Hi everyone!
My school has offered to put together an ensemble to play a concerto with me next year and our music director has asked me to select the repertoire. She wants a more modern-ish concerto... something along the lines of Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue... or Ravel... or anything even more recent. Does anyone know of anything particularily good that I could listen to? Thanks so much!!

*Sarice*

For what it's worth Sarice, my favourite piano concerto is the Bartok concerto No 3 .......... I only mention this as it might be something you enjoy listening to, i think if you asked to do it as a performance, it might give your director a nightmare !!!

The Ravel G major would be an appropriate choice, as would the Gershwin concerto.

I think it would be very difficult for a school orchestra to "put on" the Ravel G major or:

Bartok
Britten
Hindemith
Rachmaninov
Prokovief

Or really any of the 20th century concertos including the British concerti. They were usually written as virtuoso works for orchestra AND piano.

What about playing a single movement from a concerto - the central movement of the Ravel G major might be possible.

Sarice - you said school but not which one - if we're talking Juilliard here then pleease ignore the above

I ADORE the Gershwin. However, another of my favourites is 'Nights in the Garden of Spain' by Manuel de Falla (written about 1910). It's a very 'easy-on-the-ear' piano concerto, but I've no idea how complex the orchestral part is?

Prokofiev 3. Don't know what the orchestral part is like, but the piano part is absolutely fiendish! If by some chance you don't know it, listen to the sainted Martha Argerich's version.

Edward

I heard both the Prokofiev 1 and 3 at the Leeds piano competition finals last year and they were both wonderful. My personal favourite is the Gershwin and i'm sure it's much easier to play Good luck

If I recall, the two Glazunov piano concerti are well worth a listen .

Hoffnung's (Reizenstien's) Concerto Populare! As far as I can remember, it includes the Gershwin, Rachmaninov, Grieg etc etc and it's 20th Century!

Two of my favourites already mentioned, the Bartok and Prok 3rds, are available on one CD: Decca 411 969-2, Ashkenazy with the LPO under Solti.

I suspect the Bartok is easier for both soloist and orchestra. He wrote it towards the end of his life, when he was destitute in the US, and gave his wife sole performing rights for a limited period, so that she would have something to live on after his death. The orchestral parts of the Prokofiev are almost as fiendish as the solo part. Reading University put this on with a post-graduate student (later junior staff member) as soloist and although he could play it at the right speed he had to slow down to accommodate the University Symphony Orchestra.

Malcolm Arnold's Fantasy on a Theme of John Field... a one-movement concerto in all but name and written for John Lill..

I adore Prokofiev 3, but it'd be very hard for a school orchestra, unless they're very exceptional. What about Shostakovich 2 - it was actually written with a young person in mind. Poulenc is lovely, too.

Another vote for Prok 3 ---- or the Britten, which is perhaps not so well known.

What about Gershwins piano concerto in F ? years ago i bought the arrangement for solo piano of this concerto, but never really looked at it since then. I used to love Previns recording of it, especialy the second movt.

Shostakovich. no.1 is fun with solo trumpet with the piano. no.2 - simply "wow!"

Wow you guys are amazing! Thank you so much for the suggestions! I appreciate this so much...
I'll have to let everyone know what I end up doing!!

*Sarice*

Yes! This one's overlooked quite a lot but the piano part is amazing, especially the 3rd movement. I also bought the solo transcription, but as yet haven't got too far with it! It's much harder than the Rhapsody