Instrumental Music

Abstract

Although the twentieth century has generally been considered inimical to piano music, considerable evidence proves that many post-Romantic composers had a marked predilection for the instrument that was cherished by Schumann, Chopin, and Liszt. Fauré’s preludes, nocturnes, and barcarolles, and works for the keyboard by Debussy and Ravel, as well as by Déodat de Séverac and Erik Satie, found their way sooner or later into the virtuoso repertory. Composers who succeeded the generation of the keyboard giants remained faithful to the piano, although, with the exception of those mentioned above and certain others (including Ferruccio Busoni and Béla Bartók), their compositions for that instrument may not have played a predominant role in their total output. But music for piano with orchestra never lost its popularity. Hindemith, Prokofiev, and Bartók wrote three concertos each; Stravinsky composed one and the Capriccio; Poulenc produced two; and Schoenberg one. Milhaud wrote five concertos, several compositions of various types for piano with orchestra, and two concertos for two pianos.