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Poll

Which of the following etudes are technically the most demanding? Choose the TWO you think are most difficult.

Chopin, 25/10 (octaves)
Chopin, 25/12 (ocean)
Liszt, TE nr. 10 (appassionata)
Liszt, TE nr. 11 (harmonies du soir)
Liszt, TE nr. 12 (chasse-neige)
Liszt, Un Sospiro
Liszt, Waldesrauschen
Liszt, Gnomenreigen
Liszt, La Campanella

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Topic: Difficulty of Various Etudes (Read 7398 times)

cloches_de_geneve

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Posts: 439

Difficulty of Various Etudes

on: August 27, 2006, 10:01:40 AM

I would like to pick a couple of those and would appreciate any comments on these pieces by members that played them. Thanks.

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donjuan

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Sr. Member
Posts: 3139

Re: Difficulty of Various Etudes

Reply #1 on: August 30, 2006, 05:21:29 AM

Un sospiro was the first piece of Liszt that I played. It was very comfortable to play; the only parts I struggled with were the cadenzas because I hadn't played any Liszt cadenzas beforehand. I thought it was very fun to learn and perform this piece --> everyone loves it!

I voted for Chasse-Neige and La Campanella, because tremolos are difficult to control. La Campanella doesnt look that bad, but then I imagine trying to look confident while performing it, and then I feel weak.

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dnephi

Sr. Member
Posts: 1859

Re: Difficulty of Various Etudes

Reply #2 on: August 30, 2006, 12:30:11 PM

Do you have a teacher? Your teacher would know your individual strengths and weaknesses and would be able to help you choose one.

Chasse-Neige is really hard and so is Campanella, but if you put your weight into the keys and do rotations, even 45 trills aren't so bad.

La Campanella, I read, is the least valuable, musically, of the paganini Etudes.

I think Appassionata is an incredible piece, but to do it justice would be, I think, harder than most of the others. The same would go for the Op. 25 No. 12.

I believe Un Sospiro fits well under the fingers.

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For us musicians, the music of Beethoven is the pillar of fire and cloud of mist which guided the Israelites through the desert. (Roughly quoted, Franz Liszt.)

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