In your opinion, which composer(s) have written the best music for piano?

Simple question: Which composer's piano music ranks supreme? I think this can also be generalized, in case of time periods before the modern piano existed, to mean harpsichord, etc.

My vote goes for Liszt. His piano concertos are just brilliant, as are his Hungarian Rhapsodies. :D

Discuss!

Concerto - Rachmaninoff

Sonata - Beethoven

Fugue - Bach

Nocturne, Etude - Chopin

Virtuosity - Liszt :lol:

Yeah, I echo John's choices.

Scriabin also has to be put there for some brilliant etudes.

But tops would be Liszt. That guy was just out of this world, I'd say he made the piano his in the way Paganini made the violin his.

chopin= insane piano solos.

Crumb.

4 Replies and no one has mentioned Debussy ?

Prokofiev Sonatas are very powerful, Concerts too.

But I re-vote for Scriabin and Chopin, I'm afraid I don't like Liszt, is Circus music to me (hold the fire here eh!! )

I admit Liszt's earlier material may be viewed as 'circus' or 'virtuoso' music, but his latter compositions really warrant a deeper look. Unfortunately many people probably don't know his later works (he wrote some 1,300 pieces of music!) since all they know is the insane early stuff.

Mahler.

The informed composer would note that Mahler wrote actually no piano music at all, but if you ever tried to play his symphonies on piano, you would understand why I vote Mahler. Just try playing the 3rd Symphony Adagio.

While I wouldn't go so far as to say that the previously mentioned composers aren't the masters of piano music, I do occaisionally enjoy more obscure composers who have some pieces that can rival most. For example Ginastera.

Mahler.

The informed composer would note that Mahler wrote actually no piano music at all, but if you ever tried to play his symphonies on piano, you would understand why I vote Mahler. Just try playing the 3rd Symphony Adagio.

...fail... >.<

Completely beside the point, Tokke.

If transcriptions count I totally vote Jimi Hendrix! Hell yeah!

As a pianist whose repertoire is primarily literature of the 20th century and earlier, I would have to say it would be a tie between:

Bach - His keyboard writing is among the best training for any keyboardist. The emotional content may be a little obscured by the complexity, but I believe it will eventually be found.

Mozart - A great virtuoso of his time. I prefer his random piano solos and his concerti over his sonatas. He was a man who clearly understood the piano, and how to write for it.

Haydn - While apparently never quite a "virtuoso" pianist, his grasp of piano writing was every bit the equal of Mozart's.

Beethoven - While I don't like much of Beethoven's piano music compared to the other composers I've listed, he still gets mad respect from me. Even his "easy" sonatas have quite difficult things about them. He was like the polar opposite of Liszt. I.e. Liszt made much of his music sound harder than it actually is (making it ideal for those in it for the recognition) and while alot of his music is fantastically demanding, it's often not as demanding as one might think. I don't know this necessarily from much personal experience with his music, but rather from others around me (lifelong musicians) who have played alot of Lisz. Beethoven seems to do the very opposite with his music: he wrote music that often sounded quite easy but was actually extrememly difficult to play. His sonatas also have a great emotional depth to them, making them fantastically rewarding to learn.

Chopin and Liszt - Duh. Fantastic to play, if you have the technique, and very emotionally rewarding. Some folks around these parts just have their heads in their butts about them. But that doesn't matter.

Rachmaninoff - Great pianist + great composer = Great piano composer. At least in this case. Nearly on par with Chopin in my opinion.

Overall: Probably my favorite piano composer to play would be Chopin. Favorite to listen to would probably be Rach or Mozart.

Err, Liszt became famous playing Beethoven's late piano pieces which at the time were practically deemed unplayable. The late sonatas are still EXTREMELY difficult pieces in part due to the inclusion of polyphony, up there with best of'em.

@SSC: My apologies, I wasn't being very clear. I was generalizing about Beethoven's sonatas, and primarily meant earlier ones. I don't have much experience with the late sonatas, but I have heard they're ridiculously difficult.

I would say Bach, except technically he didn't write any music for the piano. So putting that aside, Beethoven.

I'm from Hungary so of course another vote for Liszt :D <3

My favs. are Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2, Grand Galop Chromatique, La Campanella...uhh and many more just love it :)

Mozart: Mozart pioneered the form of the Piano Concerto and made it a much more demanding piece than what it was previously. His solo piano work contains some gems but overall pales in comparison to his concerti.

Beethoven: I admire the Concerti. The solo works though are in a class of their own. Definitely one of my votes.

Barber: I learned a great deal from viewing his solo piano works - some gems there.

Liszt: While not one of my favorite composers (too romantic), I do enjoy a few of his piano works.

Debussey: His piano works are a wealth of compositional information that my teachers have almost all made me look at. Definitely worthy of inclusion in this list.

Schumann: I'm surprised noone has put him in this list. His piano music shines over his orchestral works brilliantly.

and finally:

Clementi: His piano works are charming works that are fun to play, i think. Definitely should have place on the list as well - especially considering he also helped in pioneering piano literature and technique.

I second Debussy, really lovely.

Prokofiev (the other one mentioned by SYS) is also really fine, a nice output of 9 sonatas, 5 concerti, and several nice sets, like the Visions Fugutives, real gems :D

And Barber is just awesome. The sonata is marvelous, all movements are great, the 3rd is the most depressing thing I've ever heard. Just love it!, and the Finale is the right counterweight. Fast and insane. A fugue of a genious.

and brahms, not mentioned yet?

It's hard, maybe impossible, there's so much amazing piano music. I'll just have to go with stuff I like then: Ligeti (etudes are fantastic, Musica ricercata, and others), Boulez (everything he writes it's pretty great, including the piano stuff), Debussy (have to jump in on this boat), Cage (prepared piano?), then of course Mozart and Bach (keyboard at least). Those are just my favorites though, there's so much good stuff I would die before I finished listing.

Scarlatti's harpsichord sonatas, Debussy's etudes and Ligeti's etudes are my most favorite favorites. Some of the best keyboard music written. But gahhhh there's so much else that's so good, haha.

Scarlatti? I've always found his music mechanical, and not in an appealing way. You should tell, or better yet, show me why it's so great.

I find it more visceral than "mechanical." I really like the influence of Spanish folk and guitar-like textures in a lot of his stuff; plus stuff like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93CDDdDomQA is really intense when put next to a lot of other baroque keyboard music imo. There's just a wealth of invention and different moods and styles and things in his sonatas that are interesting to me.

Some other favorites from his set of 9287029209:

(Presto) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqqWkx6qe0c Granted this performer is a little far out but it's pretty rough for Scarlatti anyway

(Andante, "The Lover") http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijd5ndU7OX8 It's "emotional"

(Allegrissimo, "Burlesca") http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivo2reV20a8 One of his more stylized pieces, particularly in the second half

I dig it. There's a small connection between his sonatas and Ligeti's etudes in that Ligeti named Scarlatti as one of the composers he "called on for support" when writing them, which I thought was sort of interesting (the other three were Chopin, Schumann and Debussy).

Chopin, Scriabin, Alkan, Bartok, and Sibelius.

Liszt, Debussy, Cage.

I'm not that fond of piano works, but Liszt's have always been favourites of my musical world. I always found entire universes in his rhapsodies and concerti. A certain level of raw virtuosity allows for much more imagination on part of the composer - such an imagination that I find rare in the world of piano music. In comparison everything is dull, simple, and contained. Debussy because I just think he used the piano properly. He didn't create entire worlds, but he often created vivid images for me. Cage because he disturbed the flow and in turn helped others to think more outside the box.

I'm a Chopin-hater, so excuse me. Except the Fantasie-Impromptu and Polonaise op.53, all of his music is so drab to me. It all seems like it's choking and can't adequately open up.

i agree about chopin, he's like keith jarret in a way-brilliant yet choking you with his moods. excuse my ignorance cage first name is?