Hardest Rach Etude?

[nanabush]

Not your favorite etude, just what you think is the most difficult one...

[harmelodic]

I haven't worked on all of them, but at least for me 39/5 was hardest.

[jre58591]

I haven't worked on all of them, but at least for me 39/5 was hardest.

thats really funny. thats the first one i learned cause i thought it was the easiest.

[nicco]

Some ratings from my boosey & hawkes edition:

Most difficult etudes: 33\5, 39\1, 39\6
Strangest etudes: 33\3, 33\8
Most interesting etudes: 39\3, 39\9, 39\7
Greatest, most demanding etude: 39\5
Most beutiful, harmonic etudes: 33\7, 33\2

[houseofblackleaves]

I'm very very very sorry, I just can't pick one of these.


Rachmaninoff's etudes are different from any other type of piano study, different from Chopin's and any other composers sets of etudes.

Rachmaninoff's Tableaux are some of the most exquisite and original peices of piano study, and learning any of them is a brave thing to do.  The even harder part about it, is that Rachmaninoff never set out any guidelines or "purpose" to the etudes, therefore in his words: "Making the pianist paint their own picture."  Or somthing like that.

Woo... I love these peices, and I'd never ever ever pick one of them for any reason.

[harmelodic]

I haven't worked on all of them, but at least for me 39/5 was hardest.

thats really funny. thats the first one i learned cause i thought it was the easiest.

you must be an excellent sight-reader and have a very advanced technique!

[columna]

I've worked the 39/5,and it was very hard but highly rewarding.It's  Beautiful!!!!

[pianovlad1996]

Hello!
My teacher said I am ready for a rach etude. I played Rachmaninoff Elegie and Rachmaninoff Prelude in C# minor. She said that I am free to chose between op.39 no.4, no.5 or no.7. All of them are hard.... I will go at jeuneusses musicale and I think that if I will chose a hard etude, it will be a disaster. Wich of them is the easiest? I am 15 years old. I can reach a 10 without big effort and 11 sometimes.

[pianisten1989]

The one with most notes is clearly the most difficult. Sometimes also the one with highest tempo.

[pianovlad1996]

 So that will be? I don t know wich is the hardest etude between op. 39 no. 4, 5 and 7. His elegie and prelude are different in style and difficulty. Please be exactly because these etudes are tricky and have hidden difficulties...

[richard_strauss]

You're missing op 33 no 9 in C# minor, my personal favorite  

[johnmar78]

You're missing op 33 no 9 in C# minor, my personal favorite  

nice demo here, technically every hard, and I feel sorry for the piano, probably need to tuned after his playing. Unfronately I do not find any music in it. All is bang and slam..

[piano_vs_science]

all of them!!!

[nanabush]

Wow! I started this thread 6 years ago!  I saw this, and was like oh cool a Rach ranking thread...

Since I originally posted this, I've played three of them.  Eb major, G minor, and A minor op 39 #6.  I'd probably say either that op 39 #6, Op 39 #1, or Op 39#3... the other ones that are fast don't seem to have as much awkward-as-hell passages.  The Op 39#1 starts IMMEDIATELY with some really intense right hand stuff.