Chopin’s Prelude No 16 in B-Flat Minor, Presto con fuoco, is certainly the most difficult of the set. Chopin’s 24 Preludes Op. 28, are a set of short pieces for the piano, one in each of the twenty-four keys, originally published in 1839.
The Toccata in C Minor is part of the Toccatas for Keyboard, BWV 910–916, seven pieces for clavier written by Johann Sebastian Bach. Although the pieces were not originally organized into a collection by Bach himself, the pieces share many similarities.
Liszt’s Third Consolation in D-Flat Major is the most popular of the six Consolations and also a favorite encore piece. Its style is similar to the Chopin Nocturnes, in particular, it seems to have been inspired by Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 27 No. 2.
Chopin Scherzo No 2 in B-Flat minor, op. 31, was composed and published in 1837, and was dedicated to Countess Adèle Fürstenstein. Schumann compared this scherzo from Frédéric Chopin to a Byronic poem.
Written in October 1849 in response to the crushing of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 by the Habsburgs, Funérailles is the 7th and one of the most famous pieces in Harmonies poétiques et religieuses (Poetic and Religious Harmonies).
The Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34, by Johannes Brahms was completed during the summer of 1864 and published in 1865. It was dedicated to Her Royal Highness Princess Anna of Hesse.
Debussy’s Préludes are 24 pieces for solo piano, divided into two books of 12 preludes each. Unlike some notable collections of preludes from prior times, such as Chopin’s or Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Debussy’s do not follow a strict pattern of key signatures.
The English Suites, BWV 806–811, are a set of six suites written by the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach for harpsichord (or clavichord) and generally thought to be the earliest of his 19 suites for keyboard.
Rachmaninoff’s Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor, Op. 19 was completed in November 1901 and published a year later. Sergei Rachmaninoff regarded the role of the piano as not just an accompaniment but equal to the cello.
The Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano by César Franck is one of his best-known compositions, and is considered one of the finest sonatas for violin and piano ever written.
