Piano music has long been at the heart of Western classical tradition, offering a uniquely intimate and expressive medium.
From the precise counterpoint of Bach to the fiery virtuosity of Liszt, from the delicate impressionism of Debussy to the brooding introspection of Rachmaninov, the keyboard allows composers to explore every facet of human emotion. The piano can thunder, whisper, dance, and sigh, all within the span of a single work, making it a canvas for both technical mastery and profound artistry.
Over centuries, certain pieces have transcended their era, influencing generations of musicians and shaping the very language of music itself. Some are benchmarks of technical skill, like Beethoven’s late sonatas, demanding precision and endurance. Others, like Satie’s Gymnopédies or Janáček’s In the Mists, revel in mood, subtlety, and atmosphere. Collectively, these works showcase the instrument’s versatility, emotional depth, and capacity for innovation.
In this list, we’ve chosen 15 pieces that embody the pinnacle of piano artistry, whether for their historical importance, technical brilliance, or sheer beauty. Each one offers a different lens through which to experience the power, intimacy, and majesty of the piano.
Best piano music
15. Erik Satie – Gymnopédies (1888)
Three weightless, dreamlike meditations that reinvented musical simplicity. Their delicate harmonies, unhurried pace, and gentle melancholy seemed to float outside time itself. In rejecting Romantic grandiosity, Erik Satie quietly invented modern minimalism, influencing Debussy, Ravel, and later ambient pioneers like Brian Eno. More than a century on, these short pieces remain timeless studies in restraint, atmosphere, and the beauty of stillness.
14. Leoš Janáček – 'In the Mists' (1912)
Various critics have detected the influence of the French, so-called ‘impressionist’ composers in this set of solo piano works, not least in their mysterious, dreamlike atmosphere and vivid use of harmonic colour. But this is unmistakably Janáček: emotionally turbulent, rhythmically unpredictable – even improvisational, with a folk-infused sound world poised on the boundary between eastern and western Europe. Written in 1912, a few years after the death of Janáček’s daughter, this is a haunting snapshot of a troubled, but brilliantly original, composer’s mind.
13. Sergey Prokofiev – Piano Sonata No. 7 (1942)
A collision of steel and lyricism, Prokofiev’s Seventh Piano Sonata channels wartime anxiety into blistering energy. Its jagged rhythms and biting harmonies evoke a world on edge, while moments of fragile beauty remind us of humanity beneath the chaos. The ferocious finale – a toccata of unstoppable propulsion – still sounds like the 20th century tearing forward, bold, relentless, and defiant.
12. Modest Mussorgsky – Pictures at an Exhibition (1874)
This suite of piano pieces was written in response to a visit to an art exhibition – that of Mussorgsky’s friend, the Russian artist Viktor Hartmann, who had died in 1873, aged only 39. Mussorgsky, who was known to suffer creative agonies during the composition process, apparently took great pleasure in this one and it shows: encapsulating the idea of a viewer walking through a gallery, this piece is a wonderfully playful representation of image, with many of its tuneful snapshots – including ‘The Great Gate of Kiev’ – ranking among the heavyweights of the piano repertoire.
An alcoholic in later life, the composer died before the piece could be published, and many of us are now more familiar with Rimsky-Korsakov’s tidied-up orchestral version. Still, there is a lot to be said for the raw, muscular power of Mussorgsky’s original.
11. Mozart Piano Sonata No. 11 (1783)
They may not quite plumb the same emotional depths as those of Beethoven (of whom more shortly), but Mozart’s piano sonatas – written between 1774 and 1789 – offer a snapshot of a phenomenal musical talent, and one that was never more at home than in dramatic music for the stage: each of his piano sonatas are like mini operas, their surface grace belying their internal drama.
Each tells its own story, each is populated with dynamic characters that engage in, often passionate, dialogue. And each is a window into Mozart’s character, reminding us that this was someone who could push boundaries, without violating them, and who could pack a sense of mischief into music of the utmost elegance and grace. Most popular among them is the Piano Sonata No. 11 in major, K.331, often referred to as the ‘Alla Turca’, but there are 17 other numbered piano sonatas to choose from, so get listening!
10. Sergey Rachmaninov – Prelude in C-sharp Minor, Op. 3 No. 2 (1892)
A masterpiece of dark grandeur and Russian melancholy, this prelude unfolds like a miniature drama of confession and release. Thunderous chords give way to tender, introspective passages, creating a sense of emotional tension and catharsis. Its dramatic contrasts – from brooding intensity to delicate lyricism – showcase Rachmaninov’s gift for blending technical brilliance with deep feeling, making it one of his most immediately gripping and enduring works.
9. Johannes Brahms – Intermezzi (1892)
These three solo piano works, composed late in his life by the great German composer Johannes Brahms, are loved for their capacity to express emotions of astonishing intensity through the sotto voce purr of a lullaby.
Brahms himself described them as ‘cradle songs for my sorrows’, prefacing them in the score with two lines of poetry from a Scottish poem translated into German by Johann Gottfried von Herder: ‘Sleep softly, my child, sleep softly and well! It grieves me so to see you weep.’ But what sorrows was Brahms referencing exactly? Perhaps his unfulfilled, enduring love for the pianist and composer Clara Schumann, who, as Brahms’s friend and confidante of 40 years, was destined as the first pianist to see these pieces.
8. Maurice Ravel – Gaspard de la Nuit (1908)
Maurice Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit is a pinnacle of solo piano mastery, blending technical fireworks with haunting imagination. Each movement – 'Ondine', 'Le Gibet', and 'Scarbo' – presents unique challenges, from shimmering textures to fiendish virtuosity, demanding both precision and expressive depth. The work’s darkly poetic character, inspired by Aloysius Bertrand’s fantastical poetry, pushes pianistic possibilities while creating an immersive, otherworldly atmosphere, cementing its status as one of the 20th century’s greatest piano masterpieces.
7. Franz Schubert – Impromptu in G-flat major, Op. 90 No. 3 (1827)
Composed during the penultimate year of his life, Franz Schubert's set of eight Impromptus for piano is considered to be one of the finest examples of early Romantic music, with many of them finding their way into movies, or providing inspiration for subsequent composers.
The third impromptu in G flat major is probably the best known of the set, its serene yet sobbing melody painted in countless shades of grey by pianists from Vladimir Horowitz to Alfred Brendel. But all eight pieces contain moments of great poignancy, tenderness and beauty.
6. Robert Schumann – Kreisleriana, Op. 16 (1838)
Robert Schumann’s Kreisleriana stands as one of the most intense and imaginative solo piano works of the Romantic era. Comprising eight movements that alternate between frenzied turbulence and intimate tenderness, the piece captures a striking emotional breadth. Inspired by E. T. A. Hoffmann’s eccentric fictional musician Johannes Kreisler, it feels like entering a diary of vivid, unpredictable moods. S
udden shifts between manic outbursts and delicate lyricism challenge the performer’s technique and interpretive skill, while immersing the listener in Schumann’s restless inner world. Kreisleriana is at once confessional, theatrical, and virtuosic – a testament to Romantic expressivity and the piano’s capacity for psychological depth.
5. Claude Debussy – Images (1901-07)
Reflecting Debussy’s fascination with the relationship between sight and sound, this masterpiece was visionary in the way it effectively transformed the ear into an eye, creating musical swirls of iridescent colour through its inventive pianistic techniques and blurred harmonic focus.
On finishing his first series of Images, in 1905, Debussy wrote to his publisher, Jacques Durand: ‘Without false pride, I feel that these three pieces hold together well and that they will find their place in the literature of the piano… to the left of Schumann, or to the right of Chopin.’ He was not wrong.
4. Frédéric Chopin – Etude Op. 25, No. 11 'Winter Wind' (1836)
Until Chopin came along, piano études were purely utilitarian exercises, intended solely for the improvement of technique. In Chopin’s hands, however, they became artistic masterpieces – one of the piano repertoire’s most defining works, that have since embedded themselves in popular culture.
Most popular among them are Op. 10 No. 3 (‘L’Adieu); ‘Op. 10, No.12 (‘Revolutionary Étude’; Op 10. No. 5 (‘Black Keys’; and Op. 25, No. 11 (‘Winter Wind’) – the latter of which prompted one editor to write: ‘Small-souled men, no matter how agile their fingers, should avoid it.’
3. Franz Liszt – Piano Sonata in B minor (1853)
‘This is nothing but sheer racket…it’s really awful,’ wrote Clara Schumann on first hearing Liszt’s B minor sonata. And yet, of Liszt’s many, many great piano pieces, this ogre of a sonata, written to no conventional structural design, is generally acknowledged to be his masterpiece, its very complexity one of the main reasons why it is so well loved.
Some have suggested that it offers a musical portrait of the Faust legend. Others have argued that its wild, intense contrasts mirror the conflicts in Liszt’s own personality. Either way, it is a work of extraordinary emotional intensity, something of a cathartic experience for many pianists, which may be why, despite its ferocious technical difficulty, there are now well over 50 recordings of the sonata in the recording catalogue.
2. Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 23, 'Appassionata' (1804-05)
Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas form a monumental arc in Western music, tracing the evolution of the piano, technique, and expressive depth. They encompass tender lyricism, explosive drama, intricate counterpoint, and profound philosophical weight, offering a lifetime of study and discovery for performers and listeners alike.
It's almost impossible to choose, among these 32 masterpieces, a favourite: but if forced, we might go for the Appassionata (Sonata No. 23). Why? Its stormy first movement, turbulent middle, and fiery finale exemplify Beethoven’s genius for fusing technical virtuosity with emotional intensity. Here, the piano becomes a voice of both struggle and transcendence, capturing the human spirit in extremis. In a sense, the sonatas collectively define what solo piano music can achieve.
1. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier (1722 / 1742)
The Well-Tempered Clavier stands as the summit of solo piano repertoire, its influence both foundational and boundless. Completed in 1742, though unpublished in Bach’s lifetime, the two books of 48 Preludes and Fugues were intended as both pedagogical tools and explorations of every musical key. Each prelude introduces a mood or texture, each fugue demonstrates contrapuntal mastery, teaching precision, articulation, and voice-leading. Beyond technique, the collection offers a philosophical and emotional journey: joy, tension, serenity, and drama unfold in equal measure.
Pianists from every era have mined its depths for insight, inspiration, and interpretive challenge. Its combination of structural rigour, expressive freedom, and stylistic variety makes it indispensable, forming the backbone of classical training while remaining endlessly rewarding for performance, study, and contemplation. The Well-Tempered Clavier is not just a benchmark – it is the very essence of keyboard artistry.
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