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Piano Board => Repertoire => Topic started by: franz_ on August 12, 2006, 08:36:13 AM

Title: Which is harder: Grieg - Shostakovich ?
Post by: franz_ on August 12, 2006, 08:36:13 AM

Vote. And share your experiences.

Title: Re: Which is harder: Grieg - Shostakovich ?
Post by: jre58591 on August 12, 2006, 08:39:40 AM

most definitely the grieg. ther eare many reasons, especially that the shostakovich concertos were written as excercises for his brother. the grieg is a full-blown concert piece.

Title: Re: Which is harder: Grieg - Shostakovich ?
Post by: nicco on August 12, 2006, 08:46:06 AM

Grieg is harder no doubt. Unless you think hanon is harder then grieg.

Title: Re: Which is harder: Grieg - Shostakovich ?
Post by: nortti on August 12, 2006, 02:05:46 PM

Shostakovitch is mostly easy but there are some passages that don't fit in the hands (mine at least) no matter how hard you try, and some fit only after you've come up with some creative fingerings..
Haven't played Grieg.

Title: Re: Which is harder: Grieg - Shostakovich ?
Post by: franzliszt2 on August 12, 2006, 07:24:06 PM

Grieg is by far the hardest

Title: Re: Which is harder: Grieg - Shostakovich ?
Post by: moi_not_toi on August 12, 2006, 11:57:58 PM

Grieg (although relatively easy) was assisted by Liszt in writing his Concerto (so I've heard) so I'm sure that It's actually harder.

Shostakovich has some hard passages, but they aren't as numerous or hard as the passages in the Grieg.

Title: Re: Which is harder: Grieg - Shostakovich ?
Post by: letters on August 19, 2006, 05:35:13 PM

im playing shostakovich 2 next yr with school orchestra - no way id even attempt grieg.

Title: Re: Which is harder: Grieg - Shostakovich ?
Post by: Pumkinhead on August 22, 2006, 12:07:26 AM

I'll be going entirely against the grain and say Shostakovich. I have played both in their entirety, and the Shostakovich gave me more problems technically. Of course, the Grieg is another ten minutes longer, but once you learn the notes, getting it up to speed was a cinch for me. Also, it's one of the most pianistic concerti I've ever played. It fits into the hand really well, and is even easier to memorize. Shosti, especially with the Sightreadable slow movement, looks sparse and simple, but really, it's much more awkward and unpianistic. In the overall scope, Shostakovich is harder to master, but not by much.