketches
Kirchner - Nachtbilder; Neue Davidsbündlertänze
Medtner - Sonata Op. 22; Sonate-ballade; Sonata minacciosa; Forgotten Melodies I, II, III
Mendelssohn - Preludes and Fugues Op. 35
Mozart - Sonatas KV 457/475, 533/494, 576
Nielsen - 'Luciferan' Suite; Chaconne
Prokofiev - Sonata 6
Ravel - Miroirs; Tombeau de Couperin; Gaspard de la Nuit
Satie - Preludes; Nocturnes; Sports et divertissements, etc
Schoenberg - Suite Op. 25
Schubert - Sonatas D850, 894, 958, 959, 960; Impromptus & Moments musicaux; Klavierstücke D946
Schumann - Sonata Op. 11; Papillons; Impromptus; Davidsbündlertänze; Fantasiestücke; Etudes symphoniques; Kreisleriana; Fantaisie; Humoreske; Noveletten
Shostakovich - Sonata 2; 24 Preludes Op. 34
Skalkottas - 32 Klavierstücke
Skryabin - Sonatas 8, 9, 10
Stockhausen - Klavierstücke IX, X, XI
Szymanowski - Sonatas 2 & 3; Metopes; Masques; Mazurkas
Tournemire - Préludes-poèmes Op. 58
Ustvolskaya - Sonata 6
Vorišek - Sonata
Xenakis - Mists; Evryali
Young - The Well-Tuned Piano

[Jo498]

I wouldn't recommend WTC to a newbie .. and II is much deeper & richer than I .. it has the very best pieces within the entire cycle. 

Really? Which piece from book II do you find on the level of P&F in e.g. c sharp minor, e flat minor, b minor from book I.
It boils down to personal preference I think, I do not see how most of the fugues from II are deeper and richer, while I admit that some preludes are, mainly because in book I there are still many comparably short and simple "arpeggio" preludes (closer to the original custom of preluding another piece in improvisation) whereas there are more elaborate pieces in book II.

I would probably not recommend it to a newbie either, but EigenUser is an experienced listener and musician, apparently just not so much on the terrain of piano music. So he might as well skip the French suites (for now) and go to the WTC.

[amw]

The d sharp minor, E major, f sharp minor, g sharp minor, b flat minor and B major fugues in II are the equals of any in I (except possibly the b minor, which is unique in Bach's output anyway). As well, the counterpoint in the fugues composed specially for II is much more assured, with none of the occasional awkward voice-leadings or other such moments in many I fugues, though you probably have to be a music student to notice that.

(I will not brook charges of excessive length leveled against the b minor, but some of the other book I fugues do go on a bit excessively... for me the d-sharp minor and a minor in particular. In II only the g-sharp minor approaches that length, and it's a double fugue in a sprightly gigue rhythm whereas both of those rely on a single subject in a fairly broad tempo.)

[Brian]

Chopin Nocturne Op.48 no.1

If I had to name my "favorite" work by Chopin, this might be it.

Mozart's Rondo in A minor should have been on my list.