Piano Forum

Piano Board => Repertoire => Topic started by: artlin02 on July 02, 2018, 08:54:28 PM

Title: Shostakovich sonata no. 2
Post by: artlin02 on July 02, 2018, 08:54:28 PM

Hi! What is the difficulty of Shostakovich sonata no. 2? What pieces are there that has the same lever of difficulty? Thank you

Title: Re: Shostakovich sonata no. 2
Post by: ianw on October 06, 2018, 03:42:29 PM

The Royal Conservatory of Music includes this piece at its highest level (Licentiate Diploma).  The database at www.pianosyllabus.com (https://www.pianosyllabus.com) has it as level 10 on a scale of 1 to 10.

Title: Re: Shostakovich sonata no. 2
Post by: fftransform on October 15, 2018, 10:36:45 AM

It's roughly on the order of the Prokofiev No. 4 or Ginastera.  Most of the 'technical' difficulty is all in the first movement; Gilels' recording is considered the standard.

Title: Re: Shostakovich sonata no. 2
Post by: virtuoso80 on October 27, 2018, 11:27:26 AM

This is a tough piece. It doesn't have the acrobatics of other pieces, but it still requires someone with easy technique. Right from the beginning, those 16th notes need to be casual for you, or you won't be able to get the right colors and dynamics.