Next piece?

[Ashley_Steinway]

Well, I know many people have asked this, but what piece should I learn next?

I'm just polishing off Chopin's Grande Valse Brillianté, Op.18. This is apparently ABRSM Grade 8, approximately, and out of the following which would be best to both enhance my repertoire and further my technical abilities?

-Chopin - Fantasie Impromptu, Op.66.
-Chopin - Poloniase de Militaire, Op.40, No.1.
-Beethoven - Pathétique Sonata in Cmin, Op.13.
-A Chopin Étude? (Open to suggestions)

I'm open to other suggestions, so please feel free.

Just to give you more of an idea of my playing, I can also play things such as Grieg - Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, Mozart - Sonata in A K331, Joplin - Maple Leaf Rag...

Could you also please suggest how long your suggestions may take to learn? (I learned Chopin Op.18 in two weeks, Maple Leaf rag in 2-3 weeks, Grieg Wedding Day in 3...) How long did it take you?

Thanx in advance, Ash.

[bachmaninov]

All your pieces are OVER PLAYED!!! Learn something new and thrilling!

Grab a book of Lecuona and learn a piece from his Andalucia suite... They are all good! And mostly unheard of

Mozkowszki- Etincelles is soooo fun to learn..

But if you are STRICTLY into those overplayed pieces... then continue your streak and learn Revolutionary Etude and be like everyone else!

[Ashley_Steinway]

What can I say, I am a cliché. But perhaps I faded out or something, because I'm sure I said I was open to suggestions.
So, what time period is Lecuona from? In what style does (s)he compose?

[Saturn]

Learn some Bach instead!

[Ashley_Steinway]

You know, I hate myself having never learned ANY Bach. Woe betide me. Any specific suggestions?
I love counterpoint...

[bachmaninov]

LECUONA IS INCREDIBLE!

He is a Cuban pianist with pieces that are just so powerful and colorful! If you havent heard anything from him.. then you surely must!

You have obviously been put through alot of Beethoven, Chopin, BLAH BLAH... everyone has... but Lecuona is very very different.

I would consider him Contemporary-Romantic Era... And some pieces I recommend from him are

-Maleguena - Easy, but his greatest piano solo!
-Aragonesa- Very powerful... my favorite
-Aragon- This is also known as Vals Espanol
-Ante el Escorial- Probably his most difficult piano solo (still not that difficult =p) Very very brilliant piece!
-En Tres per Cuatro
-Por Que te Vas?
-Ginetnerias

You must make this transition from strict CLASSICAL to more modern piano if you havent already... because you have no idea what you are missing!

[Ashley_Steinway]

Wow. All this obscure music; to me at least.
Is there anywhere I can download it from? I would love to hear this apparently brilliant music.

[DarkWind]

Lecuona is awesome. Not for the small-handed though. His Malaguena requires a pretty big hand to do a bunch of octaves in one part. Stamina is also needed. He is generally unheard of, though. His Guadalquivir is probably the most neglected of the Suite Andalucia, and I love it very much. You should also start playing some Ravel. Try out his Sonatine, it's a very simple piece, and not to difficult, yet very beautiful.

[bachmaninov]

I agree with dark... Ravel is great

I love his Gaspard de la nuit that I played last year... Very very hard to learn.. but.. it actually came to me quickly!!! With long hours of practice.

Lecuona has some CD's... you just have to search for them.. try amazon.com or something! You must!

[mh88]

i just finished learning a couple scriabin etudes from op. 8, quite difficult, but fun to play and a really good source for technique development

i would suggest op. 8 no. 3

great little 4 page piece that will keep you busy, take a look at it once


lang lang's recording of it is very well done

[dj]

All your pieces are OVER PLAYED!!! Learn something new and thrilling!

Grab a book of Lecuona and learn a piece from his Andalucia suite... They are all good! And mostly unheard of

Mozkowszki- Etincelles is soooo fun to learn..

isn't Etincelles relatively over-played 2? and significantly harder than the op 18 waltz???

[Ashley_Steinway]

Significantly? I'm up for a challenge, but how significant?
I am only human. I have been playin for 18 months, ish, but have developd quite quickly. Is it possible, or just a unrealistic fantasy?

[rph108]

Try Bach inventions. Theyre are easy enough to learn and Im sure theres a few you would like. I like all of them, but my favorites are 4,5,6,8,13,14,and 15. Yeah, I know its alot of favorites. Make sure to be open to new composers though, also. You seem to like Chopin alot, but Im sure there are other composers out there that you would love.

[pies]

­

[shatteringpulse]

The Military Polonaise is a bit of a stretch from Op. 18. But if you are developing quickly, by all means, attempt it. The neat part about this polonaise is it's reliance on repetition. Four sections are all you need to learn--or about two pages--of thick but pianistic chordal writing. Good luck!

I would also suggest Pathetique. Learn the second movement first. Come back to it later after you have acquired some more specialized technique.

You might want to check out some of Chopin's easier nocturnes--Op. 55, no. 1, in F minor, I believe. Op. 9, No. 2 in Eb is another beautiful one. Don't forget some of Rachmaninoff's even more beautiful pieces--than Chopin, that is, IMO--Prelude no. 4 and 10 of op. 23 will help you develop cross-rhythms, triplets. Try no. 6, too. It's never too early to start Rachmaninoff! (Well, there is a time it is, but one should start as early as possible.)

If you wish to start the Chopin etudes, you would need to tell us about some of your technical strengths first!

[Max]

To play a Chopet, you would want a much bigger Chopin repetoire IMO.

[Ashley_Steinway]

Shatteringpulse Said:

The Military Polonaise is a bit of a stretch from Op. 18. But if you are developing quickly, by all means, attempt it. The neat part about this polonaise is it's reliance on repetition. Four sections are all you need to learn--or about two pages--of thick but pianistic chordal writing. Good luck!

I would also suggest Pathetique. Learn the second movement first. Come back to it later after you have acquired some more specialized technique.

Well, I have started the Op.40 No.1 Polonaise, and am finding it quite manageable.
Of course, I want to learn an étude alongside it aswell. I am quite good with quick runs in the right hand, but not so in the left, and can play big chords quickly (hence the Op.40), and I can play the first couple of pages of the Pathetiqué already, after a quick 'dabble'.

--Ash.