Chopin Preludes - Difficulty?

[chelsobladi]

I am about to study these six Chopin preludes, and I would like some opinions on how they rank in difficulty (so I can decide where to start).

I know everyone is different, but I would appreciate any input.

No. 13 F# Major
No. 17 A-flat Major
No. 18 F Minor
No. 21 B-flat Major
No. 23 F Major
"No. 25" C# minor

Thanks very much.

[jgallag]

Here are the ratings from A Practical Guide to Solo Piano Music by Trevor Barnard with Elizabeth Gutierrez:

No 13 - 1
No 17 - 1
No 18 - 2
No 21 - 1
No 23 - 2
No "25" - 2

A "1" they consider to be intermediate standard, and a "2" is supposed to be about the level of a first-year undergraduate student (the next level given is upper division or grad, so I assume 2's are standard level throughout the undergrad career).

Looking at my score, here's a suggested order: 13, 21, 17, 23, 18, 25. Stupid spine wasn't facing out on my shelf, took me forever to find the book... Anyways, I think you'll be good with that order. If you want my reasoning behind it, reply back, but mostly I gave you one because you wanted one, and it's partly based on my experience with the types of figures Chopin's using. I haven't played any of these, though I studied 17 pretty intensively in Theory 3. I'm going to learn some of these, they're pretty awesome. Good luck!

[chelsobladi]

Thanks so much for the information and for your suggestions. I've been working on 13 and 21 and enjoying it so much. Can't wait to learn the rest!

[richterfan1]

hmmmmm technicaly hardest is maybe no.24 in d minor, musicaly no.25 in c#

[lelle]

Like you said, "difficulty" depends on what you find difficult
But I'd rank them, from easiest to hardest:

No. 13 F# Major
No. 17 A-flat Major
No. 21 B-flat Major
No. 23 F Major
No. 18 F Minor

I haven't tried to play "No. 25" C# minor but it certainly doesn't look like the easiest one