On my 100 concerto vid
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The Brahms 1 is definitely higher on my best-ever concs list - then any Rach, Prok or Tchaik conc
Hmmm, as far as I know - Richter never had the Brahms 1 in his rep, maybe the dude in the comments meant Gilels?
I know the Brahms 1 initially started as a symphony and evolved into a piano concerto.
For moi, it’s right up there with da greatest ever concs:
Beethoven 5, Liszt 1 and Totentanz
I wish the Tchaik 1 did not have flawed, hyper extended, rambling 1st movement.
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It’s my favorite of all time. I don’t think it’s easy at all, actually note-for-note it is one of the hardest concertos. No concerto is as difficult or says as much as the Brahms 1 with so few notes (except maybe Beethoven 4).
Oh, most certainly not easy by any means. The sheer girth of the thing.
Most “modern” recordings of it are far, far too slow for my taste. Plodding.
Best overall is perhaps the Kapell 1953…
… I like hearing the Horowitz/Walter because it is so coherent. Many will say that it is too “hectic” but it works. He grabs it by the balls.
I went through the fucker, worth learning properly at some point, but I’m focusing on solo rep that I can readily record.
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The Liszt 1 is a 16-minute masterpiece. Not a detail out of place. I’m also a tremendous fan of the Totentanz, not exactly a “piano concerto” tho.
Also, I far prefer Beethoven’s 5th concerto over #4, but I’m biased because it’s in my rep.
I love the Liszt 1 and Totentanz, but even I think it’s pianistic fluff. A lot of empty rhetoric. No disrespect to yo taste, however.
I learned Beethoven 5 too but I still like 4 more…
In concert Rach pag rhaps always seems successful.
Unless I get a close seat the Schumann and Chopin concerti just sounds like rambling chatter with nice movements or moments.
A good Brahms perf like a piano symphony kinda so has that going over traditional PNO COns
In no particular order
Zhoe Conc
Bra 1
Ravel G Conc
Prok 3
Tchaik 1
Zart 20
Zart 21
Zart 24
Brotha 5
Rach 2
Schönberg
I wonder what a Schubert Concerto would sound like.
Not to derail this important thread, but why did most pianists play Ravel, Debussy, Prok, Stravinsky as soon as da sheeyat came out and da public accepted it, but now no penizsts play muzak of today?
The thing is that over time, as music becomes more experimental, the mainstream diverges from the avant-garde. And even in the classical era there were works that took decades to gain audience recognition, like the Hammerklavier, the Grosse Fuge, etc.
But even today there are works that get academic or audience recognition fairly quickly. Off the top of my head I can think of the Salonen violin concerto, some Rzewski works, Kapustin, Ben Johnston, Higdon, Yoshimatsu.
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I’m not sure the Grosse Fudge has still gained audience recognition. It’s not a generous work.
I like Morton Feldman a lot, but his music isn’ t concert friendly because it’s slow, develops slowly, and is long. Also, for pianists, his music isn’t virtuosic, so not a platform for showing off. Hamelin, Levit, and Osborne made recordings of his work recently, however I don’t think the music will ever be mainstream. A shame because I think it’s very moving and of it’s time.
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I can’t find anything in those works that is “decorative”
With Liszt, (and late Scrib and Beethoven) some “melodic” characteristics are limited, da themes are crafted in small motives so that they lend better to development and fragmentation, etc.
I adore da tot… (Thotentanz) so many innovative sounds, random renaissance sounding harmonies, gensui counterpoint, and amazing organization of material
Again, I can’t find anything out of place “structurally”, the writing of all the figuration is based on concrete patterns and not “improvised” in the least. Imho that sheeyat is way up there with Beethoven’s masterpieces.
So many of today’s composers lack command over da 88, and dey simply don’t know the piano well enough to write anything worthwhile for it.
As far as I’m concerned, good music ending with Scriabin’s op 74, but then again, I’m a conservative mofo.
I was brought up on a ton of Bach Preludes and fugues. I seek dat kind of gensui structuring of material in all da rep, and I find it in da masterworks of Beethoven, Liszt and Scriabin.
I’m not that fond of 
1, tbh. I find it a bit shallow and full of peniztic tinsel. Da thotentanz, on da othah hand, I think is an absolute masterpiece. Gensui vars n effects, one of the finest works ever written for 88 + orch imo.
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Man, I love da Pimp 1. Da thematic material keeps morphing and he has da gensui to turn da first movement themes into a moist second movement, pimping scherzo n epic finale.
Maybe it’s played too trashily most of the time.
I’d take da Barere over da 
in this.
There’s also a good Gieseking rec. I had both da Thot and da Pimp 1 in good condition for da Weimar pimp comp 
Didn’t matter, as da YASHK won with a pure rape mess
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Agreed. What is the best sounding available source of the Cziffra/Benzi version? It’s the best performance I know.
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