Tag: Piano concertos

My Favorite Piano Concertos

As we get close to New Years 2022, you will see many countdowns of the 10 or 100 best songs of the year on FM radio; and on the TV networks you may get the 10 or more top news stories of the year. This Classical music blog will give out, in my humble opinion, the top pieces in four different classical music genres on the next four days-Thursday, Friday [New Year’s Eve], Saturday [New Years Day], and Sunday [Jan. 2, 2022]. Of course, they won’t be for this past year as these pieces were composed many years/decades/centuries ago by the masters of classical music.

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Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, I gave my opinion of my four favorite overtures. On Friday, Dec. 31, 2021, I gave my top four violin concertos. On this New Years Day, Jan. 1, 2022, I am announcing my six favorite piano concertos, and tomorrow on Sunday Jan. 2, 2022, it will be my top six Symphonies.

Note: Just after Beethoven, Mozart along with Haydn and Bach, are my favorite composers. So, the fact that I don’t include one of Mozart’s great piano concertos among my top 6 has nothing to do with my lack of loving his piano concertos. The reason is that I just love these 6 so much. In fact, if I made a list of my top 20 piano concertos, Mozart I’m sure would have more in that list than any other composer.

Without further ado, on this Saturday, January 1, 2022, please turn up the volume and listen to this blog’s favorite 6 piano concertos [in reverse order].

6. Robert Schumann: Piano Concerto in A-minor:

5. L. Van Beethoven: Piano Concerto #1 in C-Major:

4. Frederic Chopin: Piano Concerto #1 in E-minor:

3. P.I. Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto #1 in B Flat-minor:

2. Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto #2 in C-minor:

and drum roll please …

#1. L.Van Beethoven: Piano Concerto #5 in Eb-Major, “The Emperor”:

While you may have another top 6, I hope you enjoyed my favorite six piano concertos. Thanks for listening.

Five Beautiful Piano Concerto Movements

Along with the clarinet, the piano is my favorite instrument, and the piano concerto is my favorite genre of classical music.  I love to be in the audience of a concert at Jones Hall with the great Houston Symphony Orchestra when there is a piano concerto on the program.

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There are so many beautiful piano concerto movements, it is hard to pick out the most beautiful of them all.  

But, daring to go where no man has gone, I will attempt to choose the top five most beautiful movements in the piano concerto repertoire. 🙂  Of course, this is my opinion of the top 5 and not meant to be a consensus of classical music experts, whom I certainly do not include myself anywhere near that category. 

In choosing the top 5, I came up, probably by no accident, with five of my favorite composers.   These five composers just happen to be some of the greatest composers in classical music: Chopin, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff and Mendelssohn. There are so many that have just missed the top five I apologize for not including them.

Please turn up the volume and enjoy my choices of the top 5 most beautiful piano concerto movements. I think at least some of them may be included in your favorites.

#5: Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto #2 in D minor, movement 2, Adagio Molto Sostenuto:

#4. Frederic Chopin: Piano Concerto #1 in E minor, movement 2, Romance – Larghetto: 

#3. Fredric Chopin: Piano Concerto #2 in F minor, movement 2, Larghetto:  


#2. Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto #2 in C minor,  Movement 3,  Allegro Scherzando:

#1: L.V. Beethoven: Piano Concerto #5 in Eb Major, “The Emperor”, movement 2, Adagio un poco mosso: 

Whether you agreed with me or not on my picks, I hope you enjoyed some beautiful music.