The Ten Most Famous Piano Concertos of all Time
Da, da, da, daa…baff! Ba, ba, ba, baa…baff! Yep, we know that one! But which other famous piano concertos – subjectively chosen, naturally – round out our top ten?
Read more…Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is of course there as number one. All classical lovers know his First Piano Concerto, even if not all of them like it. It's nevertheless one of those works whose beginning at least – Richard Strauss's 'Also Sprach Zarathustra' is another – has imprinted itself on the collective consciousness: that introduction so gloriously pregnant with foreboding, so red-bloodedly Russian. The other two movements are crafted with no less skill in the distinctive architecture of the piano concerto.
Other popular piano concertos by Liszt, Mozart and Co. are always worth revisiting, though with Mozart's Piano Concerto in C major KV 467, it's rather the melancholically lilting second movement that proved most memorable.
In any case, let's begin with tenth place, with Beethoven's Third, followed by Brahms's Second at No. 9. Mozart's No. 21 comes in eighth, and Beethoven's Fifth, "Emperor" is No. 7. Rachmaninoff's fearsome Piano Concerto No. 3 is in sixth place, followed by Schumann's poetic Concerto in A minor. Liszt's martial Piano Concerto No. 1 (with starring role for triangle) comes fourth, and the sweeping romance of "Rach Two" gains it third place. And trailing behind the Tchaikovsky in this particular race, Grieg's evergreen Piano Concerto in A minor.
As always, we've chosen some of the finest performances featuring the very best soloists, conductors and orchestras.
[Due to geo-blocking restrictions, some tracks might be unavailable in certain territories.]