First "Classical" Piano Pieces.

Dear Friends,

In the Hifi Corner discussion recently turned towards torturing programmes for amps, ans as it was one of my Threads (A Thought To Good Not To Share.), things soon enough veered from the Hifi to music! One or two folk wanted some recomendations for good introductory works played om the piano, in the classical repertoire - a huge areas of course - and so I will suggest a few things and perhaps some others would like to post their own favourites, which also fulfill the need to be fine "as introductory music in the classical way" played on the piano.

Erik Satie: Three Gymnopedes. (Naxos have a good Satie recital out at budget price).

Greig: Any thing! Greig was a great miniaturists, and his most beautiful efforts were wrttien for the piano and generally for amateurs to play. The Sonata is much harder to grasp at first. (Again Naxos have a superb series of the complete piano music under way).

Chopin: Walzes. Lipatti on EMI, is a fine starting point here though the recording is mono. I hope some will broaden the Chopin recomendations here. It is a real black hole for me, and could hardly be less like nold JSB!

Liszt: The Sonata (in B minor?) contains the famous Funeral March. Again I hope some who enjoy the romantic repertoire will broaden this. It really is NOT my favourite area.

Beethoven: The named Sonatas are all good value as a starting point, with the thought that the Hammerklavier is definately not a starting point! oncce you start on this you will definately proceed over the years to investigate the whole 32 Sonatas, but I would suggest also looking at the Piano Concertos. Stephen Bishop Kovasovich made a superb set in the 1960s with Colin Davies, which is permannently in the catalogue. Not only is iit, by now in the budget price bracket, but the set is still among the very best.

Schubert: Impromtus. Get Perahia. This is splendid, and will cause you to get further into Schubert. The Marches miltaires are splendid fun ( and not the least military!) as well. My favourites here are Schnabel, Artur and Karl Ulrich - father and son respectively, who make a wonderful duo - and the 1930's recordings are surprisingly fresh. Actuallly both Schnabel and Edwin Fischer made absolutely winning sets of the Impromtus as well, done in 1950 and 1938 respectively, so you may want to take a view on the old recording as compared to the modern very fine digital for Perahia... Of course this barely scratches the surface of Schubert's output for piano. Of the sonatas the big on in B flat D 960 is splendid as a more demanding starting point, and here I would recomemnd Clifford Curzon on Decca.

Haydn wrote a huge quantity of piano Sonatas, and they are a ceasely source of fascination to me. The best thing if you have enough determination is to get McCabe's set on Decca, but the scale of it may be offputting. It does contain amongst the best keyboard performances on record of this charming, beautiful music, which actually is just as profound at times as anything by Beethoven or Schubert, but always in relatively short (10 or 21 minutes usually) pieces.

Mozart: I have never quite got the same pleasure from these Sonatas (as a whole) as I do from Haydn, but they6 are plentifully available. The Turkish Rondo is the Finale to the Sonata in A major, KV 331. This will as fine an entry point as eny in my view. Also there is a charming set of variations on what is known in the Anglo-phone world as Twinkle, Twinkle Little star..." called Twelve Variations on, "Ah, vous diria-je Mamoan." Look out Haskils performance (in stereo!) on DG, which is coupled with the piano Concertos Nos 13 and 20. Thirteen is charming, while 2o is terrifying in musical terms. The time when the content almost bursts the classical framework with its intensity.

Bach: Now I have general problem with the iano in Bach, even though others will consider it the instrument of choice, I still retain the view that mostly Bach goes better on the Harpsichord. So I shall be very specific in the performances here, as these really are fine, and transcend the fact they arfe on the wrong instrument! Saint Anne Prelude and Fugue, in E flat (arr Busoni) played by Edwin Fischer (on Pearl and recorded in 1934). Partita Number One in B flat played by Dinu Lipatti on EMI and recorded in 1950. This last is a recording of a selection of Bach, Scarlatti, Mozart and Schubert, which ought to be obtained as it will give pleasure to anyone with an ear to hear! EMI have it out in the Great Recording Of The Century series at the moment, so my older transfer number will not help! This I think will be among the finest starting points!

I hope other will broaden the above recomendations, and really I hope people will refrain from general compare and contrast type discussions, and stick to "their " favourite introductory piano recordings, to help other dip thier toes, as it were, into this lovely and most varied field.

Sincerely, Fredrik Fiske