50 GREATEST VIOLIN-PIANO DUETS
1. Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 9 in A minor "Kreutzer" - Ludwig Van Beethoven
2. Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major - Cesar Franck
3. Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 5 in F major "Spring" - Ludwig Van Beethoven
4. Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in G major - Johannes Brahms
5. Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 3 in D minor - Johannes Brahms
6. Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in A major - Johannes Brahms
7. Berceuse for Violin and Piano in D major - Gabriel Fauré
8. Sonata for Violin and Piano in G minor - Claude Debussy
9. Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 7 in C minor - Ludwig Van Beethoven
10. Tzigane for Violin and Piano - Maurice Ravel
11. Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 3 in E flat major - Ludwig Van Beethoven
12. Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 10 in G major - Ludwig Van Beethoven
13. Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 8 in G major - Ludwig Van Beethoven
14. Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in D major - Ludwig Van Beethoven
15. Liebesleid - Fritz Kreisler
16. Liebesfreud - Fritz Kreisler
17. Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in A major - Gabriel Fauré
18. Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major - Franz Schubert
19. Fantasy for Violin and Piano in C major - Franz Schubert
20. Thaïs: Meditation - Jules Massenet
21. Salut d'amour - Edward Elgar
22. Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord in G minor - Johann Sebastian Bach
23. Sonata for Violin and Piano in B flat major - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
24. Sonata for Violin and Piano in B flat major - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
25. Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 3 in C minor - Edvard Grieg
26. Caprice viennois - Fritz Kreisler
27. Schön Rosmarin - Fritz Kreisler
28. Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in F minor - Serge Prokofiev
29. Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in D major - Serge Prokofiev
30. 3 Sonatinas for Violin and - Franz Schubert
31. Sonata for Violin and Piano in E minor - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
32. Sonata for Violin and Piano in G major - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
33. Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in A minor - Robert Schumann
34. Sonata for Violin and Piano in G major - Maurice Ravel
35. La capricieuse - Edward Elgar
36. Tambourin chinois - Fritz Kreisler
37. Rondo for Violin and Piano in B minor "Rondo Brillant" - Franz Schubert
38. Sonata for Violin and Piano in E flat major - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
39. Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in G major - Edvard Grieg
40. Melodies (5) for Violin and Piano - Serge Prokofiev
41. Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in F major - Edvard Grieg
42. Sonata for Violin and Piano in F major - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
43. Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in D minor - Camille Saint-Saëns
44. Sonata for Violin and Piano - Leos Janácek
45. Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 - Bela Bartok
46. Sonata for Violin and Piano - Aaron Copland
47. Sonata for Violin and Piano in D major - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
48. Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
49. Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in D minor - Robert Schumann
50. Sonata for Violin and Piano in E minor - Edward Elgar

GREATEST CELLO-PIANO WORKS
1. Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 3 in A major - Ludwig Van Beethoven
2. Sonata for Arpeggione in A minor - Franz Schubert
3. Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 5 in D major - Ludwig Van Beethoven
4. Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 in E minor - Johannes Brahms
5. Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 4 in C major - Ludwig Van Beethoven
6. Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 2 in G minor - Ludwig Van Beethoven
7. Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 2 in F major - Johannes Brahms
8. Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 in F major - Ludwig Van Beethoven
9. 3 Sonatas for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord - Johann Sebastian Bach
10. 7 Variations for Cello and Piano on Mozart's "Bei Männern" - Ludwig Van Beethoven
11. Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor - Sergei Rachmaninoff
12. Sonata for Cello and Piano - Claude Debussy
13. Introduction and Polonaise for Cello and Piano in C major - Frederic Chopin
14. Sonata for Cello and Piano in C major - Serge Prokofiev
15. 12 Variations for Cello and Piano on a theme by Handel - Ludwig Van Beethoven
16. Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor - Frederic Chopin
17. Sonata for Cello and Piano in D minor - Dmtri Shostakovich
18. Sicilienne for Cello and Piano - Gabriel Fauré
19. Adagio and Allegro for Cello and Piano in A flat major - Robert Schumann
20. Sonata for Cello and Piano in C major - Benjamin Britten
21. Allegro appassionato for Cello and Piano in B minor - Camille Saint-Saëns
22. Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 in D minor - Gabriel Fauré
23. Sonata for Cello and Piano - Zoltán Kodály
24. Papillon for Cello and Piano in A major - Gabriel Fauré
25. Sonata for Cello and Piano in A minor - Edvard Grieg
26. Rondo for Cello and Piano in G minor - Antonin Dvorák
27. Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 in C minor - Camille Saint-Saëns
28. Romance for Cello and Piano in F minor - Sergei Rachmaninoff
29. Sonata for Cello and Piano - Paul Hindemith
30. Ballade for Cello and Piano in C minor - Serge Prokofiev
31. Sonata for Cello and Piano - Samuel Barber
32. Sonata for Cello and Piano - Francis Poulenc
33. Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 in B flat major - Felix Mendelssohn

New list:

GREATEST DUETS FOR OTHER INSTRUMENTAL COMBINATIONS
1. Fantasie in F minor, D940 (piano 4 hands) - Franz Schubert
2. Sonata for Clarinet & Piano in F minor, Op.120 no.1 - Johannes Brahms
3. Sonata for Clarinet & Piano in E flat major, Op.120 no.2 - Johannes Brahms
4. Sonata for Flute & Piano - Francis Poulenc
5. Scaramouche, Op.165b (2 pianos) - Darius Milhaud
6. Variations on a Theme by Haydn in B flat major (2 pianos) - Johannes Brahms
7. Slavonic Dances (piano 4 hands) - Antonin Dvorák
8. Variations on a Theme of Paganini (2 pianos) - Witold Lutoslawski
9. Sonata for Flute & Piano - Bohuslav Martinu
10. Flute Sonata No. 2 in E flat major, BWV1031 - Johann Sebastian Bach
11. Hungarian Dances (piano 4 hands) - Johannes Brahms
12. Ma Mere l’Oye (piano 4 hands) - Maurice Ravel
13. Sonata for Trumpet & Piano - Paul Hindemith
14. Grand Duo Concertant for Clarinet & Piano in E flat major - Carl Maria von Weber
15. Sonata for Recorder & Continuo in A minor, Op. 1 no. 4 - George Frideric Handel
16. Sonata for Clarinet & Piano - Francis Poulenc
17. Sonata for 2 Pianos in D major, K. 448 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
18. 44 Duos for 2 Violins - Béla Bartók

i'd bet nobody actually performed this on an arpeggione since around schubert's time! (of course i'm probably/hopefully wrong)

There are some duets written for other instruments, like Clarnet/Piano duet by Brahms or Violin/Viola
by Mozart. Maybe there should be a small "Other" Category here, to include theese?

Yes that would be a really helpful list. Poulenc wrote quite a few Piano & other duets, most notably his Flute Sonata. Dutilleuxn Ibert, Milaud, Enescu, Messaien wrote some well-known piano & flute duets too.

That's definitely worth considering. Most such works would be either wind/keyboard or 2 keyboards, but there are a few other notable duets that are neither, so right now, I'd say one list for all other combinations would probably be the way to go.

I've started to look into this proposed list, and an issue I'm running into is that some of the greatest works that were originally written for 2 instruments were later orchestrated, and the stature of the works is largely because of the orchestrated versions. The 3 most prominent examples of this are Brahms' Hungarian Dances and Variations on a Theme by Haydn, and Ravel's Mother Goose Suite. These would probably be the top 3 if we were going by the overall greatness of the work. Right now, I'm inclined to think that these 3 should make the list, but the very top should be reserved for works whose stature is because of the duet version. Four works that would rank near the top are:

SCHUBERT: Fantasie in F minor [pf 4 hands] D940 (1828)
BRAHMS: Sonata for Clarinet & Piano in F minor, Op.120 no.1 (1894)
POULENC: Sonata for Flute & Piano (1956)
LUTOSLAWSKI: Variations on a Theme of Paganini [2 pf] (1941)

I prefer the second clarinet sonata slightly, but I love them both. The Slavonic Dances of Dvorak, both sets, somewhat fit into the same category you mentioned, although they became famous as the duet version for home playing, which is why they were commissioned. Their orchestral versions definitely made them even more popular though.

We're including sonatas, but I'm assuming we're drawing the line at lieder and other voice/piano duets.

Yes, I don't think voice/piano works should be on this list, but maybe they should have their own list. The challenge with such a list is that there are individual lieder and lieder cycles, so should those be together on a list, or should they be on separate lists? I think probably separate.

I agree that the Slavonic Dances are a similar case to the Hungarian Dances, etc.

I'm ready to post the list that we talked about:

GREATEST DUETS FOR OTHER INSTRUMENTAL COMBINATIONS
1. Fantasie in F minor, D940 (piano 4 hands) - Franz Schubert
2. Sonata for Clarinet & Piano in F minor, Op.120 no.1 - Johannes Brahms
3. Sonata for Clarinet & Piano in E flat major, Op.120 no.2 - Johannes Brahms
4. Sonata for Flute & Piano - Francis Poulenc
5. Scaramouche, Op.165b (2 pianos) - Darius Milhaud
6. Variations on a Theme by Haydn in B flat major (2 pianos) - Johannes Brahms
7. Slavonic Dances (piano 4 hands) - Antonin Dvorák
8. Variations on a Theme of Paganini (2 pianos) - Witold Lutoslawski
9. Sonata for Flute & Piano - Bohuslav Martinu
10. Flute Sonata No. 2 in E flat major, BWV1031 - Johann Sebastian Bach
11. Hungarian Dances (piano 4 hands) - Johannes Brahms
12. Ma Mere l’Oye (piano 4 hands) - Maurice Ravel
13. Sonata for Trumpet & Piano - Paul Hindemith
14. Grand Duo Concertant for Clarinet & Piano in E flat major - Carl Maria von Weber
15. Sonata for Recorder & Continuo in A minor, Op. 1 no. 4 - George Frideric Handel
16. Sonata for Clarinet & Piano - Francis Poulenc

Again, there are 4 works on this list - Haydn Variations, Slavonic Dances, Hungarian Dances, and Ma Mere l’Oye - that owe much of their stature to later, orchestrated versions, so all are lower than they would have been if I were ranking them as overall works. They're being ranked as duets, so I thought the ones that were purely duets should get the highest positions, and the benefit of the doubt. So I somewhat arbitrarily placed what are probably the 2 greatest of these just outside of the top 5, and the other 2 just outside of the top 10.

Any thoughts on this list?

What abouth duets for two sring instruments? Like Mozart KV 423, 424, or "44 duos" by Bartok, or any
duet for two Cellos?(like Offenbach op.52 no.3) To have at least one string duet is possible, (you can add 1-2
items if you do not want to delit any work already on the list) I think.

Also of course, you could have Violin/Cello work.(Kodaly, Bartok again, Glier etc.)

Duets for 2 string instruments don't seem to get much recognition. Whether it's because no one has ever done them especially well or for some other reason, I don't know. Of the works you mentioned, Bartok's 44 Duos is probably the one that comes the closest. I looked for other 2 string instument works, and about the best I could do was Carulli's Duo in G [2 guitars], which also isn't a very widely recognized work.

It probably would be good to add Bartok just to give the list a little more diversity. I'd like to keep the list at an even number, and one way that could be done would be to drop Poulenc's Clarinet Sonata. Another possibility would be to keep both, and add another work. As I was trying to find references to the Mozart work you mentioned, I came across another Mozart work that has gotten at least some recognition: Sonata for 2 Pianos in D major, K. 448. If another work were added, maybe that would be the one to add.