Helen, I second Steve Shaw,
and I particularly suggest the piano concerti of Mozart,
especially the later ones.
Early ones, Mozart was still a kid.

The later concerti come when Mozart is full-blown mature.
And it helps to listen to these piano concerti
and to think of them as instrumental dramas,
and to imagine what sort of story is being played out.

This is one thing that separates the piano concerti of Mozart
from the piano concertos composed by so many others
during the golden age of the piano.
Remember, pianos used to be big business, big moneymakers, and they supported financially a number of cultural developments in the Industrial Age which were more mercenary than musical.
It's why I have trouble with piano concertos in general;
one has this impression of cutthroat competition, and prize-winning,
and "war-horse" repertoire which, as the English say, puts bums in seats.

Not Mozart, bless him.
Mozart is an operatic composer par excellence, so drama and storytelling are natural for him.
And if some composers write songs without words,
then Mozart is capable of writing operas without words --
and the piano concerto is one way for him to do that.