3 sonatas: chopin 3, Rachmaninov 2, and liszt

[franz_]

3 giant sonatas. But which one is the less hard, technically?

[abj]

Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and then Liszt.

The Liszt sonata being the most difficult. I've never played them, but I've often studied the scores while listening to a recording.

[thierry13]

I'm sorry, I voted for Liszt sonata, but I didn't read before voting ... I tought you meant your favorite one. As far as technical difficulty goes, I'd place Rachmaninoff 2nd sonata as the hardest by far. Then Liszt then Chopin. I wouldn't see how it could be any other way? Certainly there are many other aspects to consider in general difficulty, but as far as technical demands go, I'm pretty sure Rachmaninoff 2nd sonata wins hands down for the vast majority of the pianist population.

[antichrist]

chopin 3 is the hardest,the 4th mov especially
but if technically,it may be less harder

[abj]

chopin 3 is the hardest,the 4th mov especially
but if technically,it may be less harder

The fourth movement really isn't very difficult for someone with the technical facility needed to play these pieces. I imagine there are even people that could even sight read most of it. Rachmaninov's sonatas are extremely awkward (some literature has asserted that his first sonata is comparatively harder than his third concerto), while Chopin's sonatas tend to fit the hand quite nicely.

Also, I've changed my vote to the Rachmaninov sonata, as I have just reexamined the music, and the Rachmaninov sonata appears to be vastly more difficult than the Liszt sonata. The duration of the sonata is also about 20 pages longer.

[thierry13]

The fourth movement really isn't very difficult for someone with the technical facility needed to play these pieces. I imagine there are even people that could even sight read most of it. Rachmaninov's sonatas are extremely awkward (some literature has asserted that his first sonata is comparatively harder than his third concerto), while Chopin's sonatas tend to fit the hand quite nicely.

Also, I've changed my vote to the Rachmaninov sonata, as I have just reexamined the music, and the Rachmaninov sonata appears to be vastly more difficult than the Liszt sonata. The duration of the sonata is also about 20 pages longer.

I agree totally. Except the fact that the first sonata is harder than the Rach 3. It's definitely hard, but the Rach 3 is definitely worse. I could conceive that the first sonata might be harder than the second though.

[otyler27]

The fourth movement really isn't very difficult for someone with the technical facility needed to play these pieces. I imagine there are even people that could even sight read most of it. Rachmaninov's sonatas are extremely awkward (some literature has asserted that his first sonata is comparatively harder than his third concerto), while Chopin's sonatas tend to fit the hand quite nicely.

Also, I've changed my vote to the Rachmaninov sonata, as I have just reexamined the music, and the Rachmaninov sonata appears to be vastly more difficult than the Liszt sonata. The duration of the sonata is also about 20 pages longer.

I agree totally. Except the fact that the first sonata is harder than the Rach 3. It's definitely hard, but the Rach 3 is definitely worse. I could conceive that the first sonata might be harder than the second though.

For me, I think Rach 2 is the hardest.  I agree the piú vivo of the first movement in the rach 3 is hard, the cadenza (ossia) is medium, but passionate.  The second concerto was also described by Rachmaninoff to be the most awkward to play, he enjoyed playing the third the best.  I agree with Rachmaninoff for the concerti.