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.
Chopin’s Prelude No 4 in E minor is one of the 24 preludes opus 28 for piano. By Frédéric Chopin’s request, this piece was played at his own funeral, along with Mozart’s Requiem. Hans von Bülow called the prelude “suffocation”, due to its sense of despair.
The Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor Op 37, was composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1800 and was first performed on 5 April 1803, with the composer as soloist. The first primary theme is reminiscent of that of Mozart’s 24th Piano Concerto.
Sergei Prokofiev set to work on his Piano Concerto No. 2 in 1912 and completed it in 1913. But that version of the concerto is lost; the score was destroyed in a fire following the Russian Revolution.
