Piano Classical Music - A Beginners Guide to Great Classical Music for the Piano

Piano Classical Music Styles:

Piano classical music or classical music for piano, no matter what you call it, there's a lot of it. From relaxing to invigorating, and everything in between, there is piano classical music for everyone and every mood. Though many of you learned about the many styles of piano classical music in a past article called "Classical Piano Music Styles," the most common styles of piano classical music are:

• Piano Concerto
• Piano Sonata
• Piano Trio
• Piano Quintet
• and Solo Piano, which includes
  • Etude
  • Prelude
  • Polonaise
  • Nocturne
  • Mazurka
  • Waltz
  • Ballade
  • and the Scherzo

The Great Composers of Piano Classical Music (or at least the most famous!):

For beginners, knowing which composer to start with can be an intimidating task. Though there are many wonderful composers, there are a few well known composers that are without a doubt some of the greatest piano classical music masters to have ever lived. They include:

• Frederic Chopin
• Sergei Rachmaninoff
• Franz Liszt
• Johann Sebastian Bach (though the piano wasn't invented during his lifetime)
• Claude Debussy
• Maurice Ravel
• and last but certainly not least, Ludwig van Beethoven

These composers will give you a solid base of piano classical music to which you can begin listening.

Piano Classical Music - Recommended Works:

Here are a few of my favorite classical works for piano written by the composers listed above. I've provided a video link to YouTube for you to listen to the piece in it's entirety.

• Frederic Chopin - Polonaise Op. 53
• Sergei Rachmaninoff - Prelude Op. 23 No. 5
• Franz Liszt - Consolation No. 3
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Well-Tempered Clavier 2, Prelude F Sharp minor
• Claude Deubussy - The Sunken Cathedral
• Maurice Ravel - Miroirs, No. 5 La vallee des cloches
• Ludwig van Beethoven - Sonata No. 28, mvmt. 3

Notable Pianists:

If you're not sure which composers to start with, it's often best to start with the pianist. Great pianists have extensive repertoires, which means you'll get a large selection of music from many different composers. Here are a few notable pianists:

• Vladimir Horowitz
• Arthur Rubenstein
• Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
• Glen Gould
• Lang Lang
• Walter Gieseking
• and Pascal Roge.