Islamey

[nonfox]

Hi....
I've heard that "Islamey" is one of the most difficult pieces ever made.
But I don't know who the composer is!??

Does anyone know a place on the internet, where I can find the sheets for that piece???

[spitz]

No, but if 'Islamey' is the way you spell the repertoire I can find it for you I'll post when I find it

[spitz]

'Islamey-Oriental Fantasy' (its full name) is on this site if you are a gold member

[nonfox]

Oh - thanks.... But who's the composer?

[al]

Balakirev

[burstroman]

Balakirev's Sonata and Sonatina are better musically, at least in my opinion.

[I Love Xenakis]

RAWR  It's spelled "Islamei" and everyone else in the world is wrong!!!!


o.o


what i'm hyper

[ibbar]

here is a link to the pdf:

https://sheetmusicarchive.net/compositions_b/islamey.pdf

[JCarey]

This piece really isn't that hard in the scheme of things. The most difficult pieces I'm familiar with are Sorabji's Opus Clavicembalisticum and Martino's Pianississimo. Even in the standard repertoire, I find that Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit and Rachmaninoff's 3rd piano concerto are much harder than Islamey.

However, it's a fun and exciting piece, so I would recommend listening to it.

[lisztisforkids]

This piece really isn't that hard in the scheme of things. The most difficult pieces I'm familiar with are Sorabji's Opus Clavicembalisticum and Martino's Pianississimo. Even in the standard repertoire, I find that Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit and Rachmaninoff's 3rd piano concerto are much harder than Islamey.

However, it's a fun and exciting piece, so I would recommend listening to it.

Gaspard de la Nuit was supposed to be harder than Islamey

[ibbar]

About Islamey's difficulty:

It is a demanding piece, definitely one of the more challenging in the standard repertoire.  It demands endurance, and good octave/double-note technique.  It is comparable, perhaps, to the Liszt B minor (for example) in sheer technical difficulty, but the Liszt B minor is a piece of vastly greater emotional/intellectual scope.  JCarey is right, though, it's not as hard as Rach 3/Gaspard/Hammerklavier/etc.

[minor9th]

This piece really isn't that hard in the scheme of things. The most difficult pieces I'm familiar with are Sorabji's Opus Clavicembalisticum and Martino's Pianississimo. Even in the standard repertoire, I find that Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit and Rachmaninoff's 3rd piano concerto are much harder than Islamey.

However, it's a fun and exciting piece, so I would recommend listening to it.

I've never heard Martino's Pianississimo--has anyone recorded it?

[ibbar]

Pianississimo has been recorded by several people, but the only performance that I have heard is by Eliza Garth.

It seems to be a solid performance, but I don't enjoy the piece very much, personally.  It is very much "academic" music, combining serial writing with inside the piano techniques.  Martino claims to be influenced by Schumann, but I am at a loss as to where in his writing this is audible.

The piece is very difficult, probably the most difficult piece composed by an American (that I know of).

[I Love Xenakis]

Yeah.  It's a massive serial work.  I thought um.... that Blackwood guy was who performed it.  Or was he the one that commissioned it and then chickened out?  XD

[donjuan]

You look like a fool if you perform this piece in public without being ready for it. 

The absolute greatest recording I have heard is a live one by Horowitz.  Cziffra's is excellent too, since his great talent for buildups embellishes Balakirev's work and makes him seem like a much greater composer than he was.