Best Piano Concertos

Wonderful concerto, though I would rank Beethoven's 4th and 5th, Mozart's 20th, 23rd and 24th, Rachmaninoff's Second (and maybe Third), Tchaikovsky's First, and perhaps Grieg's A Minor all above those by Brahms. Still, to a dyed-in-the-wool Brahmsian, I can understand his being accorded the two top spots...

20 points

A concerto of majestic power and beautiful melodies. Mature perfection on the part of Brahms. Just wish he had composed a concerto for cello in addition to the double.

The best piece ever written for piano.

I think this should be higher and his first shouldn't be in the top ten. That is my opinion. I mean common 4 movements?! epic.

One of the most powerful concertos of all time!!

Well deserved 2nd place. Great drama and a favourite show piece for pianists in music competitions. It allows them to demonstrate emotion and lyricism in full measure.

it is awesome! i never really thought listened to brahms 1 until just recently, but it is now my all time favorite piece, not just concerto.

This concerto deserves to be No. 1 on the list. It's powerful, dramatic, moving, and has genius compositional ability written all over it from the very beginning to the very end. It's in the classical style, but Brahms 1 tops the Beethoven concerti here.

Written swiftly under post hypnotic suggestion as part of treatment for long time depression.. Psychiatrist was a Dr. Dahl.

I think all movements in this concerto are equally ecstatic.

Deserves more

just saw this and # 21 performed today by the NY Phil, with Jeffrey Kahane...both superb, hard to argue with either one, but Andante from 21 is such an exquisite movement

the greatest piano concerto ever

A truly magnificent piece. The first movement is mysterious, the second is lyrical and pristine, and the third fights with fire. In my opinion, this is the best piano concerto of Mozart, and is even supreme to those of Beethoven.

My vote for greatest ever. Definitely trumps Brahms 1, but then Brahms 2 trumps Brahms 1.

The absolute best of Mozarts symphonic concertos!!! Easy to learn.... difficult to perfect!

3rd movement has the most beautiful melody ever! 1st movement has an almost equally beautiful melody! Also, the notes just feel so good when you're playing them, they just feel right. This part of Rach's genius can only be felt by the pianist playing the concerto.

This concerto deserves to be among the top three. The power, and the emotions it projects is unbelievable. Listening everytime time to it is as fresh as the last. Rachmaninoff is the king of piano concerto writers.

Perfect composition, from beginning to end. Maybe, the best piano concerto..

Perfect composition, from beginning to end Maybe, the best piano concerto..

This piece SHOULD be number 1 compared to the rest...the first movement's complexity, the second movement's beauty, the third movement's power...I'm surprised this one was set lower.

The second piece is stunning

The second movement is to die for!

saw it live today at the NY Phil.....ah

The third movement in this concerto is the closest to ecstasy one can be in music. No matter how many times in a row you listen to it,every time is beeter than the previous one.

in love with this concerto at the moment- it deserves to be much higher on this list for its technicality, musicality, and bittersweet beauty.

the most exhilerating concerto of them all

Hey comment #2 dude - Stop drinking the Nikolai Rubinstein Kool-Aid and start listening to music. I mean by your logic Vladimir Horowitz doesn't know anything about music, but hey, you do.

The person who wrote the second comment must be confusing flashy and crowd-pleaser as a bad thing. Isn't that part of the genius on the part of the composer to create something flashy and crowd-pleasing? Among, Beethoven's works, Symphony No.5 and Piano Concerto 5 are among the biggest crowd pleasers. But they are also in many people's opinions the best compositions of Beethoven. As for overrated, in high school I met a girl who played this concerto and ended up going to Julliard because she played it so well. We should rather let the top musicians at Julliard decide whether or not it is genius or not. You're probably may be that you are not paying attention to the orchestra enough. As a pianist, we tend to only remember ourselves and put ourselves on pedestals, but this is wrong. Tchaikovsky sees the orchestra as very important, as the theme begins with the strings. And you cannot refute the fact that the main theme of the piece has certain profundity. It is not shallow at all. Instead, it is reaching, i.e. goes "F" and reaches! to "Gb" and then retreats down to "Bb" and reaches again and finally retreats, like he's trying to achieve perfection but being let down continuously, though not ever giving up. The color changes are like hiding frustration from himself. You should also think about the piece more. One of my teachers, Yakov Kasman (Van Cliburn Silver Medal winner), frequently commented "Beethoven was not stupid". I think this should be extended to all other great composers. Unless you're contention is that Tchaikovsky is a fraud (an argument impossible to back), he is not stupid. Therefore every note is written for a specific reason and if you think some notes are inconsistent or out of place then it is more likely youre understanding is not at that level yet. As a composer myself, trying to emulate greatness, for the main melody, I do spend a lot of time for each note (could be several days before I find the right note). You may want to rethink it.

From the writer of the third comment: I agree with the writer of the first comment. There, writer of the second comment, is a person who truly understands music. Obviously the writer of the second comment does not deserve to learn it, for he is not good enough for the piece.

The person who wrote the second comment clearly has no appreciation for music whatsoever. Anyone who has listened to the vigorous third movement (preferably the Argerich version, played at the opening concert of the International Chopin Competition) cannot tell me that it is "overrate, inconsistent, and really just a crowd pleaser". Almost any pianist who has played the work understands the deep musical genius of Tchaikovsky and you, sir, obviously have somehow overlooked this. The piece is on par of the difficult concertos of Beethoven, Rachmaninov, and Chopin. The only thing that is inconsistent is your musical understanding.

This piece is quite overrated, inconsistent, and is really just a crowd pleaser. Almost every pianist who has played this work or gotten to a deep understanding of music theory and compositional structure quickly realizes that the piano writing really is quite shallow and flashy, lacking for the most part real substance. Believe me; I began learning it to try to maybe understand it in a new light, but it made me dislike it even more. Also, its difficulty is a bit overrated, too.

A transcendental piece which captivates at the beginning of each glorious bar, each note is a work of resolute genius, and the emotions and musical themes conjured up in this concerto are simply unparalleled.

This is the most sublime concerto. No 1 for me. Schumann is in a league all his own. I especially love the cadence towards the end of the first movement. Matthew Nickson

Wonderful, should be in first

Amazing piece.... and it fits under the hand very well.

This one will still be my personal favorite over all time! Love it.

One of the best , if not the best. Check out the Volodos performance. Escalating emotions, virtuosity and power of presentation make it unique and powerful.!!

i agree

Check the version of Valentina Lisitsa, wonderful.!!

should go up quite a few it is played much more often than no. 13 :)

the most beautiful and touching piece ive ever played

beautiful melodies

Love this piece. My favorite concerto.

by Frédéric Chopin

This is certainly one of the best 3 of all times, if not the best.

Beautiful . Elegant!

Me again.. I meant, Hummel's B MINOR deserves recognition as well... sorry for the error!

It's nice to see this fine concerto by Hummel getting some recognition (and his A Minor also deserves it)...

bravo

This concerto, featured in the popular film Fantasia 2000, is my favorite among all piano pieces. I grew up with the instantly recognizeable melody, and the suprises Shostakovich brings to the concerto. The piece truly tells a story. It may not be an exact classical form, but it certainly fits the bill for me.