Rach Prelude or Chopin Scherzo

[pianovlad1996]

Wich one do you think is harder technically & musically and why: Rachmaninoff Prelude Op.23 No.5 or Chopin Scherzo No.3? Please don't judge me for my topics (I know it's quite boring) but I really want to know YOUR opinion. I know my opinion but I want to compare yours with mine.
Thanks in advance.

[richterfan1]

haha dude wer the same im also asking these kinda of questions ^^, well, both pieces are hard, Technically Prelude, Musically Scherzo

[semplice]

The Scherzo is harder. in both aspects.
It took months for me to play all that leggiero stuff in the middle section properly.
there are 10 similar but different leggiero parts. the one in e-minor is very hard to play.
the octave section short before the first d-flat major section and short before the coda are hard to play. (If you reach the choral section with tired wrists, you will get problems with the leggieros
The both hand arpeggios in the beginnings of the leggierissimo sections (especially the second one - starting with D-flat) are also hard to play.

The main difficulty musically is to keep the "choral section" together. the parts are divided by the leggieros. it's techically almost impossible to start the leggieros by keeping the 3/4 rythm. Most pianists start the leggiero a bit late  - listen to Pogorelich and to Argerich: completely different but great solutions for this problem - so it's hard to keep a (flexible) rythm for the whole section.

The rach prelude in g is much more easy. I've played it. the left hand arpeggios in the middle section are very comfortable to play.
There are more jumps in the prelude than in the scherzo, but in the first octave section after the first "piano"  the octave jump in both Hands upwards (e - e) is harder than any jump in the prelude. the left hand jumps in the coda of the Scherzo are easier. The octave jumps at the very end of the Scherzo are tricky. I like Rubinsteins way to manage this part

[pianovlad1996]

Thank you very much.

[scott13]

Chopin by miles.

The Rach prelude frankly has nothing that is overly difficult. Possibly the leaps in the LH if you are not used to them, but other than that i just don't think it's a difficult piece. Oh the strain on wrists could be problematic for some.

The 3rd Scherzo however, has many problem spots, especially the leggerio arpeggios and the octave jumps in the opening. The coda is also quite tricky to get to speed as well.

[point of grace]

it depends sometimes on what you like at the moment to study them, they both have difficulties and things to study, but they are different styles of music....
the rach, though, is a bit easier, shorter than the scherzo

[nataliethepianist]

Isn't Rachmaninoff known for having such difficult pieces technically? I agree, so Rachmaninoff technically and the Scherzo musically.

[pianowolfi]

To me it's a clear case. The Scherzo is more difficult. The leggiero runs in the B Part are very delicate and to play them precisely in concert can be a walk on eggshells. The big fat repeated chords in the Rach are something you need to adapt to, practice it slowly and very relaxed. It's a typical "tense up" piece. And like all Rach works, it needs a lot of time.