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Which is the harder (Technique Demanding) of the 2?

Opus25, 9 Butterfly
Opus25, 11 Winterwind


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Topic: Which is harder of Chopin's Etude Opus 25?  (Read 5035 times)

Offline victor_ching

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Which is harder of Chopin's Etude Opus 25?
on: August 20, 2006, 01:39:24 AM
Hey,

Which is harder? Winterwind or Butterfly? It would be interesting to look at the results.

In addition to that, can anyone provide me with the approcimate grade for each of the 2 pieces?

Thanks
Victor
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Offline cziffra

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Re: Which is harder of Chopin's Etude Opus 25?
Reply #1 on: August 20, 2006, 01:49:59 AM
winter wind by a very large amount

Offline thierry13

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Re: Which is harder of Chopin's Etude Opus 25?
Reply #2 on: August 20, 2006, 02:30:31 AM
winter wind by a very large amount

Indeed. :P

Offline quasimodo

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Re: Which is harder of Chopin's Etude Opus 25?
Reply #3 on: August 21, 2006, 04:37:49 AM
25/9 is actually often stated as one of the most accessible etudes...
25/6 is a good contender for the most difficult. 25/4 seems to be a b*tch as well. So is 25/12.
" On ne joue pas du piano avec deux mains : on joue avec dix doigts. Chaque doigt doit être une voix qui chante"

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Offline Waldszenen

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Re: Which is harder of Chopin's Etude Opus 25?
Reply #4 on: August 21, 2006, 04:50:58 AM
You can sightread the Op. 25 No. 9 for the first time while slightly drunk and it will still sound OK.
Fortune favours the musical.

Offline brewtality

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Re: Which is harder of Chopin's Etude Opus 25?
Reply #5 on: August 21, 2006, 06:38:22 AM
Hey,

Which is harder? Winterwind or Butterfly? It would be interesting to look at the results.

In addition to that, can anyone provide me with the approcimate grade for each of the 2 pieces?

Thanks
Victor

I don't think you should play these anytime soon.

Offline chromatickler

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Re: Which is harder of Chopin's Etude Opus 25?
Reply #6 on: August 21, 2006, 07:16:33 AM
ahahah i concur wiz da BRU. becuz if u do, da chancez r:

Offline Waldszenen

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Re: Which is harder of Chopin's Etude Opus 25?
Reply #7 on: August 21, 2006, 07:29:20 AM
buahaha 8)

what was that bloke's name again? John Rusnak or something?
Fortune favours the musical.

Offline victor_ching

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Re: Which is harder of Chopin's Etude Opus 25?
Reply #8 on: August 21, 2006, 12:04:47 PM
Quote
I don't think you should play these anytime soon.

Thanks for the warning, I've played butterfly and just got my hands on winterwind, just wanted a comparism.

Quote
In addition to that, can anyone provide me with the approcimate grade for each of the 2 pieces?

Any ideas?

THanks
Victor

Offline cloches_de_geneve

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Re: Which is harder of Chopin's Etude Opus 25?
Reply #9 on: August 25, 2006, 11:01:30 AM
You can sightread the Op. 25 No. 9 for the first time while slightly drunk and it will still sound OK.

Clearly, 25/11 is much harder than 25/9. However, personally, I don't consider 25/9 to be one of the easiest Etudes. It requires a constant strech of the RH in a somewhat angular position, and from this position to extract all the required subtleties in legato/staccato/phrasing is really a virtouso matter. Most poeple largely ignore the subtle variations in touch and phrasing needed for a good performance of this etude. 

As hinted at by Waldszenen, the problem is that this piece sounds ok even if played badly, but this was of course not what Chopin intended painists to do. In fact, this is one of the etudes that one can bring to an ok- level quite quickly, but that is very hard to bring to perfection. Harder, I would say, than 10/5 or the Revolutionary. To me, even 10/8 and 25/8 are more comfortable than butterfly. Perhaps, if Chopin had streched it to be as long as 25/11, with some additional twists in it, it might have ended up as one of the most difficult etudes.

Looked at it from this perspective, the question of this lead is more legitimate than it seems at first.  ;)
"It's true that I've driven through a number of red lights on occasion, but on the other hand I've stopped at a lot of green ones but never gotten credit for it." -- Glenn Gould

Offline nitrocan

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Re: Which is harder of Chopin's Etude Opus 25?
Reply #10 on: August 27, 2006, 01:03:36 PM
25/6 beats all...

Offline Kassaa

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Offline nitrocan

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Re: Which is harder of Chopin's Etude Opus 25?
Reply #12 on: August 27, 2006, 01:53:54 PM
Thats what i think

Offline Kassaa

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Re: Which is harder of Chopin's Etude Opus 25?
Reply #13 on: August 27, 2006, 02:13:30 PM
Thats what i think
Ok, have you played them?

Offline Waldszenen

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Re: Which is harder of Chopin's Etude Opus 25?
Reply #14 on: August 28, 2006, 08:21:07 AM
I sense another Etude War brewing.
Fortune favours the musical.

Offline nitrocan

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Re: Which is harder of Chopin's Etude Opus 25?
Reply #15 on: August 28, 2006, 12:47:52 PM
Lol
I only played op10 no1 but this seems harder

Offline Motrax

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Re: Which is harder of Chopin's Etude Opus 25?
Reply #16 on: August 29, 2006, 02:05:18 PM
Frankly, if you care so much about ranking one etude above another, just go ahead and play them and find out for yourself. Everyone has different strengths. For me, 25-6 is only easier than 10-2, and 25-11 isn't particularly difficult at all.
"I always make sure that the lid over the keyboard is open before I start to play." --  Artur Schnabel, after being asked for the secret of piano playing.
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