Top Five Piano Pieces

Here’s what they had to say:

When I began working from home earlier this year, I found the whole experience to be rather monotonous and at times quite lonely. I missed the buzz of the office, the general chit chat during the day and the face-to-face interactions with people. This ‘New Normal’ was a strange adaptation. To keep myself motivated, I started listening to classical music every day. Classical music has always around me being a keen pianist of over 15 years, but listening to it during work made everything so relaxing and really helped to keep me on track. Therefore, I have compiled a list of my five go-to classical pieces that I listen to every day that help keep me calm and meet my deadlines. Why not take out Spotify now and listen along as you read?

Number 1 on the list is Ronda Alla Turca, or most commonly known as Turkish March by Mozart. This is one of my go to pieces. I listen to this piece on a loop to help keep me on track and get through a pile of work. The upbeat tempo of the Turkish March provides a steady beat that helps to keep me going. There is a sense of urgency with this piece and it's often used in Movies and TV shows to portray this. This up-tempo piece leaves a smile on my face as it reminds me of the rich rewards that pay off when hard work is put in as the ending of the Turkish March gives me a real sense of triumph and finality.

 

  

At number 2, I have chosen Nuvole Bianche by Ludovico Einaudi. This is a simple but elegant piece, much like the name of the song ‘Novole Bianche’ which translates in English to ‘White Clouds’. This piece is a quiet piano solo from Einaudis album Una Mattina. In my opinion, this song is the star of the show. This beautiful modern classic piece is one that I play on repeat and have never gotten tired of. This piece is almost 6 minutes long and I will often put this on a loop as it makes time feel like time is passing quicker (which is very helpful on days that just seem to draaaaag).

                                                

A special mention has to go out to Rivers Flow in You by Yiruma; made popular by the Twilight saga and nicknamed ‘Bella’s lullaby’. This is another elegant piano solo, which really makes me feel serene and peaceful. The quiet four chord progression in the left hand and sweet melody played in the right have made this piece less complex for the player but beautiful to the listener at the same time. I will often pop ‘Rivers flow in you’ on in the morning before work to de-stress or even practice it on my piano, much to the dismay of my sleepy family and neighbours!

 

This piece was made famous for being the theme of the French film ‘Amelie’. Many listeners will be familiar with the striking mid passage of this piece. While the left hand plays broken chords in the lead up, the right hand takes over for a show stopping melody that reminds me of the sound of quiet rainfall. It is a truly beautiful piece in both its composition and sweet sound throughout and is one that I have found is a real crowd pleaser when there is a piano at a party (Pre-Covid of course). It comes in just as handy the next day when I need something soothing to get over the night before. We’ve all been there…

                    

This is my all-time favourite classical piece. The title translates to ‘Light of the moon’ and it is very fitting in my opinion. The complexity of this piece makes me want to delve deeper into its darker and mysterious meaning. At first, it starts calm then speeds up, gets louder, faster and then calms once again. It reminds me very much of the feeling of reaching a deadline in a project. As a listener, I go through a roller coaster of emotions - first feeling calm, soothed and sad but also coming towards the end there is a feeling of triumph. As a player, there is a feeling of “oh god I had better not mess this up!”, considering Debussy himself spent 15 years composing this piece to perfection. Clair de Lune was published in 1905 and even 116 years later, it is still widely listened to and performed. It serves as a reminder of the timelessness that can only be found in music.

 
All of the aforementioned pieces are exclusively played by the piano, however, they can also be listened to and enjoyed in orchestral form and in some cases vocal. All pieces are available to listen to on Spotify.  I hope you like these pieces as much as I do and if you have any other suggestions of classical pieces that you enjoy please do let us know on our Twitter page!