10 favourite 'Lesser-known' piano concertos

[vandermolen]

Lennox Berkeley: (for 2 Pianos)
Bliss: Piano Concerto
Cyril Scott: No.1
Hayasaka
Rawsthorne: No.2
Stanley Bate: Piano Concerto No.2
Egge: No.2
Rubbra Piano Concerto
Gordon Jacob: For Three Hands
Chisholm: No.1

[Brian]

Oooh, fun one. Also I wonder where the boundary lies between more- and less-known! Does Saint-Saens 3 count? What about Britten? (Bonus: What about "Diversions"?)

Alkan - for Solo Piano
Englund - No. 1
Hahn - Concerto
Hurnik - Double Concerto (oboe and piano) (primarily for oboe, it's sort of like a role reversal of the Shostakovich piano/trumpet concerto, so perhaps it does not count)
Ireland - Concerto
Massenet - Concerto
Paderewski - Concerto
Rautavaara - No. 3 "Gift of Dreams"
Ries - "Greetings to the Rhine"
Szymanowski - Symphonie concertante

Bonus:
Tchaikovsky - I like No. 2 and Concert Fantasy better than No. 1!

[vandermolen]

Oooh, fun one. Also I wonder where the boundary lies between more- and less-known! Does Saint-Saens 3 count? What about Britten? (Bonus: What about "Diversions"?)

Alkan - for Solo Piano
Englund - No. 1
Hahn - Concerto
Hurnik - Double Concerto (oboe and piano) (primarily for oboe, it's sort of like a role reversal of the Shostakovich piano/trumpet concerto, so perhaps it does not count)
Ireland - Concerto
Massenet - Concerto
Paderewski - Concerto
Rautavaara - No. 3 "Gift of Dreams"
Ries - "Greetings to the Rhine"
Szymanowski - Symphonie concertante

Bonus:
Tchaikovsky - I like No. 2 and Concert Fantasy better than No. 1!

Thanks and interesting list.
I like the Rautavaara as well but prefer Ireland's 'Legend' to the better known PC. +1 for Englund.

[Brahmsian]

Paderewski - Concerto

Bonus:
Tchaikovsky - I like No. 2

Hope you are doing well, Brian! 🙂

Yup, agree about the Paderewski. Terrific work that I have heard live.

And I do absolutely love especially the middle movement of Tchaikovsky's 2nd piano concerto!

[André]

Arnold: concerto for 2 pianos, 3 hands
Ginastera, concerto no 1
Wiklund concertos 1 and 2
Rosenberg, concertos 1 and 2
Scharwenka, concertos 2 and 3
Panufnik
Szymanski

[springrite]

I will just add a few more to what's already been mentioned:

Emil von Sauer PC 1, 2
Bortkiewicz PC 1, 2, 3
Ignaz Brull

[Symphonic Addict]

Some have been superb discoveries:

Mosolov 1
Benoit
Alnaes
Boeck
Bacewicz
Levina 2
Mathieu 4
Carwithen
Vine 1
Papandopulo 3

[Symphonic Addict]

Lennox Berkeley: (for 2 Pianos)
Bliss: Piano Concerto
Cyril Scott: No.1
Hayasaka
Rawsthorne: No.2
Stanley Bate: Piano Concerto No.2
Egge: No.2
Rubbra Piano Concerto
Gordon Jacob: For Three Hands
Chisholm: No.1

I think there are too many non-British composers on your list, Jeffrey. 

[vandermolen]

Arnold: concerto for 2 pianos, 3 hands
Ginastera, concerto no 1
Wiklund concertos 1 and 2
Rosenberg, concertos 1 and 2
Scharwenka, concertos 2 and 3
Panufnik
Szymanski

Oh yes, the Arnold - great work and great fun - I could have included that. I hardly know the Rosenberg although I love his symphonies 2 'Grave', 3 and 6.

[vandermolen]

Some have been superb discoveries:

Mosolov 1
Benoit
Alnaes
Boeck
Bacewicz
Levina 2
Mathieu 4
Carwithen
Vine 1
Papandopulo 3

Interesting list Cesar, I know and like several of those including ones by Mosolov, Levina, Carwithen and Papandopulo No.3 but need to give them another listen.
Thanks for all replies - read with much interest.

[vandermolen]

I think there are too many non-British composers on your list, Jeffrey. 

Haha, yes, I realised that as soon as I posted it Cesar! It looks a bit nationalistic - but that's not my thing at all, really.
I'm very fond, for example, of Bliss's big PC (and I like his shorter PC as well). It is not a 'great' work IMO but I find something very endearing about it and often return to it and find sections of it (climax of first movement) both moving and inspiriting. Anyway, they are not all British - one of my favourites is the one by Hayasaka and there is Egge No.2 and Chisholm is Scottish! 

[pjme]

Can I suggest totally unknown concerti? Often in dated recordings and performances....

Belgian:

Theo Ysaÿe (Eugène's brother): composed in 1907 - gorgeous, late romantic schmalz and brillance.
https://youtu.be/zlPBFDNEvQ4

René Defossez (Spa, 4 oktober 1905 - Etterbeek, 20 mei 1988): concerto composed in 1951. Tonal, very dynamic and energetic in the fast movements. A "religioso" slow movement adds gravitas. Defossez is a conductor/composer well acquainted with Bartok, Prokofiev and Stravinsky.
https://youtu.be/udHa9eWFRGo

Jean Louel (Ostend 1914 - Nijvel 2005): concerto nr. 2 (1945). A short (ca 15 mins.), quasi expressionist , quite angry work. Louel, also a respected conductor, knows how to create tension. Echoes of Bartok, Prokofiev and Ravel.
https://youtu.be/2ICG5ilSKgA

And, for those who, like me,  like Peter Mennin's mighty pianoconcerto two concerti by Czech composers .

Petr Eben. Concerto (1960-1961)
https://youtu.be/iiWJBpRB5f4
Jindrich Feld. Concerto (1973) written for Bozena Steinerova.
https://youtu.be/t8A4xr0MSX0

Both works are very percussive, glitter often with spectacular pianistic athletics and combine intense sadness with rage.
Eben's concerto is only slightly gentler than Feld's powerhouse.

A recent and very gentle French discovery is Jean Jacques Grünenwald's (2 February 1911 – 19 December 1982) Concerto d'été for piano and strings (1944). It should appeal, I think, to those who like Poulenc, Damase, Ibert.

https://youtu.be/E7JESeDWUS4

And this hot, Columbian swinging fantasy! Homenaje a Ginastera by Hector Gonzalez. Fun!
https://youtu.be/8s-qZ9yPBPs

[André]

Some have been superb discoveries:

Mosolov 1
Benoit
Alnaes
Boeck
Bacewicz
Levina 2
Mathieu 4
Carwithen
Vine 1
Papandopulo 3

The Mathieu 4 is on its way, should be here any day. All the others on your list are totally unknown for me !

[vandermolen]

Absolutely pjme. I'm happy for anyone to suggest any PC. Interesting list and thanks to all for the thoughtful suggestions.

[Brahmsian]

The Mathieu 4 is on its way, should be here any day. All the others on your list are totally unknown for me !

I had the pleasure about ten years ago hearing the Mathieu 4 live in concert with Alain Lefévre at the piano. A marvelous work!

[André]

I had the pleasure about ten years ago hearing the Mathieu 4 live in concert with Alain Lefévre at the piano. A marvelous work!

As for me, I saw him play Mathieu's Concerto de Québec around the same time  . He is a very sensitive artist.

[Jo498]

For me the pieces that come to mind rather fall among the genre Hurwitz also recently had a video on, namely concert pieces often not explicitly called concerto, typically a bit shorter (15-20 min). They are usually from famous composers but have somewhat fallen out of favor (or were never all that popular)

Weber: Concert piece f minor
Schumann: Introduktion & Allegro appassionato (Concert piece) op.92
Liszt: Totentanz
Franck: Symphonic Variations
Strauss: Burleske
Dohnanyi: Variations on a nursery song

Also (regular concertos)
Mosolov op.14
Schulhoff ("alla Jazz")
Blacher Nr. 2
Stravinsky Piano and winds

[pjme]

Excellent selection Jo. And I'm particularly happy to see Stravinsky's Concerto for piano and winds in your list.
As for shorter pieces, I think of the many "Ballades" and "Fantaisies" that were popular in 19th century France.

There's quite a list of compositions that I love:
Fauré:
Ballade pour piano et orchestre, Op. 19
Fantaisie pour piano et orchestre en sol majeur, Op. 111
Debussy:
Fantaisie (1890).
Max d'Ollone : Fantaisie (1897)
Paul Le Flem: Fantaisie (1911)
Charles Koechlin's darkly romantic Ballade opus 50
Louis Vierne wrote a beautiful Poème for piano and orchestra opus 50 (the opening measures are pure magic...)

[Jo498]

I only know the Faurè and Debussy of the ones you mention and neither very well but did forget about them. There seems to be another somewhat jazz-inspired (but more in the Stravinskian than Gershwin mode) somewhere in my head but I am not sure. I thought de Falla, but that's harpsichord! Among somewhat well known composers Francaix, Poulenc, Honegger, Roussel, Tcherepnin also have shortish pieces/"concertini", also Janacek. Hurwitz does have a point that quite a few of such shorter concertante pieces are comparably neglected.

[Sergeant Rock]

George Lloyd Piano Concertos Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4
Fartein Valen Piano Concerto op. 44

Sarge