Studies for development

[colette]

I am a faily advanced pianist, I can play some pieces Rachmaninov, Chopin and Liszt. Though I practice technical exercises, scales, arpeggios and broken chords, I have never learned any studies. I have considered starting on the Chopin Opus 10 studies, but I'm not sure if that would be a good place to start. I have also considered learning the Bach Two Part Inventions as studies, I read somewhere that his 15 pieces were written for the purpose of teaching. I suppose I am looking for studies that have much more to them than mechanical difficulty, and that are not astronomically difficult to play. Any suggestions please?

[donjuan]

Beethoven sonatas are great to develop technique and phrasing.  I find Bach difficult to understand and enjoy, so I avoid it.  The Bach inventions are not good if you are "looking for sudies that have much more to them than mechanical difficulty".  Of course, you should do them if you wish to develop the ability to play multiple voices, but other than that, there is music out there more fun.    

Try the easier Liszt Transcendental etudes, like No.3,7, or 9.  Right now, I am playing Liszt's Totentanz for solo piano as a series of exercises, or at least, that is how I percieve it.

donjuan

[f0bul0us]

Beethoven sonatas are great to develop technique and phrasing.  I find Bach difficult to understand and enjoy, so I avoid it.  The Bach inventions are not good if you are "looking for sudies that have much more to them than mechanical difficulty".  Of course, you should do them if you wish to develop the ability to play multiple voices, but other than that, there is music out there more fun.    

Try the easier Liszt Transcendental etudes, like No.3,7, or 9.  Right now, I am playing Liszt's Totentanz for solo piano as a series of exercises, or at least, that is how I percieve it.

donjuan

I think what Colette's asking for is a breakdown by composers, which studies would be a moderate introduction to more difficult etudes. Scale time

Scale: 1-10
Beethoven (from the sonatas I know):
Op. 2 No.1 -  7
Op. 10 No. 1 - 7
Op. 31 No. 2 - 9
Chopin
Op. 10 No. 1 - 10
Op. 10 No. 4 - 9
Op. 10 No 9 - 7
Op. 10 No. 12 - 8
Op. 25 No. 2 - 6
Op. 25 No. 6 - 10
Op. 25 No. 7 - 8
Op. 25 No. 11 - 10
Op. 25 No. 12 - 7
Prokofiev...avoid
Rachmaninoff
Op. 33 No. 8 - 3 ()
Op. 39 No. 3 - 8

Do they have to be etudes though? Sometimes Preludes carry technical challenges that studies don't.

[Hmoll]

I am a faily advanced pianist, I can play some pieces Rachmaninov, Chopin and Liszt. Though I practice technical exercises, scales, arpeggios and broken chords, I have never learned any studies. I have considered starting on the Chopin Opus 10 studies, but I'm not sure if that would be a good place to start. I have also considered learning the Bach Two Part Inventions as studies, I read somewhere that his 15 pieces were written for the purpose of teaching. I suppose I am looking for studies that have much more to them than mechanical difficulty, and that are not astronomically difficult to play. Any suggestions please?

What specific pieces have you played?
If you have not played the inventions yet, they are good technical work, and develop your contrapuntal playing. I can't tell from your post if you are ready for the Chopin etudes, because you did not list any specific pieces you have played. If you want to start with them Op10#3, #5, Op25#1,#2 are ones a lot of people start with.

BRW, Prokofiev is a wonderful composer to play, and he wrote very well for the piano. You may want to look at his Sarcasms.