Today I'm carrying out the 17 most renowned classical piano works, consisting of Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Satie, varying from old to brand-new.
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17 classical piano pieces you should know
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I wish you would do some harmonic analysis of classical music the same way you do it with pop music, by gathering samples of similar harmonic progression – specially if they have that heart wrenching modulation. There’s some good stuff out there on yt, but nothing comes close to the way you put it
You really did a nice job on this. Nice touch on the piano, “classically trained” or not!
Loved that you included Billy Joel’s “This Night”;-)
Nice!
Rachmaninoff Prelude in C# minor is such an amazing piece of music for the piano (not to mention very difficult to play!). It’s metal music for piano written 80 years before the very first metal bands!
Man if you wanna hear metal piano music, there’s a lot to pick from. Chopin’s 16th prelude, his 4th etude, just about any coda he wrote for the Ballades or Scherzi. You’ve also got quite a lot of Liszt to pick from, but his “Mazeppa” etude is one of my top picks. And then off in the deep end is the “Bewegte” from Schoenberg’s Drei KlavierstĆ¼cke.
I would argue with the part thatās itās hard to play, but the fact that itās incredible music is undeniable
@@bachouvenn3563 Well, I’m not a pianist, so maybe you’re right. It’s not a beginner’s piece though. There’s a version for classical guitar (my instrument) that is super hard.
If you really want metal, listen to Prokofiev, especially the cadenza in the first movement of his piano concerto no 2. Itās insane
Keith Emerson quoted it in “Azrael Revisited” on the third album by The Nice.
I paused at 1:27 just to write a huge thank you for including the 2nd Movement of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13.
You have no idea how in love I was with this song (also its 1984 incarnate, Billy Joel’s This Night)!
I’m happy to finally see a video about classical music from David Bennett! As a classical musician it warmed my heart to see this video in my notifications ā¤
List of my top 10 pieces for solo piano:
1. Liebestraum No. 3
2. Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2
3. Un Sospiro
4. Paganini Etude No. 6
5. Liszt Piano Sonata
6. Totentanz
7. Consolations No. 3
8. Mephisto Waltz No. 1
9. GymnopedĆe No. 1
10. Arabesque No. 1
I’m quite a big Lisztomaniac if that wasn’t obvious š
Chopin’s 4 ballades are incredible too
Top 10 Liszt š¤
Why so few Chopin?
@@alexroznowski9413 A lot of classical fans I know don’t like Chopin for some reason. I think they find him cheesy. I personally love him.
I love Liszt’s pieces too, especially Mephisto Waltz
David, we so wanted to hear you play the arpeggios in Clair DeLune! Please make a follow up video (or post recordings on any music site) of you playing these entire pieces. ššš
I think he may have decided not to since he did large sections of the video in single takes and heās perhaps not confident in being able to preform technically demanding pieces
Not to take anything away from David, but there are some really wonderful pianists on Youtube that have the technical skill to play Clair de Lune as it should be played. One of my personal favorites is Tiffany Poon. Her Liebestraum is amazing as well.
@@cheemomugdoo799Tiffany poon is great
Thanks David for these beautiful little pieces! Classical music has many hits and I never thought to work on it. Some seems to be accessible for my little level, I’m only a poor Beatles Fan š Thanks for all your videos about Mode and scales, it’s fantastic! Cheers from France š Michael from Hey Bulldog 100% Beatles tribute Band
It always surprises me that someone could have lived from Mozart to Rachmaninov, via Beethoven and Debussy, within the span of a single lifetime.
Iāve similarly had my mind blown thinking of the lifespan of Bertrand Russell living long enough to be able to see Johannes Brahms and Jimi Hendrix
History’s full of weird overlaps like that.
Japanese Samurai could have sent a Fax. France executed someone via guillotine after Star Wars was released. Humanity went from the Wright Brothers etc to landing on the moon in a single human lifespan.
Yes and they had certainly said: “The music was so much better when I was young!”. And making fun of their children for listening to this Debussy’s nonsense. “That’s not even music!”
I’m glad that I’m required to pick a fave.@@johncenter4858
Well, if you think my grandma was born in the roaring 20’s , when Charleston music was in fashion, by the time she died Daft Punk have already disbanded.
As a classical pianist myself, I definitely think there are more virtuosic pieces that I would have included, but as far as early-medium difficulty piano pieces, this list is pretty good. As far as the playing, the 3 chopin pieces need some refining and the prelude in C# minor, but sounds good for someone not classically trained. Great video.
I would have included Beethoven’s 8th sonata first movement rather than the second movement. So much beautiful expression and dynamics.
2nd movement of Pathetique Sonata just gets me every time
Great video…glad to see you tackling classical, it’s SO rewarding once you let it in. I would maybe add a few like Schumann’s Traumerei (Dreaming) Brahms A major Intermezzo and Dvorak’s Humoresque to get 20, but this was great!!!
Theres no classical piano pieces list without at least one of Chopin’s Ballades and his Barcarolle
I remember the shock I felt the first time I heard Pathetique, because I had played Earthbound beforehand, which has a really similar song. Almost certainly was inspired by it, given the series’ habit of featuring homages to classical themes.
Great video, and a selection I can certainly get behind. I love Satie’s work. He accomplishes so much with so little.
Rachmaninoffs 2nd movement of his 2nd concerto is one of my favorite piano pieces (the one that Eric Carmen used for All By Myself). Also love Beethoven’s “Tempest”, such a raucous piece, and Bach’s more delicate pieces such as BWV 528 and 974 as played by Vikingur Olafsson.
It’s amazing to see classical music popularized and shown outside of the usual channels.
It’s interesting to learn what a modern musician like you, seeing some of the tempo “liberties” you took in Chopin non-intuitive timings, the arrangement of the love dream of liszt and so on. The only detail I think is off are the arpeggios in Rachmaninov prelude, the single chords have a storyline meaning and it kinda takes out the eeriness and the nightmare-like vibe of the piece. For the rest, great job!
Wow David – we think alike! I’ve played and recorded on CD 11 of the 17 – now I have more to learn!
Another beautiful piece (and accessible to most pianists) is Liszt Consolation 3 in D flat – absolutely gorgeous!
Wonderful selection, beautifully played. I wondered if you had any thoughts on Malcolm Arnoldās op104, Concerto for two Pianos, written for Phyllis Sellick and Cyril Smith? It has an interesting back story as well as being a great, yet largely forgotten piece.
Amazing video, David! I especially love Chopin, my grandma loved his music and played it for me. Actually she played also the Rondo alla Turca and the Moonlight sonata… Anyway, your work is amazing, and I use it when I write bass lines. A big thanks