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Piano Board => Repertoire => Topic started by: ilsa on February 20, 2006, 06:30:25 AM

Title: Difficulty of Scriabin's Vers La Flamme?
Post by: ilsa on February 20, 2006, 06:30:25 AM

Can anyone tell me how difficult this piece is in terms of diploma levels?  For example, would it be at the difficulty of DipABRSM/ ATCL, LRSM/LTCL or FRSM/FTCL?  Or perhaps compare it to other Scriabin works such as the Sonata No. 5 or the Etude Op. 42 No. 5?

I'm trying to choose my exam programme for FTCL and would really appreciate any help. 

Title: Re: Difficulty of Scriabin's Vers La Flamme?
Post by: alzado on February 21, 2006, 06:04:42 PM

I am not going to be able to satisfy you, but I do see that your post has lingered here for some time without answer.  So let me attempt some sort of lame response.

I have listened to this piece numerous times as played by Horowitz.  I like the piece very much.

I am only stating the obvious when I suggest that this piece is "godawful hard."

Can you play it?  If so, you have certainly impressed me.

Title: Re: Difficulty of Scriabin's Vers La Flamme?
Post by: mikey6 on February 22, 2006, 01:10:51 AM

I was having this discussion the otehr day with a friend.  Apparently byt the looks of the score, it's not that difficult - besides some rhythmic issues and 5 minutes of tremelo at the end.  However I know of a few people who have been warned against playing it so I'm guessing the difficulty must be somewhere esle besides technical..

Title: Re: Difficulty of Scriabin's Vers La Flamme?
Post by: pita bread on February 22, 2006, 01:13:49 AM

Skepto and I like to call it the "Campanella effect" - when something sounds far easier than it actually is.

Title: Re: Difficulty of Scriabin's Vers La Flamme?
Post by: nanabush on February 22, 2006, 02:44:43 AM

I have the Horowitz video of it, and He says  "Very difficult piece".... he does like left hand double note tremolos... which seem to be very difficult... it looks awkwardly difficult.

Title: Re: Difficulty of Scriabin's Vers La Flamme?
Post by: ilsa on February 22, 2006, 01:58:23 PM

Thanks for all your replies!  ;) Ok, so it seems like the piece is certainly difficult enough. 

Quote from: mikey6 on February 22, 2006, 01:10:51 AM

Apparently byt the looks of the score, it's not that difficult - besides some rhythmic issues and 5 minutes of tremelo at the end.  However I know of a few people who have been warned against playing it so I'm guessing the difficulty must be somewhere esle besides technical..

Yep, the score really doesn't look too complicated.   Looks are deceiving...

Perhaps asking whether this piece was difficult enough was a rather obviously answered question, but  I have to write to the examinations board for them to approve my programme and I really didn't want to spend time learning a new piece and then have them reject it because it 'wasn't difficult enough' as this has happened quite a few times before.  I thought it would be good to get some opinions before I started learning it.  Not that it's not good to learn new repertoire, but I do have a time limit (up till the end of the year) and really need to finalise my programme so I can start working properly on the pieces - intepretation, ironing out the technical bits, etc.   

Title: Re: Difficulty of Scriabin's Vers La Flamme?
Post by: pita bread on February 23, 2006, 08:29:42 AM

If that's the case, Vers la Flamme is plenty hard enough. If they want more than that, go for Sonatas 5 or 7.

Title: Re: Difficulty of Scriabin's Vers La Flamme?
Post by: tanman on June 16, 2008, 12:04:39 PM

If Horowitz says it's hard, it IS hard.