Chopin or Listz for piano?

[c#minor]

To settle a dispute between a friend and myself i ask the simple question.



Who was the MORE talented composer for piano?



I won't state my view but i definitely have one.   

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

Debussy

[longears]

I can tell you only who I like better:

Chopin

Better yet:

Debussy

Best:

Tie!  Beethoven and Mozart

[EmpNapoleon]

Franz

[Mark]

Liszt.




Or Chopin.

[BachQ]

Liszt

[Solitary Wanderer]

I listened to Liszt's PC's recently and didn't find them as good as Chopin's.

I appreciate that none of them are considered essential, but I thought that Liszt's had too much 'showboating' [he deliberatly wrote them like that of course] and not much depth compared to Chopin's, especially his #2 while scored in a fairly basic way, have more depth and feeling. Check the 2nd movement from #2 for evidence  

[Holden]

Fred

[Brian]

"All of the above"

[12tone.]

Chopin is better for me because of his poetic lyricism. Liszt doesn't have that but rather a harder, more technical flourish.  I don't listen to Liszt much.

[orbital]

I'd prefer to listen to a random Chopin piece any time, any day 

[Dancing Divertimentian]

On any given day: both!

[George]

Chopin, by a country mile. 

[Novi]

I much prefer Chopin in solo repertoire.

I like the Liszt piano concertos more though - nostalgia for the smurfs, perhaps; anyone else remember Gargamel? - but I really don't listen to them very much.

[Mark]

I like the Liszt piano concertos more though - nostalgia for the smurfs, perhaps; anyone else remember Gargamel?

I cannot believe you mentioned The Smurfs and Liszt in the same sentence. That's inspired.

[marvinbrown]

 Difficult to choose really. As piano composers they are different from one another.  Chopin is "delicate" with a hint of melancholia in practically all his piano pieces, piano music suited for salons (small audiences).  Most of all I love his Nocturnes, Ballads, and Polonaises.

 Liszt's piano music is more "bombastic" for lack of a better word, piano music intended for larger audiences...but the man was a BRILLIANT piano player.  His Les Annees de Pelerinage and the Hungarian Rhapsodies are among the best compositions I have heard for the piano.  

 Net Result: Stalemate.

 PS: If I were going to hazard a guess I would say c#minor would have picked Chopin.   Am I right?


 marvin

[sidoze]

  Difficult to choose really. As piano composers they are different from one another.  Chopin is "delicate" with a hint of melancholia in practically all his piano pieces, piano music suited for salons (small audiences).  Most of all I love his Nocturnes, Ballads, and Polonaises.

delicate? Have you heard scherzo 1, scherzo 3, preludes 8, 12, 16, 22, 24, sonata 2, ballade 1, 2, AND THE ETUDES? ? ? ? ?

[marvinbrown]

delicate? Have you heard scherzo 1, scherzo 3, preludes 8, 12, 16, 22, 24, sonata 2, ballade 1, 2, AND THE ETUDES? ? ? ? ?

  Yes I have sidoze I have most of chopin's piano compositions including all those you mention above. Perhaps I have been misunderstood.  By "delicate" (notice how I used parenthesis in my original post) I was refering to Chopin's attention to nuances in music and his overall playing style when compared to Liszt's showmanship, I will withdraw the word if you insist  .


  marvin

[Josquin des Prez]

Chopin.

the man was a BRILLIANT piano player.

Too bad he couldn't compose for shit.

[BachQ]

Too bad he couldn't compose for shit.

Too bad Chopin couldn't orchestrate  ......