Chopin

[berman]

Make your own top10 hardest chopin-pieces (solo) list.
IMO
1. Sonata no. 3 op. 58
2. Ballade no. 4 op. 52
3. Sonata no. 2 op. 35
4. Andante spianato et Grand Polonaise Brilliante op. 22
5. Scherzo no. 4 op. 54
6. Scherzo no. 3 op. 39
8. Polonaise no. 6 op. 53 "Heroic"
9. Barcarolle op. 60
10. Polonaise no. 5 op. 44 "Tragic"
discuss

[pianist1976]

Why these lists exist? 

[thalbergmad]

A top 10 "hardest" list might be interesting.

Thal

[stevebob]

Different pianistic demands are experienced differently by different people, so the ten hardest pieces are the ten that are hardest for you.  And unless you've attempted to learn every piano solo by Chopin, you'd only be guessing.

That said, the Allegro de Concert Op. 46 has enough complex and varied challenges that it would probably be high on the list of anyone able to make an informed judgment.

I wonder who decided that Op. 44 should be labeled "Tragic."  I suspect it's a contrivance that's been validated (or perhaps even coined) by Wikipedia.

[stevebob]

nm

[keyboardclass]

I reckon it's daft.

[stevebob]

You're right!

[keyboardclass]

Surely it's how you play them?

[pianisten1989]

I think it's very funny: Everyone says the 4th ballade is the most difficult one. Though, I've heard plenty of good recordings of the 4th one, but not a single one of the 1st.

[emilye]

I think it's very funny: Everyone says the 4th ballade is the most difficult one. Though, I've heard plenty of good recordings of the 4th one, but not a single one of the 1st.

I heard really good performance of first ballade.
e.g. Janusz Olejniczak and it is so beautiful version.

I agree, and I think that first ballade is really hard but no most hard than no. 4

[pianisten1989]

Then answer me: Why is the 4th more difficult if there are plenty of good performances out there, but only one, at most, of the first?
And okay, I change the phrase: There are plenty of good performances of the forth, but not a single one of the first - played LIVE. Everybody fucks it up somehow. Either misses notes in the end, losing tempo, starts banging....

In a studio, a 4 year old can play both the 1st 4th ballade like a pro... Just hit all the notes, and then you can edit your way to perfection.

And I don't think this guy plays it very well at all, he makes the same mistakes as basically everybody else, and his melody wasn't singing at all. It was sotto voce the whole way through, and the middle voices were too loud compared to the melody.
But this last part is only my own opinion ofc. I know he won a price in a chopin competition. No idea why though...

[omar_roy]

Then answer me: Why is the 4th more difficult if there are plenty of good performances out there, but only one, at most, of the first?
And okay, I change the phrase: There are plenty of good performances of the forth, but not a single one of the first - played LIVE. Everybody fucks it up somehow. Either misses notes in the end, losing tempo, starts banging....

In a studio, a 4 year old can play both the 1st 4th ballade like a pro... Just hit all the notes, and then you can edit your way to perfection.

And I don't think this guy plays it very well at all, he makes the same mistakes as basically everybody else, and his melody wasn't singing at all. It was sotto voce the whole way through, and the middle voices were too loud compared to the melody.
But this last part is only my own opinion ofc. I know he won a price in a chopin competition. No idea why though...

I had the same feeling as you with the G Minor ballade.  The only choice for me was to learn the darn piece and play it to my satisfaction. 

[ch101]

op 10 no 1 and 2