Can You Recommend Some Beautiful Piano Music?
January 29, 2022 12:40 PM Subscribe
Can you tell me some beautiful piano music you love?
Lately I have really enjoyed listening to people playing the piano. All kinds of different stuff.... Chopin, Erik Satie, Lorenzo Masoto, Nils Frahm, Akira Kosemura. Here's two of my favourites:
Jenny Lin playing Philip Glass
Hania Rani in concert
I would love to hear about more pianists and piano music, especially if the music is available to hear on Youtube and to buy on Bandcamp.
Lately I have really enjoyed listening to people playing the piano. All kinds of different stuff.... Chopin, Erik Satie, Lorenzo Masoto, Nils Frahm, Akira Kosemura. Here's two of my favourites:
Jenny Lin playing Philip Glass
Hania Rani in concert
I would love to hear about more pianists and piano music, especially if the music is available to hear on Youtube and to buy on Bandcamp.
Vladimir Horowitz : The Last Romantic
A wide variety of beautifully wrought music, many different tempos and timbres throughout . Chopin, Schumann, Scriabin, Chopin, Liszt
The opener Bach/Busoni is amaaaaaaazing
Enjoy!
posted by armoir from antproof case at 1:00 PM on January 29, 2022
A wide variety of beautifully wrought music, many different tempos and timbres throughout . Chopin, Schumann, Scriabin, Chopin, Liszt
The opener Bach/Busoni is amaaaaaaazing
Enjoy!
posted by armoir from antproof case at 1:00 PM on January 29, 2022
Two current favorites for me:
Martha Argerich playing Chopin Nocturnes
especially at 09:41 - Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1
Alfred Brendel playing the Beethoven Piano Sonatas.
posted by caseyblu at 1:08 PM on January 29, 2022 [3 favorites]
Martha Argerich playing Chopin Nocturnes
especially at 09:41 - Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1
Alfred Brendel playing the Beethoven Piano Sonatas.
posted by caseyblu at 1:08 PM on January 29, 2022 [3 favorites]
Lubomyr Melnyk
Excerpt from Continuous Music
posted by lloquat at 1:13 PM on January 29, 2022 [2 favorites]
Excerpt from Continuous Music
posted by lloquat at 1:13 PM on January 29, 2022 [2 favorites]
All the solo piano albums by Deaf Center's Otto Totland are hauntingly beautiful. if you like them, check out Olafur Arnalds next, especially if you like Nils.
posted by softlord at 1:21 PM on January 29, 2022
posted by softlord at 1:21 PM on January 29, 2022
You need Vikingur Olafsson. He also recorded the Glass Etudes, and that album and everyone thereafter has been a smash hit. This piece from his Bach album is my favourite of his.
Alice Sara Ott
Evgeny Kissin (make sure you listen to The Lark on this album)
Yekwon Sunwoo, Youtube page (his Mozart is amazing too)
Gabriela Montero - Venezuelan classical pianist who improvises!
Faure Nocturnes, Field Nocturnes (Field inspired Chopin's nocturnes)
Wigmore Hall features a lot of piano solo and piano chamber music (and others) regularly
Tori Amos instrumental album (has other instruments too)
Piano music by women composers (Spotify)
Also be sure to watch out for International Piano Day on March 29, 2022. LOTS of stuff will be happening to get your piano on. Deutsche Grammophon usually features a few of their recording artists, so it's a good way to get exposure to a bunch of different pianists.
posted by foxjacket at 1:38 PM on January 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
Alice Sara Ott
Evgeny Kissin (make sure you listen to The Lark on this album)
Yekwon Sunwoo, Youtube page (his Mozart is amazing too)
Gabriela Montero - Venezuelan classical pianist who improvises!
Faure Nocturnes, Field Nocturnes (Field inspired Chopin's nocturnes)
Wigmore Hall features a lot of piano solo and piano chamber music (and others) regularly
Tori Amos instrumental album (has other instruments too)
Piano music by women composers (Spotify)
Also be sure to watch out for International Piano Day on March 29, 2022. LOTS of stuff will be happening to get your piano on. Deutsche Grammophon usually features a few of their recording artists, so it's a good way to get exposure to a bunch of different pianists.
posted by foxjacket at 1:38 PM on January 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
George Winston, Variations on the Kanon, from his December album.
posted by SPrintF at 1:45 PM on January 29, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by SPrintF at 1:45 PM on January 29, 2022 [2 favorites]
The soundtrack to Pride & Prejudice has a lot of pretty piano. It's not just because I really like this movie.
posted by Bee'sWing at 2:37 PM on January 29, 2022
posted by Bee'sWing at 2:37 PM on January 29, 2022
Robert Haigh - good starting points: The Silence of Ghosts, Anonymous Lights
posted by remembrancer at 2:38 PM on January 29, 2022
posted by remembrancer at 2:38 PM on January 29, 2022
Ólafur Arnalds has strong connections to Nils Frahm and both get compared or linked to Hania Rani frequently. Arnald's For Now I am Winter is pretty superb.
This might be a stretch, but given what you've listed, you might really like Deep Breakfast, and possibly Shigeo Sekito's Special Sounds albums.
I prefer her more synthesizer based work, but Suzanne Ciani has a pretty wide catalog with loads of piano-centric albums that might be worth exploring.
posted by furnace.heart at 2:43 PM on January 29, 2022
This might be a stretch, but given what you've listed, you might really like Deep Breakfast, and possibly Shigeo Sekito's Special Sounds albums.
I prefer her more synthesizer based work, but Suzanne Ciani has a pretty wide catalog with loads of piano-centric albums that might be worth exploring.
posted by furnace.heart at 2:43 PM on January 29, 2022
Song of Youth - Agathe Backer-Grondahl
At the Cradle - Edvard Grieg
Fantasie Negre - Florence Price
Le Tombeau De Couperin - Maurice Ravel
posted by saladin at 2:56 PM on January 29, 2022
At the Cradle - Edvard Grieg
Fantasie Negre - Florence Price
Le Tombeau De Couperin - Maurice Ravel
posted by saladin at 2:56 PM on January 29, 2022
Ludovico Einaudi is one of my favourites. The album of his I love the most continues to be Le Onde, but his most recent album (just came out) is fantastic as well and is also on YouTube. (In fact, a lot of his albums are available in full on his YouTube channel. Not all of them are solo piano, mind.)
posted by sailoreagle at 3:10 PM on January 29, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by sailoreagle at 3:10 PM on January 29, 2022 [7 favorites]
A friend is on about Max Richter.
posted by k3ninho at 4:09 PM on January 29, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by k3ninho at 4:09 PM on January 29, 2022 [2 favorites]
I'd check out work by Joep Beving and Nils Frahm.
Can't speak to their availability on the platforms you mentioned but I'm sure they must have *some* media there. They're both great pianists (to my ear, at least) but have trended more toward more experimental electronic music lately. Earlier stuff more pianoey: Beving I recommend the album 'Solipsism' and Frahm, 'Screws'.
Hope you like them!
posted by rhooke at 4:45 PM on January 29, 2022
Can't speak to their availability on the platforms you mentioned but I'm sure they must have *some* media there. They're both great pianists (to my ear, at least) but have trended more toward more experimental electronic music lately. Earlier stuff more pianoey: Beving I recommend the album 'Solipsism' and Frahm, 'Screws'.
Hope you like them!
posted by rhooke at 4:45 PM on January 29, 2022
It's a little seasonal but I adore George Winston's "December."
posted by intrepid_simpleton at 5:21 PM on January 29, 2022
posted by intrepid_simpleton at 5:21 PM on January 29, 2022
I love Chilly Gonzalez, especially the albums Solo Piano and Solo Piano II. I hope you enjoy him, too!
posted by luzdeluna at 5:27 PM on January 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by luzdeluna at 5:27 PM on January 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
This is a phenomenal performance of Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2. Marvelous piano and absolutely gorgeous music. Youtube!
posted by Dolley at 5:32 PM on January 29, 2022
posted by Dolley at 5:32 PM on January 29, 2022
Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou
Jon Hopkins
... and perhaps surprisingly, Aphex Twin
posted by scruss at 6:31 PM on January 29, 2022 [3 favorites]
Jon Hopkins
... and perhaps surprisingly, Aphex Twin
posted by scruss at 6:31 PM on January 29, 2022 [3 favorites]
Rondo Capriccioso by Mendelsohn. My mom played this when I was a kid. The melody in the left hand at 3:21 brings me to tears.
Here is a recording of my brother playing The Legend of St. Francis Walking on the Waves by Liszt
Rachmaninoff's Liebeslied (also my brother)
And finally a favorite in my family, The Graceful Ghost, a rag by William Bolcolm (also my brother)
The last two were recorded at the Van Cliburn competition in 2000 where he was a finalist (he won in 2002)
posted by plinth at 6:56 PM on January 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
Here is a recording of my brother playing The Legend of St. Francis Walking on the Waves by Liszt
Rachmaninoff's Liebeslied (also my brother)
And finally a favorite in my family, The Graceful Ghost, a rag by William Bolcolm (also my brother)
The last two were recorded at the Van Cliburn competition in 2000 where he was a finalist (he won in 2002)
posted by plinth at 6:56 PM on January 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
Simone Dinnerstein
posted by matildaben at 7:05 PM on January 29, 2022
posted by matildaben at 7:05 PM on January 29, 2022
I went to pick the link to Martha Argerich playing Rachmaninoff’s Concerto for Piano No. 3 And am currently 22 min in. This is one of the most transcendent pieces of music ever recorded - it has fiery and heartbreaking passages as well as sweet ones, and is worth watching for the expressions and physical skill of the performers as well as listening to.
Leonard Bernstein playing Beethoven’s Emperor concerto, the Adagio, is something I return to for comfort often.
Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou is wonderful.
Jazz is a great place to explore - I was raised on Dave Brubeck, Oscar Peterson, Duke Ellington (I just discovered this gem a few weeks ago), but recently have been trying to listen to more - discovering Mary Lou Williams (check out the Zodiac Suite - here is Pisces), Errol Garner, Abdullah Ibrahim. Nina Simone was a classically-trained pianist, and it’s always powerful to me to listen to the piano under her singing and try to wrap my head around her interpreting the music in so many ways - melody, timing, emotion, what’s in the foreground vs. the background.
I could listen to Chopin Nocturnes every day and never get sick of them - I grew up listening to Daniel Barenboim, if you’d like to listen to faves to see how different artists interpret them.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 11:42 PM on January 29, 2022 [2 favorites]
Leonard Bernstein playing Beethoven’s Emperor concerto, the Adagio, is something I return to for comfort often.
Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou is wonderful.
Jazz is a great place to explore - I was raised on Dave Brubeck, Oscar Peterson, Duke Ellington (I just discovered this gem a few weeks ago), but recently have been trying to listen to more - discovering Mary Lou Williams (check out the Zodiac Suite - here is Pisces), Errol Garner, Abdullah Ibrahim. Nina Simone was a classically-trained pianist, and it’s always powerful to me to listen to the piano under her singing and try to wrap my head around her interpreting the music in so many ways - melody, timing, emotion, what’s in the foreground vs. the background.
I could listen to Chopin Nocturnes every day and never get sick of them - I grew up listening to Daniel Barenboim, if you’d like to listen to faves to see how different artists interpret them.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 11:42 PM on January 29, 2022 [2 favorites]
I would second/third/nth any recommendation of Olafur Arnalds, and add on Yann Tiersen. He is known for the soundtrack to Amelie, which is quite lovely, but in my opinion is more recent work is far better.
posted by vernondalhart at 12:37 AM on January 30, 2022
posted by vernondalhart at 12:37 AM on January 30, 2022
Claude Helffer's recordings of Bartok's Mikrokosmos pieces are really beautiful.
John Cage's In A Landscape is also a favorite.
posted by niicholas at 2:57 AM on January 30, 2022
John Cage's In A Landscape is also a favorite.
posted by niicholas at 2:57 AM on January 30, 2022
The YouTube channel Rousseau covers the best known examples of piano music. Not innovative, but beautiful. See also the channel Sequoia Sounds for a pianist of extraordinary skill.
posted by SemiSalt at 4:49 AM on January 30, 2022
posted by SemiSalt at 4:49 AM on January 30, 2022
Seconding Ludovico Einaudi, his work is astonishingly beautiful.
In the same vein, Maxence Cyrin is wonderful. Probably best known for his piano cover of Where is My Mind? by the Pixies, but that's only the tip of the iceberg of both his covers and his original work.
posted by underclocked at 6:50 AM on January 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
In the same vein, Maxence Cyrin is wonderful. Probably best known for his piano cover of Where is My Mind? by the Pixies, but that's only the tip of the iceberg of both his covers and his original work.
posted by underclocked at 6:50 AM on January 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
Keith Jarrett: Handel Suites for keyboard
posted by lathrop at 8:33 AM on January 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by lathrop at 8:33 AM on January 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
That's a big category and I'd second many suggestions above. I'm looking forward to hearing the ones I don't know.
A few unmentioned that I've discovered in the last few years and love:
Anything performed by Lang Lang.
Zbigniew Preisner's 10 Easy Pieces. (Simple, but simple with precision.)
Keith Jarret's Köln Concert. I think you have to buy it or steal it to get more than a sample. Don't bother with the covers. The story behind it is worth reading about, but it might be more fun to listen to it without knowing the story.
Also, it might be obvious, but if you only know the ensemble work, Thelonious Monk's solo albums are often quite different, at least to me, and worth a listen.
posted by eotvos at 10:03 AM on January 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
A few unmentioned that I've discovered in the last few years and love:
Anything performed by Lang Lang.
Zbigniew Preisner's 10 Easy Pieces. (Simple, but simple with precision.)
Keith Jarret's Köln Concert. I think you have to buy it or steal it to get more than a sample. Don't bother with the covers. The story behind it is worth reading about, but it might be more fun to listen to it without knowing the story.
Also, it might be obvious, but if you only know the ensemble work, Thelonious Monk's solo albums are often quite different, at least to me, and worth a listen.
posted by eotvos at 10:03 AM on January 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
Another classical suggestion: Franz Schubert's op. 90 Impromptus.
posted by misteraitch at 1:37 PM on January 30, 2022
posted by misteraitch at 1:37 PM on January 30, 2022
In the Nils Frahm / Olafur Arnalds vein, I'd recommend checking out Fabrizio Paterlini. I'm listening to 'Secret Book' right now, it's a lovely intersection of solo piano with electronic production elements coming and going as accompaniment.
A version of Metamorphosis 2 by Philip Glass does something similar on the album Statea by Murcof & Vanessa Wagner.
posted by protorp at 1:08 AM on January 31, 2022
A version of Metamorphosis 2 by Philip Glass does something similar on the album Statea by Murcof & Vanessa Wagner.
posted by protorp at 1:08 AM on January 31, 2022
Thelonious Monk's Solo Monk album, particularly Ruby, My Dear, Sweet and Lovely, and Everything Happens to Me
posted by Furnace of Doubt at 8:31 AM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Furnace of Doubt at 8:31 AM on January 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
This study-with-me Pomodoro video has a very nice, calm piano soundtrack.
posted by Lexica at 11:49 AM on January 31, 2022
posted by Lexica at 11:49 AM on January 31, 2022
Response by poster: Thanks everyone for your amazing suggestions! I have been having a great time going thru this thread and listening to your recommendations.
posted by alsoran at 4:54 AM on February 1, 2022
posted by alsoran at 4:54 AM on February 1, 2022
Something from left field: Jacoobie's March from the 1973 Handscapes by the Piano Choir.
posted by Rash at 1:50 PM on February 2, 2022
posted by Rash at 1:50 PM on February 2, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by yclipse at 12:46 PM on January 29, 2022