Difficulty Levels

[kelly_kelly]

Hi! I was wondering about the difficulty of some pieces that I like. How would you rate these pieces on a scale of 1-10, if Fantasie-Impromptu is a 5? (Keep in mind that I'm not actually planning to play most of these, I'm just curious.)

Chopin: Etudes 25/1, 25/2

Liszt: La Campanella

Mendelssohn: PC 1 (1st or 3rd mvt)

Grieg: PC in A Minor (1st mvt)

Thanks in advance!

[pseudopianist]

I think it should be like this:

Op25/1 is 5
Op25/2 is a 5
La campanella 9
Mendelsohn, I have no idea
Grieg 10

[keys]

None of those pieces are a ten! The Chopin Etudes are the easiest of the set, around the same difficulty as the FI. I would put the Grieg next, followed by La Campanella.  If you told me that you could play the Fantasy Impromptu without any trouble, I’d see no problem with learning La Campanellla next. The Grieg is difficult but manageable, and you have the orchestra to cover you if you mess it up.

[guru_of_time]

The Grieg is difficult but manageable, and you have the orchestra to cover you if you mess it up.

That's probably not a good way to look at a concerto lol

[pseudopianist]

I know that none of the pieces are a teen but since Fantasy Impromptu is a 5 the other pieces would all be like 6 ^^

[keys]

That's probably not a good way to look at a concerto lol

You're right, you definitely don't want to go into a concerto thinking " Well I'm not able to play that section... I'll just ask the orchestra to play louder." But it is true that the orchestra is capable of covering many shortcomings.

It seems that young pianists find concerto's intimidating, but they shouldn't! A lot of mediocre pianists sound brilliant if you give them a concerto to play. The orchestra gives them the extra rhythmic drive that they need.

You said in your first post kelly_kelly, that you aren't planning to play most of these pieces; but if you were, the Mendelssohn and the Grieg are both excellent concertos and are at about the right level of difficulty.

[gorbee natcase]

 now we Just want to know what the tens are (with a reason)

[kelly_kelly]

Thanks for your input. It's interesting, I always thought of the Grieg concerto and La Campanella as being pieces that I would play "someday". I guess they overwhelm me because I'm 12. However, I might attempt the Mendelssohn, if I can find the music (preferably free). Do you know where I could find it?