Can you all list some classical songs that you have had a lot of fun with, but also has helped progress you as a pianist?

Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca was a fun learning experience for me, specifically the parts with the rumbling grace notes in the left hand against the melody in octaves in the right hand. It seemed pretty impossible at first, since I'd never learned that kind of technique before, but I got it with some work. And of course the piece is really fun to play once you do figure it out.

Also, I'm currently learning Chopin's famous Posthumous Nocturne in C# minor. I absolutely love the piece, and it's not ridiculously hard, but there are a number of things I've had to learn to get it down. 1) Extra-long reaches on the broken left-hand chords to maintain legato, 2) strange mismatched rhythms in the two hands, e.g. in measure 15 you have eighth notes in the L.H. but triplets in the right, followed by "pentuplets" and then double-quick triplets. In other measures you have "tuplets" where you divide the rhythm into 18, 35, 11, and 13 (or try to, at least). Weird.

Any of Grieg's Lyric Pieces are great if you want to add some sentimentality to your repetoire. I really liked playing Chopin's Prelude Op. 28 No. 4, and it's great for developing rubato. For an intermediate-level learning experience with trills, turns, triplets, and tremendous amounts of enjoyment, try Schubert's Impromptu No. 2 in A-flat (Op. 142, I think). Mozart's Rondo alla turca was something I tried just for fun, and it is a really nice piece. But, once again, the Grieg Lyric Pieces are something worth looking for if you like short pieces with lots of character.

I really like listening to some other Grieg pieces so I'll have to check that out. As for the E-minor prelude, I love playing that piece too. But as a purist, I have to point out that the historical record shows Chopin would have been rather offended by the excessive rubato everyone seems to use in playing this piece. I confess that I myself have fallen prey to this contagious disease, but I am happy to report that I am slowly recovering. ;-) That said, the prelude is undoubtedly very good for learning all manner of expressive techniques, such as proper pedalling and tone production.

I have heard the Chopin prelude played with such excessive rubato, that you had to wonder if the person was nervous, or forgot what to play next! I only play mine with a little rubato, only enough to be acceptable by Chopin's standards.

Thanks guys!

I'll look into those pieces.