Piano vs Harpsichord ?  I am definitely one who prefers hearing Bach on a modern piano.  Here, the great Argentinian Pianist Martha Argerich performs the final dance (“Capriccio”) from Bach’s Partita No. 2 in C minor:

Here is the same work performed on Harpsichord:

From 1966:  the great Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich plays Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 by Franz Liszt (Hungarian 1811-1886).  It is sometimes argued that Liszt was the greatest pianist to ever live.  He was most certainly a great and charismatic showman and his piano music, no doubt, reflects his attributes as a virtuoso.

Liszt in 1886, about 2 months before his death

This is an excerpt from a film Music From The Inside Out with the Philadelphia Orchestra.  Close up footage of an irrepressible Lang Lang rehearsing the final movement of Prokofiev’s much loved 3rd Piano Concerto.

Maurizio Pollini is one of the greatest pianists of the last 50 years and he is not afraid to champion work by more modern composers.  If you want melodic Bartok, check out his 3rd Piano Concerto, completed near the end of his life.  If you want to hear something that will grab you and shake you by the lapels, something that is percussive, dissonant and harsh, something exciting and original, then this just might be your cup of tea.  Bartok wrote this in 1926, the same year he wrote his equally brilliant Piano Sonata.

Can’t get enough?

2nd movement

3rd movement

Stravinsky composed the music for Petrushka as a Ballet in 1910-1911.  The story of a puppet, Petrushka, made of straw and sawdust, who comes to life and develops emotions.  And I am sure it is a real exciting experience.  But I am more interested in this version, the piano version, which was created in 1921 for pianist Arthur Rubinstein (Stravinsky himself could not play it, in fact, I don’t know how anyone can play it, seems insanely difficult, exhausting).  It is a joyful, colorful, modern work of art, a real show stopper, a treat to see performed (especially by the beautiful Yuja Wang!).