There are certain pieces of piano music that have inspired me, shaped the way I play, or just made me feel something deep and lasting. I thought it might be nice to share some of them here, like my own version of Desert Island Discs but focused purely on piano. It’s a bit of a mixed bag – classical, jazz, filmic, soulful – but that’s the point. These are the ones I’d take with me if I had to disappear to a quiet island.
Here are the first five…
1. Yuja Wang – Flight of the Bumblebee
A masterclass in control. Playing fast is one thing, but playing fast and quietly? That’s where the real challenge lies. This encore performance by Yuja Wang is a total joy – dazzling, playful, and technically outrageous in all the best ways. The quietness of the crossed hands sections and the contrary motion scale passage near the end as well as the delicate nature of the ending are particularly impressive.
🎧 Watch it here
2. Nina Simone – Backlash Blues
I saw Nina Simone perform this live at the Oxford Playhouse back in 1990 when I was a music student. It was soulful, emotional, and deeply powerful – a performance that’s never left me. She had this way of turning pain into beauty, protest into poetry.
When she died, she left behind a fearless legacy. Classically trained, but uncontainable, she wove blues, gospel, jazz, and politics into every performance. Backlash Blues was her setting of a Langston Hughes poem. Released in 1967 during the height of civil rights protests, it’s part piano lament, part call to action.
As folk singer Rhiannon Giddens once put it: “Nina Simone was more rock & roll than a bunch of people who have already been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”
🎧 Listen here
3. Ólafur Arnalds – Particles
Taken from Island Songs, this track gets me every time. Everything about it – the composition, the arrangement, the vocal performance by Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, and the video is really cool. It’s one of those pieces where you don’t want to change a single note. It’s fragile, beautiful, cinematic, and I find it incredibly moving. Its the perfect companion if you are having a tough time.
🎧 Watch here
4. George Winston – Joy
This is from his December album, which I listened to constantly in the late ’80s. At the time, it felt like something completely new. It was released on the Windham Hill record label and originally was part of what became known as “new age” music – a term which feels a little out of date now. Windham Hill produced music that was difficult to define, with elements of classical, folk, and jazz, nearly all of it instrumental, acoustic, and mellow. The album is an intriguing blend of classical textures with more modern, pop-influenced harmonies. It felt fresh, accessible, and unpretentious – the opposite of the high-art classical music snobbery I’d always rebelled against.
When I got married, this was the piece that Tracey walked down the aisle to.
🎧 Listen here
5. Oscar Peterson – Ballad to the East
Oscar Peterson was one of the greatest ever technicians on the piano. Everything he played had this irresistible swing – even the slow stuff. I was amazed by his virtuosity and wanted to play music like that from the moment I first heard him.
My teacher at the time, the brilliant Janet Nicolls (who did a huge amount to raise the standard of piano teaching in the North East through her work with EPTA), pointed me to his Canadiana Suite. Ballad to the East really stuck. It’s full of beautiful harmonies making use of plenty of “expensive chords” and expressive rubato – perfect for stretching your phrasing muscles. I ended up playing it as a solo piano piece by way of an introduction to the 2nd set with one of my first bands in the early ’90s – we were called Mr Lucky.
🎧 Watch here
That’s it for part one. I’ll be back soon with five more piano tracks that have stuck with me over the years – including a few lesser-known gems and some modern favourites. Hope it’s sparked some memories or discoveries of your own. Please please do reply or comment below with your favourite pieces of piano music – I would love to get your suggestions.
Enjoy the summer.
Steve
