Virtuosic etudes

[pianovlad1996]

Hello everybody! I have to prepare one etude by those composers for my exams: I have to play a virtuosic Chopin etude from Op.10 or Op.25, excepting Op.10 No.3,6 and Op.25 No.7,9 which I have played in gimnazium and my first high school year and a etude by Rachmaninoff/Scriabin/Liszt/Bartok/Ligeti/Debussy/Stravinsky/Brahms/Schumann. My teacher is scared of me because I have a new colleague which is extremely talented and at my last examen I had the best mark so it's difficult to remain the best with such talents like him (he also had 10) . The members of the exam comission expect from me a difficult etude but I feel tired practicing 6-7 hours a day  and I already have 6 pieces including a sonata by Mozart, 3 pieces by Chopin, Liszt and Rachmaninoff, 1 Czerny study and a Bach prelude and fugue. I don't know what to do because at this level I am supposed to choose myself the exam pieces and if they are too difficult, my teacher does not accept me to play them. I am relly confused and I need help. It's too much and if I choose for example a Rach Op.39 (only Op.39 accepted because last year almost every student played from op.33 and the jury wants to see another set played) I need 5-6 or 7 months because every difficult piece needs time to be played well. Every advice is accepted but please, if you don't have nothing good or constructive to say, don't say it.
Love,
Timea 

[drkilroy]

Debussy etudes are really nice. The fifth one is not very difficult, if you are good playing quite fast octaves. Perhaps you would like to try it?

Best regards, Dr

[49410enrique]

if you are not limited to the composers you mentioned above, I would also consider Kapustin. The 8 concert jazz etudes of Op 40 are masterpieces.  No 1 is usually considered the most approachable (technically) of the bunch.

Another option not usually played is Blumenfeld.

[alkan_the_man]

I would consider looking at some of Alkan's etudes, particularly the op.35 (12 etudes in all the major keys) and op.39 (12 etudes in all the minor keys).
Particularly some of the op.39 are rather taxing but some of them are incredible pieces, to me at least. Maybe take a look at his 'Symphony for solo piano' which is no. 4, 5, 6 and 7 of op.39.

Hope this was of some use

[richterfan1]

Op.10

Op.25

You can also try Op.25 No.12 the one in C minor, it sounds terrible, but actually it isnt that hard!

Liszt   

Rachmaninoff   

Hope I helped you a bit, and i wish u LUCK!

[49410enrique]

also take a gander at the Saint-Saens etudes, this one is another frequently played 'knock your socks off' show piece

Francesco Libetta plays Saint-Saëns Étude Op.52 No.6, "En forme de valse" - HD

[fftransform]

Oh, and just to remind everyone else, seeing as how nobody's paying any attention whatsoever:

etude by Rachmaninoff/Scriabin/Liszt/Bartok/Ligeti/Debussy/Stravinsky/Brahms/Schumann

is what he needs.


I have no idea how hard the Debussy Etude is; have never even seen the sheets.  The Bartok is quite difficult; there are two others in that set, and the first one is easier if you have a large hand span, but it might be too dissonant for you.  The third one is also easier, assuming that you're left-handed, but I don't think it's an especially good piece, like the first and second ones are.  The Ligeti is not super-difficult; the etudes 15, 17 and 18 are also rather pretty in places, and none are as hard as a lot of the earlier ones.  If you want a slightly shorter piece (I would not recommend doing something that is too short), you could play this:

However, it is also quite difficult (although not as difficult as the Bartok).  If you already play a lot of Chopin and Rachmaninov, I'm sure that you're familiar with that repertoire . . . although have you given a good look at Rachmaninov's Etude Tableau Op. 39 No. 2?  It is not especially treacherous.  Scriabin wrote a large number of etudes, but most of them are from his earlier period (the Op. 65 etudes are also rather difficult, unfortunately).  You could take a look through those, if you're not too worried about having a lot of variety.

[pianovlad1996]

Thank you very much for your advices. I chosed Chopin's Op.10 No.8 and Rachmaninoff Op.39 No.3.
And I think fftransform made a confusion. I am not a boy I am a girl.