If you enjoy playing the piano, you already know how amazing the instrument is. 

And if the piano is not just a hobby to you but a great passion filled with happiness and joy, then you are perhaps someone who would know about the masterpieces created by amazing pianists over the centuries and decades. 

Even if you are a beginner in piano and want to learn more about pianos in general, one thing we recommend you learn about is the amazing masterpieces created by pianists over the years.

• Beethoven’s Sonata in the “Moonlight”

The opening piece on our list is first movement of Beethoven’s “Moonlight”, which is breathtakingly beautiful and tops our list for a reason. The most well-known piece of his, the Sonata, was dubbed a “lamentation” by composer Hector Berlioz. 

However, it couldn’t be more dissimilar in comparison to the third movement, which is an incredible finger workout.

• Piano Concerto by Clara Schumann

Next up is among the most well-known pianists that we can talk about: Clara Schumann, who has demonstrated amazing and mesmerizing piano notes in her concerts. 

She demonstrates her extraordinary pianism and melodious creativity in this lovely piano concerto. Regrettably, she abandoned writing music, claiming that she lacked the artistic ability and that after her concerts, she felt she didn’t have the ability to create something magical. 

And hence, we are only left with the masterpieces she has created ever since. Luckily, many such timeless pieces can be played on digital pianos, as traditional pianos demand space and big pockets. 

A digital piano can showcase its capacity to play any classical music, find out more about different brands, reviews and much more on ezMusicBox.

• The Clair de Lune by Debussy

Oddly, “Clair de Lune” also translates to “Moonlight,” although Beethoven’s romantic classicism and Debussy’s impressionism are worlds apart, it is yet another piano piece worth mentioning.

Don’t be deceived by “Clair de Lune’s” simplicity; as a matter of fact, it actually took Debussy fifteen whole years to complete the third movement of the Suite Bergamasque, and the result is a mind-blowing the piece that, despite its apparent simplicity, demands years of expertise to even attempt it. 

This piece is so popular and majestic that if any pianist gets to nail it, that pianist will be recognized as a musical talent.

• Nocturne in E flat major by Chopin

Chopin wrote his most famous nocturne at the age of twenty, which may explain its impressionistic passion and how enthusiastic he was about pianos that he created such an impressive piano note at such a young age.

The Nocturne in E-flat Major is a strong candidate for way the main theme and waltz-like accompaniment build up to the dramatic finale replete with trills.

This is an amazing piece that you can go for if you are someone who likes the dramatic finale rhythms and has a hankering for waltz-like piano tunes.

• Piano Trio by Rebecca Clarke

British composer Rebecca Clarke studied at the Royal Academy of Music and Royal College of Music in London before relocating to the United States and living there for the remainder of her entire life. Because of how she studied music, she became one of the greatest pianists of all time.

Her piano notes are consistently exhilarating, innovative, and extremely potent. Among the greatest compositions ever written, “Viola’s” Sonata is the best piano piece written by her. 

She is well-known for the piano trio for having to play piano, violin, and cello due to how well she played the notes in the instruments and her own piano piece being completely enthralling.

• Scenes from Childhood by Robert Schumann

Kinderszenen by Schumann is a collection of a lot of piano miniatures with melancholy themes, including chase games, night terrors, bedtime tales, and slumber.

The most well-known song, “Traumerei,” depicts a young child’s dreams in a serene orchestral setting. 

It’s sentimental and gorgeously nostalgic. The variations of piano rhythms can be a great choice for quick uplifts. 

• The Well-Tempered Clavier by J.S. Bach

Following that is the Well-Tempered Clavier, which has set the standard for keyboard instrument composition for the next decade since its creation.

This particular piano piece that we are discussing is one of the most notable piano pieces available. Bach created two books, the first of which was designated as the ultimate masterpiece in 1722.

The very two books, which each include 24 preludes and fugues of the Western scale’s keys and begin with a prelude in C major and end with a fugue in B minor, are collectively referred to as “The 48,” which is denoted as the most beloved piano pieces brought down for centuries, and even this can be exhilarating for piano enthusiasts.

• The Goldberg Variations by J.S. Bach

In addition to that, Bach’s thirty variations on a theme were initially composed to aid a Russian count in overcoming his sleeplessness. They were named by the keyboard player, Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who is thought to have performed the variations to aid the count in falling asleep.

The composition begins with a straightforward exposition of the theme (the”aria”), and those thirty variations grow increasingly complex while veering off the initial theme. 

The most well-known recording of the epic opus was made by Canadian pianist Glenn Gould and is remembered even today because of how great and intriguing the piece is.

• Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto- “Emperor,”

The “Emperor,” the final of Beethoven’s major piano concertos, contains a strong case for being the finest work ever composed for piano. And we truly mean it when we say that the notes of “Emperor” strike the heart with their mind-blowing piano rhythms.

Not the composer, but one of Napoleon’s officers reportedly gave the work the title, calling it “an emperor of a concerto.” One of the genuine workhorses of the piano repertoire comes to an end with a smash and then a bang in the finale, which follows the classic first movement.

The piece has been recorded by almost every pianist who is passionate about piano pieces, demonstrating how well-known this piece is. And among those covers, Leif Ove Andsnes is a fantastic rendition you can listen to.

• Piano Sonata in B Minor by Liszt

By 1854, Liszt had completed his colossal Piano Sonata in B minor and had put some finishing touches on it. Bringing this beautiful note to a private party to be performed, he reasoned, would be a great way to reveal it to the world.

Johannes Brahms, another composer, was one of the attendees, and that party was how this particular note became famous and has been trickling down history ever since it was composed.

According to the legend, Brahms was seen dozing off when his fellow composer Liszt was playing this breathtaking note, which caused controversy. Despite its unfavorable debut, this sonata has grown to become one of the most popular and often played piano pieces.

Sonatas typically contain four particular movements, but Liszt was not necessarily the one to follow convention. The Sonata in B minor is a continuous piece of music composed of a few recurring themes that take on different forms throughout.

• Beethoven Pathétique Sonata

Following that, Beethoven’s Sonata-Pathétique is an excellent companion if you’re drowning in a sea of melancholy and brooding.

It comes as no surprise that particular piece is still among the most renowned works by its composer because it is timeless and joyfully recognizable for the distinctive motif line Beethoven uses throughout and can be a heart-wrenching yet breathtaking piano note that you can go for.

• Rachmaninov’s C minor Piano Concerto No. 2

Since the chart’s inception in 1996, Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto has held the top spot in the Classic FM Hall of Fame eight times.

Many questions have arisen ever since it was hit, as the piano note is still very famous even to this. However, it does trickle down to a few questions: what is it about this unquestionably enormous piece of creativity that is so unique?

Could it be the second movement’s overly sentimental composition that gave the note its iconic score? Or is it the virtuoso climax of the third movement, beneath which even the best pianists might falter?

No one knows the exact answer, but regardless of the question, Rachmaninov’s C minor piano concerto no. 2 is one of the greatest piano notes we have ever heard.

Conclusion

To sum it up, from Beethoven’s great pieces to Bach’s, we jotted down the best of the piano notes that have been created over the centuries. 

We hope that the incredible pieces ever written for piano outlined above inspire you lito sten to them, learn them, also dig out more historical pieces just purely out of love for music.