A piano concerto is a form of concerto that is composed for a pianist and is often accompanied by an orchestra or other big ensemble in the classical music genre. This article critically looks at all about the order of difficulty of piano concerto.
Piano Concertos In Order Of Difficulty (Easiest To Hardest Piano Concertos)
Technical difficulty, stamina difficulty, interpretative difficulty, and difficulty of synchronization with ensemble are all taken into account when talking about Piano concerto’s order of difficulty.
Pianos concerto difficulty is ranked from less difficult (easiest) to extraordinary difficult (hardest).
Grieg Piano Concerto difficulty
Edvard Grieg finished only one concerto, the Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, in 1868. Grieg’s Piano Concerto isn’t difficult at all.
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However, in the 1st and 3rd movements, there are a few tricky, awkward moments. Grieg’s work is also notable for its originality, demonstrating the composer’s peculiarity.
Khachaturian Piano Concerto Difficulty
The Piano Concerto, Op. 38, by Aram Khachaturian was written in 1936. It was his first composition to gain acclaim in the West, and it quickly found its way into the repertoires of many prominent pianists.
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The Khachaturian isn’t difficult. Although the opening movement’s cadenza is a little difficult, the concerto as a whole is very low-key.
Chopin Piano Concerto No 1 Difficulty
Frédéric Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 is a piano concerto written when he was twenty years old in 1830. It was initially performed on 11 October of that year, with the composer as soloist, at the Teatr Narodowy (National Theatre) in Warsaw, Poland, as part of one of his “farewell” concerts before departing Poland.
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The Chopin Piano Concerto No 1 is considered exceedingly tough, especially because it incorporates technological improvements that were revolutionary at the time of Chopin’s composition.
Chopin’s etudes were meant to prepare pianists for the technical difficulties they would encounter in his two concerti. Chopin’s etudes should be practiced before moving on to his concerti.
Best Piano Concerto Slow Movements
The slow movement is generally the middle movement of a piano concerto or sonata from the classical era, providing a period of repose or introspection. Depending on an individual’s choice, there is no best piano concerto slow movement.
List of Piano Concertos
The list of piano concertos could be enormous, in this article, the top 10 piano concertos are listed below:
- Mozart Piano Concerto No 27
- Beethoven Piano Concerto No 5
- Brahms Piano Concerto No 1
- Schumann Piano Concerto
- Grieg Piano Concerto
- Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No 1
- Prokofiev Piano Concerto No 3
- Ravel Piano Concerto
- Bartók Piano Concerto No 2
- Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No 2
Easiest Mozart Piano Concerto
The easiest Mozart piano concerto is the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 17 In G Major (First Movement)
Top 100 Piano Concertos
- Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 20
- Brahms – Piano Concerto No. 2
- Rachmaninoff – Piano Concerto No. 2
- Grieg – Piano Concerto
- Schumann – Piano Concerto
- Beethoven – Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor”
- Prokofiev – Piano Concerto No. 3
- Ravel – Piano Concerto (in G major)
- Beethoven – Piano Concerto No. 4
- Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 23
- Bach – Harpsichord Concerto No. 3 (BWV 1054)
- Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 21
- Rachmaninoff – Piano Concerto No. 3
- Tchaikovsky – Piano Concerto No. 1
- Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 27
- Beethoven – Piano Concerto No. 3
- Prokofiev – Piano Concerto No. 2
- Ravel – Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
- Brahms – Piano Concerto No. 1
- Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 24
- Rachmaninoff – Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
- Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 25
- Chopin – Piano Concerto No. 2
- Bach – Harpsichord Concerto No. 1 (BWV 1052)
- Beethoven – Piano Concerto No. 1
- Saint-Saëns – Piano Concerto No. 2
- Bartók – Piano Concerto No. 3
- Schoenberg – Piano Concerto
- Mendelssohn – Piano Concerto No. 1
- Shostakovich – Piano Concerto No. 2
- Bach – Harpsichord Concerto No. 5 (BWV 1056)
- de Falla – Noches en los Jardines de España
- Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 22
- Chopin – Piano Concerto No. 1
- Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 17
- Saint-Saëns – Piano Concerto No. 5 “The Egyptian”
- Scriabin – Prometheus: The Poem of Fire
- Bartók – Piano Concerto No. 1
- Bach – Harpsichord Concerto No. 4 (BWV 1055)
- Hummel – Piano Concerto No. 3
- Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 9 “Jeunehomme”
- Prokofiev – Piano Concerto No. 5
- Bartók – Piano Concerto No. 2
- Shostakovich – Piano Concerto No. 1
- Liszt – Piano Concerto No. 1
- Busoni – Piano Concerto
- Beethoven – Piano Concerto No. 2
- Poulenc – Organ Concerto
- Prokofiev – Piano Concerto No. 1
- Haydn – Piano Concerto No. 11
- Bach – Harpsichord Concerto No. 2 (BWV 1053)
- Liszt – Piano Concerto No. 2
- Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 19
- Weber – Konzertstück
- Poulenc – Concerto for Two Pianos
- Handel – Organ Concerto No. 13 (HWV 295) “The Cuckoo and the Nightingale”
- Gershwin – Concerto in F
- Ligeti – Piano Concerto
- Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue
- Ginastera – Piano Concerto No. 1
- Bach – Harpsichord Concerto No. 7 (BWV 1058)
- Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 26 “Coronation”
- Hummel – Piano Concerto No. 2
- Chopin – Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante
- Ireland – Piano Concerto
- Bach – Concerto for Two Harpsichords No. 1 (BWV 1060)
- Prokofiev – Piano Concerto No. 4 (for the left hand)
- Rachmaninoff – Piano Concerto No. 4
- Mendelssohn – Piano Concerto No. 2
- Bartók – Concerto for Two Pianos
- Vivaldi-Bach – Concerto for Four Harpsichords (BWV 1065)
- Rautavaara – Piano Concerto No. 1
- Franck – Symphonic Variations
- Handel – Organ Concerto No. 14 (HWV 296a)
- Medtner – Piano Concerto No. 2
- Poulenc – Concert champêtre
- Bach – Concerto for Three Harpsichords No. 2 (BWV 1064)
- Bach – Concerto for Two Harpsichords No. 3 (BWV 1062)
- Tveitt – Piano Concerto No. 4 “Aurora Borealis”
- Bach – Concerto for Three Harpsichords No. 1 (BWV 1063)
- C.P.E. Bach – Keyboard Concerto in D minor (H 427)
- Schumann – Introduction and Allegro Appassionato
- Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 7 for Three Pianos
- LutosÅ‚awski – Piano Concerto
- Rautavaara – Piano Concerto No. 3 “Gift of Dreams”
- Vaughan Williams – Piano Concerto
- C. Schumann – Piano Concerto
- Handel – Organ Concerto op. 4 no. 4 (HWV 292)
- Britten – Diversions for Piano (left hand) and Orchestra
- Scriabin – Piano Concerto
- Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 18
- Debussy – Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra
- Beach – Piano Concerto
- Saint-Saëns – Piano Concerto No. 4
- Dvorak – Piano Concerto
- Atterberg – Piano Concerto
- Carter – Piano Concerto
- Rubinstein – Piano Concerto No. 4
- Liszt – Totentanz
- Scharwenka – Piano Concerto No. 4
Conclusion
Piano concertos are ranked in order of difficulty from easiest (less difficult) to hardest (extraordinarily difficult). The criteria for this difficulty of any concerto depends on its technical, stamina, interpretative, and synchronization complexities.