There have been great concertos written for many instruments, but somehow the piano concerto feels like the biggest of the concerto beasts. Perhaps this is because of the epic carrying power of a modern concert grand piano, perhaps because so many composers have also been great pianists.
There are many candidates for the greatest piano concerto, so we have had to work hard to whittle them down to the very greatest. They’re all pretty difficult to play, but luckily here on 8notes you will find not only the complete works, but also special easier arrangements so you can experience playing the best parts from them. This includes versions for solo line instruments such as the flute, violin and trumpet, so you don’t even have to be a pianist to experience these marvellous works. Just follow the links in the descriptions below.
Heroic in style and epic in length, Beethoven’s magnificent final piano concerto is worthy of its subtitle ‘Emperor’, even though there is little certainty over where that name derives from. It was completed as Napoleon’s forces sieged Vienna, with Beethoven worrying greatly that the noise of the bombardment would further worsen his already failing hearing.
It begins unconventionally, the piano entering without introduction, the rest of the movement being greatly expanded—it is the longest of his piano concerto movements. There the follows an exquisite and noble slow movement followed by a joyfully exuberant rondo finale.
Of Rachmoninov’s Piano Concertos, both No. 2, with its exquisite slow movement, and No. 3 are considered his greatest masterpieces in the form. We have plumped for number 3 because of the super-abundance and lyrical power of its musical material, not least that famously enigmatic opening melody. Its long melodic arcs, rich orchestration and psychological intensity reflect the composer’s late-Romantic voice at its peak, whilst the concerto’s combination of athleticism and profound expressiveness secures its legendary status.
Several Mozart piano concertos could have made this list, including the delightful Concerto No.21 in C Major, with its sublime middle movement, or the jagged ‘sturm und drang’ of his Concerto No. 24. We have gone, however, for the D minor drama of Piano Concerto No. 20. It will be familiar to fans of the Miloš Forman’s movie Amadeus, the sublime 'Romanza' slow movement being used at the finale as Salieri ends his conversation with a shattered and shell-shocked priest, to whom he has confessed that he planned to kill Mozart.
With the possible exception of Grieg’s Piano Concerto, Tchaikovsky has probably the most recognisable opening bars of any piano concerto (not least, to UK listeners of a certain age, since it also opened the hit single ‘Hooked on Classics,’ released by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1981). The rest of the concerto is full of sweeping melodies, dramatic contrast and an emotional, hearts-on-sleeves directness that makes it the acme of Romantic piano music.
Grieg wrote this masterpiece at the age of just 25. It blends Romantic lyricism with radiant melodies that capture some of the flavour of Norwegian folk music. Its opening is notable for spanning the entire range of the keyboard in its initial flourish, a surprisingly easy passage to play for intermediate pianists, especially when using our exclusive 8notes arrangement. Though Grieg never wrote another piano concerto, this work remains a cornerstone of the repertoire.
Chopin’s Piano Concerto No.1 is actually his second contribution to the form—it was designated as No.1 because it was published before his first concerto. Though some have criticised its orchestral writing, there is little doubt about the poetic brilliance of the work overall. The opening moment begins as the rest of the work goes on, with a marvellously powerful tune that, like so much of the composer’s music, seems to sing. The transportive middle movement too is an especially powerful and popular expression of lyrical Romanticism.
A work that challenges assumptions about 19th-century women composers, Clara Schumann’s concerto is a remarkable testament to her talent as both composer and virtuoso pianist. It was written in stages between the ages of just 13 and 16. It is innovative in structure, featuring a seamless transition between moments and has a beguiling and original middle movement, written for solo piano and cello, without the orchestra.
Brahms’ wryly called his Piano Concerto No.2 ‘a very small piano concerto with a very small and pretty scherzo,’ the work being, in fact, a monumental 50 minutes long. It was written 22 years after his hard-won Piano Concerto No.1 and, though its three year gestation suggest it was no less difficult a project, its depth, warmth and architectural mastery shows a composer at his peak. The slow movement, with its exquisite opening solo for cello, is one of Brahms's loveliest creations.
Schumann’s only piano concerto prioritises poetry and lyricism over bravura display. It opens with dramatic chords that lead to a glorious singing melody that expands into the orchestra in way that is utterly spine-tingling. The middle movement, on the other hand, eschews sentimentality in favour of a charming intermezzo that is nevertheless sophisticated rather than slight. The whole is capped by a joyful final movement dominated by boisterous triple time dance rhythms.
Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major, his penultimate composition, is a dazzling fusion of classical form, jazz influences and modern colour. Brilliantly orchestrated and rhythmically sharp, it balances wit and elegance with moments of haunting lyricism, particularly in the enigmatic slow movement.
