We all know and love (for the most part) the popular classics…
But there are tons of phenomenal contemporary pieces that are right up there.
I’ve compiled a showcase of 16 beautiful contemporary piano solos by 16 different artists–
uplifting, melancholic, blithe, a mix of beautiful piano music.
I’d hesitate to label these works further than ‘contemporary’. After all, what’s in a name?
There is an entire world of music out there that you probably haven’t seen half of.
Videos are below with sheet music if available, of the following pieces:
- Melodie by Grieg
- Rocket to the Moon by Jim Brickman
- At the Ivy Gate by Brian Crain
- In Flight by Michael Harrison
- Comptine d’un autre ete by Yann Tiersen
- Barcarolle by Alkan
- Oceans by Rob Costlow
- Far and Away by Philip Wesley
- China Gates by John Adams
- River Flows in You by Yiruma
- Nocturne No 2 by John Field
- Tango by Albeniz-Godowsky
- Hope Springs by Roy Todd
- I Giorni by Ludovico Einaudi
- Back to Life by Allevi
Enjoy! If you’re looking for more piano solos, take a look at these grand and beautiful solos.
Melodie by Grieg
Rocket To The Moon by Jim Brickman
At The Ivy Gate by Brian Crain
In Flight by Michael Harrison
Comptine d’un autre été by Yann Tiersen
Barcarolle by Alkan
Oceans by Rob Costlow
Far and Away by Philip Wesley
China Gates by John Adams
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River Flows in You by Yiruma
Nocturne No. 2 by John Field
Tango by Albeniz-Godowsky
Hope Springs by Roy Todd
I Giorni by Ludovico Einaudi
Back To Life by Allevi
If you’re looking for more piano music, here are 6 Grand and Beautiful Piano Solos and more contemporary piano solos.
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where can I find sheet music for Comptine d’un autre été by Yann Tiersen
Rachel, there isn’t official sheet music released right now, but people have put up their own versions of the piece online. It’s a great piece!
http://m-piano.blogspot.com/2008/11/yann-tiersen-comptine-dun-autre-ete.html Your welcome! <3
Thank you so much!
I learned the piece and it is stunning! this website will download it for you :)
I get all my music off there! You can get anything!
Thanks for sharing this songs, they all seemed beautiful and uniques. glad to find your blog. Cheers!
Thanks, Cristian! Have you tried any of these pieces? I’m always open to suggestions, if there’s something you’d like to see or something you need help with.
These pieces are great specially the one from yann tiersen and Nocturne number 2 by John field was one of the first piano pieces i learnt !! :)
Where can I find the sheet music for River Flows in by Yiruma? I fell in love with this song!
This piece is beautiful, one of my favorites of all time. https://www.dropbox.com/s/t0wzwq224vsjszy/122270848-River-Flows-in-You.pdf
So glad I have found this!
Merci, j’ai vraiment adoré tous ces morceaux de musique..
beautiful pieces of music
most of these pieces are really nice.
the only issue i have with a lot of modern piano music is that it’s so samey and plain, it’s advertisement music. all these pieces are very similar harmonically and very unexperimental. that’s not universally a bad thing but it’d be nice to see a bit more ambition from piano composers these days.
would like to clarify i still like them but still…
I see where you’re coming from. Maybe I should dig up some ambitious piano solos…
I know what you mean, I feel pretty much the same, although these are all nice compositions.
I recommend Nils Frahm; he has a range of more modal/rhythmic overdubbed recordings as well as some beautiful solos which cover a bit more ground harmonically.
Great example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkbf1-cVUuY
This is really great and awesome stuff!!
much gratitude!!!
Have fun! :)
Great pieces! I like the one by Yann Tiersen too, I like Japanese pieces. And by the way if anyone wants some more suggestions, I VERY highly reccomend each piece listed below. I’m really specific on what I call a “beautiful” melody, and these will make you want to cry, probably. They’re just amazing. Hope you like! Life is Like a Boat – from the anime Bleach Everything – Helen Jane Long Expression – Helen Jane Long Daybreak – Andrew Turner River Flows in You – Yiruma Corpse Bride theme song (yes I know, weird title but beautiful haunting piece)… Read more »
Thanks for the suggestions! I’ll look into these and maybe feature a few in a future post. :)
Thanks for including my song in your list :) I’m happy to know you are listening and telling others.
Hey Brian, keep up the wicked pieces! I’d love to feature more of your work. :)
By the way, you wouldn’t believe how many people are interested in your sheet music. I’d be over the moon if we can work something out. ;)
Grace
Brian I am dying to see a contemp. piano performance in New England (specifically MA) do you know if you or any other acclaimed pianists are coming to the area at any point for any sort of show? I’m dying to see something
Thanks so much Grace.
I have sheet music available on my website too. There’s even a free song each month http://briancrain.com/sheet-music/
I sent some sheet music to your email for your personal use. Let me know if you got it.
Brian
Hello, Thanks so much for posting these pieces. I can’t play and don’t really have time to listen to music on the radio – so my exposure to contemporary music is often limited to television and film soundtracks. It is great that Internet sources such as yours can provide another access entry point to contemporary music outside of the mainstream pop, rock etc. The BBC for example sometimes doesn’t even list in the end-titles the music it has used in documentaries – I have recognised pieces and watched carefully at the end, only to find that no credit is given….
I think that ‘Marcia alla turca’ by Mozart should be added to the list, absolutely stunning!
Thanks for the list! I have tried a few of these already, and I love them! Brian Crain’s “Moonrise” is also a great song… it has gotten me through some pretty tough times!
Thanks a lot!
This post helped me too much.
I’ve found the song I was looking for here. The song is Comptine d’un autre été by Yann Tiersen….Love it :)
I know of a classical piece that I think is a pure jewel when it comes to beautiful music. It’s called Auf Flugeln Des Gesanges, arranged by Franz Liszt, and I haven’t found any song more beautiful than this one. Here’s the link, but I warn you, it’s difficult: http://imslp.org/wiki/Mendelssohns_Lieder,_S.547_(Liszt,_Franz)
Download the fifth one from the top. Don’t worry, it’s safe.
Austin, you’ve certainly caught my attention! The rhythm in this piece is going to take me down.
please let me know what’s beautiful song played in this video
I enjoy John Field, but you might want to know he is considered the father of the nocturne. He was deceased in 1832 so his music is in the public domain and can be downloaded at imslp.com