I know there isn`t a standard "most beautiful`` piece but I`ll like to know what pieces you people deem beautiful / emotional / powerful / awesome. Just any piece of music you really like. It would be nice if you could tell us why you like it too. The piece doesn`t have to be really hard. Could be anything from Beethoven`s Fur Elise to Rachminov`s Piano Concerto No 3.

I`ll start with one of my favourite pieces;
Rimsky-Korsakov - The Flight of the Bumblebee
Ever since I saw Maksim play it, I`ve been crazy over it. I`m non-graded. I think the entire song is really exciting. With the help of some of my piano-playing friends, I have been able play some of it.

How about you guys?

whew, thank goodness that pie post was removed. So what do you guys think? (above question)

In my opinion the ossia first movement cadenza of Rachmaninoff`s 3rd concerto is probably the most powerful and beautiful 2 and a half some minutes of piano music ever written. The ending of Beethoven`s "Appassionata" stirs something from deep inside me as well. As for non-classical, without a doubt: "You" from Christopher O`Riley plays Radiohead.

The most beautiful concerto and most romantic of Rach`s is obviously his second, I cant understand the logic behind suggesting his third is in some way better or more pleasing to the ear and rewarding, because it quite simply is not.

Rach 2 has been voted the best piece of classical music for years ever. My favourite movement is the first, it has the immense opening chords and then flourishes with beautiful episodes, a sublime fantastic masterpiece. The second and third movements are just the same, wonderful music. The difference between this and his third is the fact that after the first powerful movement of the third the rest of the Rach 3 is simply not as good as the rest of th second, which is consistently beautiful throughout the whole concerto.

Who agrees?

I vote for Träumerei By Schumann

The end of Rach`s 3rd concerto... It gives me chills everytime I listen to it. Once I played it in a competition, and at the end, I was informed by a friends of mine that everyone was crying. CRYING!

It really truly is the greatest piece ever written for piano. I love it 1000x more than Rach 2. This is the piece that truly has everything.

Second movement of Rachmaninoff`s Piano Concerto #2. I can`t get over it.

Originally posted by Mark:
The most beautiful concerto and most romantic of Rach`s is obviously his second, I cant understand the logic behind suggesting his third is in some way better or more pleasing to the ear and rewarding, because it quite simply is not.

You`re kidding me, right? One of us needs to look up the word "opinion" in the dictionary ASAP. Who cares which concerto was "voted" better? If the majority of votes were suddenly equated with fact, the world would be a much different place. Think Germany, circa 1940. The second concerto bores me, the third concerto inspires me. Pure and simple.

This debate will never end, but there is far more support towards Rach 3. Rach 2 is a masterpiece without a doubt, but Rach 3 will bring out deeper emotions- the less mature musician will always tend to enjoy Rach 2, since to someone who has not played or listened to both concertos extensively, the 2nd seems more virtuostic and is, let`s admit- an easy listen. Rach 3 requires more maturity to appreciate in full- the opening theme draws the most beautiful tones from the piano from a very simple passage. A common misconception is that the concerto is not as complex or difficult as the 2nd- but if you`ve seen the music, you begin to understand how many different harmonies are going on at once, possibly not heard due to the complexity of the orchestration and especially the piano part. I`ve played both the 2nd and 3rd, and now am working on the 1st, and I am beginning to enjoy the 1st more than any other concerto I`ve ever played. It is truly underappreciated, but that may be the reason why I enjoy it the most.

How about Mozart`s symphony 40 in G minor? I LOVE minor pieces! Any of you guys play `Fur Elise`? I`m thirteen and I `ve learnt the whole five pages!

ya seriously, minor rocks, has more emotion i think... lol wut am i saying?!?







((((go minor)))

I think Matt is a bit excited by my comments, but ironically after making them I sat down and listened to the Rach 3 and do agree with the last blokes comments, it does take a more mature musician to appreciate it, and I do now love the Rach 3.

The first movement is my favourite with the cadenza`s on the piano, how startling and gripping they are... It makes me want to attempt to play it, but I think I will wait until I become more of a virtuoso.

I have also heard that the Agerich recording is the finest available, interesting..

However I back up my earlier comments, because the romantic themes played by the piano and orchestra in the movements are far better than the Rach 3, I prefer also the first movement of the Rach 3 to the other 2, I personally dont think the rest works as good as the Rach 2. The end finale theme of the Rach 3 is just a variation of the Rach 2 and not as good, and the second movement of the Rach 2 is far greater than the second movement of the Rach 3, there is a difference between an absoulute classic (Rach 2) to a standard Rach theme (Rach 3).

Listen or play the Rachmaninov prelude in B flat major, now that is beautiful, the most sublime part is when the right hand plays a continuos run of semi-quavers whilest the left hand gives the melody, wonderful and deeply moving.

What the heck is all this twaddle about "being a more mature musician!" Just because one guy likes Rach 3 more than Rach 2 that makes him a more mature musician. I`ve never heard so much rubbish in all my life. Knowing a piece of music very well (especially if you`ve played it) may make you appreciate the piece more, but why would it make you a more mature musician.

In my opinion the 2nd movement of Ravel`s Gmajor piano concerto is more beautiful to me than Rach 2 or Rach 3. Does this mean I am an infant in terms of musicians?

Rachmoninoff`s third piano concerto is my favorite and since I`m leaning it I have to agree that it is the most beautiful piece. The cadenza is by far the best part.