7 Classical Pieces Every Pianist Should Learn!

Robert Estrin with the seven classical pieces every pianist should learn.

I consider these to be gateway pieces because they're absolutely great works of music that are accessible for people just elevating to the stage that they can start grasping truly great piano music and it opens the doors to almost a wealth of music that can keep you busy for a lifetime.

So what are these pieces? Well, let's start at the beginning and I'm going to kind of go somewhat in period style but the Bach two-part inventions are so wonderful because while they can be utilized as student pieces, they're also phenomenally crafted works that are played in concert. There is nothing childish about these pieces. They're brilliant compositions, yet somebody who's just elevating to that stage can appreciate these pieces. You know, the very first invention for example.

Now, this is something that's accessible and yet there's so much great music there and there's so many other inventions. The F major of course and the A minor, they're all accessible but I'm just giving you a taste and I'm kind of riffing off on these because these are stepping stones to other pieces you can learn as well. So I'm kind of giving you some other pieces. Let's just start with that Bach. Now, suppose the Bach is not quite accessible for you yet. Well, you know what? There are other pieces in the book of Anna Magdalena, you know, the famous minuet in G.

And there's the minuet in G minor as well.

And D minor minuet.

And on and on with these beautiful pieces of Bach, there's this musette as well.

So even if you're not quite up to the two-part inventions, there's other Bach works that are accessible for you. Well that's just a start. What are some other of these seminal works that can elevate your piano playing to the next level enjoying great music? There's the famous Mozart K 545 Sonata in C major. Not as difficult as many of the other Mozart sonatas but yet a great piece of music.

Now, there are other pieces that you could substitute for that or learn in addition. The Beethoven has two opuses that were actually published much later even though they have a high opus number. The opus 49 number one in G minor and the famous opus 49 number two in G major.

Great pieces of music that are quite accessible. Now, of course, you can go on and there's so many other Beethoven sonatas that are more difficult. And once you get into that area, then there's many Mozart sonatas and Haydn sonatas, you know, the famous of course, the very first Beethoven sonata, the F minor opus two number one.

There's also the C minor opus ten number one.

And you also have the opus 14 number one and number two, each of them quite similar. And then there's the Mozart sonata. All these are just auxiliary works that you can grow into. Just like with the Bach, I showed you where you could go down for easier music than the two-part inventions. Now, I'm showing you where you can elevate to more advanced music. But let's not lose sight of the main crux of this. We had the Bach minuet, pardon me, the two-part inventions or the substitution of the Anna Magdalena minuets A 545 C major sonata.

Now, how about some Schumann? You know, the scenes from childhood, Kindersamen, is a whole collection of separate movements that can stand on their own.

So students can learn just movements, select movements, and they work beautifully. And there's such great music. The very first one from Strange Lands and People, listen to the gorgeous composition that's accessible.

And one moment after another, each one an individual statement. Of course, Tramurai, one of the most famous from the set.

Such great music.

And music you can enjoy without having a virtuoso technique.

But as I said, when you go through this formative literature, you can go so many places. What about the Greek lyric pieces? What a wonderful set of pieces. Here's the very first one from the set.

Put a little fancy ending in there.

One after another, great composition.

And what list would be complete without Chopin? Now you all know there are virtuoso pieces of Chopin that will take many, many years to play. Maybe you'll never be able to play some of the more virtuosic works of Chopin like his Andante Spianato and Grand Polonaise and his concertos. But you know what? There are gorgeous Mazurkas, some of his waltzes. But really the place to start is with the preludes.

And my first Chopin I ever studied, of course, the E minor prelude. What a gem of a piece.

I remember when I first studied that piece as a child thinking I couldn't imagine any piece of music in the world by any composer being as beautiful as that. Well, yeah, I did grow and discover there were other great pieces of Chopin and other composers. But I've got to say I still love this simple, simple harmonically complex, simple melodically prelude as much as I did when I was a child.

And that's the great thing about all these pieces I'm showing you is that they're pieces that you can play and form a formidable repertoire and have a variety of styles under your fingers and from centuries of music. And of course there are other preludes that are very famous that are also quite accessible. The B minor, of course.

What a haunting melody. And it gives you a chance to explore left hand melody, and reversing the balance that you've been struggling with for years of bringing out the melody in the right hand. Now you get to do it the other way around. And of course there are other preludes that are quite accessible. Of course the A major.

And also the C minor, very famous work.

Short enough that you can learn it, can't you? So yes, there are accessible pieces of Chopin. The E minor, prelude is the one I highlighted here, but as I said there's some zuckers and other works that you can play.

And I'm going to close now with two absolutely beautiful 20th century works that are not that technically difficult but such great music that you'll love to play these pieces. One is by Katchatarian, and this is Fairy Tale.

And listen to this beautiful, beautiful music.

Actually, yeah.

Actually, no, this is – I'm Don Tino, pardon me. We're going to have Kabalevsky Fairy Tale next.

Such a beautiful theme. Not that hard to play, but musically, richly rewarding. And finally, this is Kabalevsky Fairy Tale.

So those are seven pieces that if you haven't studied already and you're just embarking upon that level, and from there, as I said, you can go anywhere. If you're not quite on that level, go through those Anna Magdalena Bach pieces.

Those are pieces that Bach intended for students to be able to learn. And then if you're getting more advanced, those Beethoven sonatas I showed you, not just the Mozart K545 and the earlier Beethoven sonatas that were actually published later, the Op. 49 number one and two, but you can explore some of the other Beethoven sonatas and Mozart sonatas and Haydn sonatas and all the other lyric pieces and the Schumann Kinderscenen.

The two-part inventions, my goodness, there's so wealth of great music without having to play virtuosic Liszt and Rachmaninoff and Brahms, which is also great music. And it will be opened up to you with a gateway of the music I've shown you.

Check out in the description if you like being able to take your piano to the next level. I have a link for you. Again, I'm Robert Estrin. This is LivingPianos.com, your online piano resource. Thanks so much for joining me.

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