Piano Concertos In Order Of Difficulty

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Piano Concertos In Order Of Difficulty

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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.

Grieg Piano Concerto

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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.

Khachaturian Piano Concerto

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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:

  1. Mozart Piano Concerto No 27
  2. Beethoven Piano Concerto No 5
  3. Brahms Piano Concerto No 1
  4. Schumann Piano Concerto
  5. Grieg Piano Concerto
  6. Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No 1
  7. Prokofiev Piano Concerto No 3
  8. Ravel Piano Concerto
  9. Bartók Piano Concerto No 2
  10. 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

  1. Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 20
  2. Brahms – Piano Concerto No. 2
  3. Rachmaninoff – Piano Concerto No. 2
  4. Grieg – Piano Concerto
  5. Schumann – Piano Concerto
  6. Beethoven – Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor”
  7. Prokofiev – Piano Concerto No. 3
  8. Ravel – Piano Concerto (in G major)
  9. Beethoven – Piano Concerto No. 4
  10. Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 23
  11. Bach – Harpsichord Concerto No. 3 (BWV 1054)
  12. Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 21
  13. Rachmaninoff – Piano Concerto No. 3
  14. Tchaikovsky – Piano Concerto No. 1
  15. Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 27
  16. Beethoven – Piano Concerto No. 3
  17. Prokofiev – Piano Concerto No. 2
  18. Ravel – Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
  19. Brahms – Piano Concerto No. 1
  20. Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 24
  21. Rachmaninoff – Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
  22. Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 25
  23. Chopin – Piano Concerto No. 2
  24. Bach – Harpsichord Concerto No. 1 (BWV 1052)
  25. Beethoven – Piano Concerto No. 1
  26. Saint-Saëns – Piano Concerto No. 2
  27. Bartók – Piano Concerto No. 3
  28. Schoenberg – Piano Concerto
  29. Mendelssohn – Piano Concerto No. 1
  30. Shostakovich – Piano Concerto No. 2
  31. Bach – Harpsichord Concerto No. 5 (BWV 1056)
  32. de Falla – Noches en los Jardines de España
  33. Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 22
  34. Chopin – Piano Concerto No. 1
  35. Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 17
  36. Saint-Saëns – Piano Concerto No. 5 “The Egyptian”
  37. Scriabin – Prometheus: The Poem of Fire
  38. Bartók – Piano Concerto No. 1
  39. Bach – Harpsichord Concerto No. 4 (BWV 1055)
  40. Hummel – Piano Concerto No. 3
  41. Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 9 “Jeunehomme”
  42. Prokofiev – Piano Concerto No. 5
  43. Bartók – Piano Concerto No. 2
  44. Shostakovich – Piano Concerto No. 1
  45. Liszt – Piano Concerto No. 1
  46. Busoni – Piano Concerto
  47. Beethoven – Piano Concerto No. 2
  48. Poulenc – Organ Concerto
  49. Prokofiev – Piano Concerto No. 1
  50. Haydn – Piano Concerto No. 11
  51. Bach – Harpsichord Concerto No. 2 (BWV 1053)
  52. Liszt – Piano Concerto No. 2
  53. Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 19
  54. Weber – Konzertstück
  55. Poulenc – Concerto for Two Pianos
  56. Handel – Organ Concerto No. 13 (HWV 295) “The Cuckoo and the Nightingale”
  57. Gershwin – Concerto in F
  58. Ligeti – Piano Concerto
  59. Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue
  60. Ginastera – Piano Concerto No. 1
  61. Bach – Harpsichord Concerto No. 7 (BWV 1058)
  62. Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 26 “Coronation”
  63. Hummel – Piano Concerto No. 2
  64. Chopin – Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante
  65. Ireland – Piano Concerto
  66. Bach – Concerto for Two Harpsichords No. 1 (BWV 1060)
  67. Prokofiev – Piano Concerto No. 4 (for the left hand)
  68. Rachmaninoff – Piano Concerto No. 4
  69. Mendelssohn – Piano Concerto No. 2
  70. Bartók – Concerto for Two Pianos
  71. Vivaldi-Bach – Concerto for Four Harpsichords (BWV 1065)
  72. Rautavaara – Piano Concerto No. 1
  73. Franck – Symphonic Variations
  74. Handel – Organ Concerto No. 14 (HWV 296a)
  75. Medtner – Piano Concerto No. 2
  76. Poulenc – Concert champêtre
  77. Bach – Concerto for Three Harpsichords No. 2 (BWV 1064)
  78. Bach – Concerto for Two Harpsichords No. 3 (BWV 1062)
  79. Tveitt – Piano Concerto No. 4 “Aurora Borealis”
  80. Bach – Concerto for Three Harpsichords No. 1 (BWV 1063)
  81. C.P.E. Bach – Keyboard Concerto in D minor (H 427)
  82. Schumann – Introduction and Allegro Appassionato
  83. Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 7 for Three Pianos
  84. LutosÅ‚awski – Piano Concerto
  85. Rautavaara – Piano Concerto No. 3 “Gift of Dreams”
  86. Vaughan Williams – Piano Concerto
  87. C. Schumann – Piano Concerto
  88. Handel – Organ Concerto op. 4 no. 4 (HWV 292)
  89. Britten – Diversions for Piano (left hand) and Orchestra
  90. Scriabin – Piano Concerto
  91. Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 18
  92. Debussy – Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra
  93. Beach – Piano Concerto
  94. Saint-Saëns – Piano Concerto No. 4
  95. Dvorak – Piano Concerto
  96. Atterberg – Piano Concerto
  97. Carter – Piano Concerto
  98. Rubinstein – Piano Concerto No. 4
  99. Liszt – Totentanz
  100. 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.

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