I wanted to make the antithesis of a “Peaceful Classical Piano” type playlist. I don’t think I succeeded, as some of the works here are still very beautiful, however, I think the collective vibe does provide some relief from piano used as background music to which one should study or relax to.

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I give this playlist a Difficult Listening Hour rating of 5/10. 

hush – for two microtonal keyboards by Nina Shekhar. Read more here.
From the composer’s bio, “Nina Shekhar is a composer and multimedia artist who explores the intersection of identity, vulnerability, love, and laughter to create bold and intensely personal works.”

For Ligeti by Conlon Nancarrow played on the composer’s player piano.

Aeolian Harp by Henry Cowell

Rave by Molly Joyce performed by Vicky Chow. Album: Aorta

Chiaroscuro by John Corigliano
From the program note, “Eventually, the deadline forced me to come up with a solution. What occurred to me, finally, was the idea to change totally the concept of two pianos by ‘preparing’ one of them. This was not to be a prepared piano in the John Cage sense, with objects inserted between the strings. Instead, one of the pianos would be tuned a quarter-tone lower than the other, in other words, each piano would sound perfectly tuned by itself, but, for example, the note G on one piano would sound at a pitch between G and F sharp on the other piano, creating eerie effects and dissonances when the instruments were played together.”

Miracle Ear by David Lang

The Illusionist’s Magic Box by Paul Max Edlin performed by Tricia Dawn Williams.
For piano, toy piano and electronics

Study Nr. 47 by Conlon Nancarrow

Etude No. 2 & 20 by Philip Glass performed by Maki Namekawa.

Suite for Toy Piano by John Cage

Piano Sonata No. 1 by Carl Vine

North American Ballads: Which Side Are You On? by Frederic Rzewski
From the LA Phil website, “The original protest song was written in the 1930s by Florence Reese, the wife of a union organizer in the Kentucky coal mines, to the tune of a Baptist hymn (Lay the Lily Low). The full tune is quoted only at the end, the composer beginning instead with fragments that suggest questions more than answers. There are meter and key changes throughout, across an extreme dynamic range, and Minimalist passages as well as an opportunity for improvisation.

“The structure of the melody illustrates the words, Which Side Are You On?,” Rzewski said in a dissertation interview with pianist Sujin Kim. “So, are you on this side? Or are you on that side? Are you supporting the miners? Or are you supporting the bosses? It’s a question. So the idea is that you have to be on one side or the other. The music is intended to illustrate that simple idea. So, it’s divided into two parts. The first section is complex, the second section is simple.” “

The Other Piano: Rocking by Morton Subotnick

Piano Phase by Steve Reich

Sierra by Jane Antonia Cornish