The opening of Rach 2 is annoying! I play it exactly as written, and had to finger a few of the arpeggios. Play it with a metronome a lot, to get a feeling for the beat, so your bass notes fall on teh beat, and sing the melody whilst playing a lot. This is very good becasue you will get a feeling for the shaping and phrasing etc...It will also keep you in time.The real nasty bit comes straight after this section! That just takes time, and you need to study the movements of the arms and wrist, and avoid using only the fingers. The 2nd subject is a little annoying to learn, but it's not too bad once you know what the LH is doing. 2nd mvt, just after the cadenza flourish thing, the semi quavers are tricky.3rd mvt has a few really nasty passages. The opening few pages are really awkward. The bit in the middle is also nasty. It's not too bad to play, but I think it's really annoying to learn! I'm practicing it quite a lot at the moment, and it is annoying me a lot! Have you ever heard the Zimerman recording?? The opening of the 3rd mvt is actually one of the funniest things I have ever heard. It's quite amazing! He plays it perfectly in time hahaha
I've heard Zimmerman play this live (specatacular!). Irritatingly perfect performance. Don't know his recording.
Zimerman's (spell his name correctly!) recording is one of the best out there, I think.
@ argerichfan: I heard the last mvt of Saint Saens 4th is about as treacherous as it gets. Any truth to that?
If you're asking fingering-questions for a passage like this, you probably shouldnt be even thinking about playing a rach concert.gyzzzmo
I bow to your judgement entirely, but when one is teacher-free, life in music is a wonderful journey of discovery, and finding one's way into things beyond the scope of one's ability is an adventure all on it's own. I bought Chopin's B Minor sonata last year because I'd never seen it in print and wanted to know just how much was involved - what a nice surprise it was to be playing the first two pages from memory within a few weeks, what a revelation ! There's some rough weather ahead obviously, but I'm loving it.Many thanks everyone , I've just discovered this on-line community and have no doubt I'll spend many hours reading what pianists around the world are getting up to.
With point B i ment that you can start on difficult pieces, if its etude like. For example, to be able to finish a Chopin etude on proper speed is for many of us far too difficult. But if you practise something like this the right way and can control your speed, you will definitely see an improvement in your technique wich makes that Chopin etude very usefull to 'learn', even if its way too difficult to finish.But the Rachmaninov concert........
Edit:Teacher said I should wait at least 4 more years to try it. Rach 2, I mean.
The most important thing to remember from what your teacher told you, is AT LEAST.
He underestimates me. He also said I should wait 3 years for a Beethoven sonata, but I'm going to prove him wrong next year!! Grrrrrrr... Am I going to churn out only sonatinas and Bach for the next 3 years? I think not...
I'm interested in Rach 2 also, as it's the only concerto I like so far. And one of the few high-level pieces that I really like. Most all virtuoso pieces sound contrived to me, especially concertos, where the piano sounds so detached to the orchestra... Uh-oh, I'm babbling...To get to the point. Someone mentioned on another thread that FI is useful no matter what speed you play it. I find it similar to what you say about Chopin etude. I am still not sure what "something like this" is. Something useful to learn, even if you can't finish.*looks for more tips in this thread*Edit:Teacher said I should wait at least 4 more years to try it. Rach 2, I mean.
Bad attitude. Trust him. He knows better than you. You would need to double your practice time and improve your practice technique greatly if you want to prove him wrong. And trust me, changing this is very hard and takes time. Even fitting more practice time in your schedule, may it be busy or not, is an hard task. And waiting to play beethoven sonatas does not mean playing bach inventions. There is plenty of stuff to learn before you play beethoven sonatas! Of course you can play it by yourself for fun, but don't expect to learn it with your teacher, even if you're doing great on your own. Personnal experience speaking.
About your reply above, abit of stubborness from the student is always good. It requires stubborness to get better and to finish certain pieces. And most people have to experience learning mistakes themselves before realising the value of some teacher advices.
Sorry, I am angry lately about people's obsession with learning hard pieces and calling easy ones "No substance, nothing to work on, no concrete challenge." I can only call something easy once I've finished it. And even then, I can't say it's no substance.Teachers can only help so far. If I follow teacher advice exactly, like a trained monkey, it would indeed take me so long. I don't trust teachers anymore since they're the ones that started this "obsession with technical difficulty". I hate myself. Saying I want to learn a sonata is like fighting fire with fire. So I take it back.I do believe that you don't have to play all those Hanon, Czerny and beginner books to build to higher stuff. But I'll save that for another thread.Actually it's the opposite. I'm too frustrated, I hate the way we're taught and I'm hanging on a thread. I check back on my goals, which is to play music that I like (not a bunch of popular/ virtuoso pieces to show off), but no one understands that. I wonder if teachers exist that can help you with your own vision. Everyone is obsessed with technique and getting things right.
Playing difficult pieces requires a lot of technique, or you'll just be hacking trough them. Now, why are you so frustrated about people who want to play difficult pieces instead of easier one, when you yourself want to play a rachmaninoff concerto and a beethoven sonata?
Technique, technique, technique... Is there really such a technique that you can master pretty much anything? That I'd like to know so I can forget about it. Being frustrated I mean.
'sigh' I can't even play Rach 2; I can't stretch my hands over a 10th for the beginning left-hand chords...
Yes it does exist, and it does take a lonnnngggg time. You must study carefully all sorts of music and technical challenges.
In that case, I give up. I can't play Moonlight either, and that requires a 9th.
SIs Rach2 and Beethoven all you want to play? There are so many beautiful pieces out there that are less challenging.Why don't you try a Rach Etude, a Chopin Waltz, Mendelssohn's songs without words, etc?
Rach2: Getting started (Read 3679 times)
