Schubert Andantino D. 959

[beebert]

Hello everyone! At the moment I am working on this wonderful piece, Schubert sonata D.959 the 2nd movement.

Here is a link to the piece:

I wonder, what grade would you consider this piece be? If I manage to play it well, do you think I am ready for some Schubert impromptus? What is, do you think, the relative difficulty between this piece and the Schubert impromptus?

[bachbrahmsschubert]

Schubert's late compositions cannot be compared to anything he wrote during his lifetime.

If you want a stepping stone to the impromptus, try the moment musicals. His last three sonatas, in my opinion, are some of the most difficult examples of the form and take an immense amount of musical knowledge, as with many composer's "end of lifetime" works, to play well. Not to assume that you aren't capable of playing the second movement well, but it seems you'd rather focus on an impromptu - none of the movements of his last sonatas are stepping stones.

I've always found this movement to be a mourning of Beethoven than anything else. It's a remarkable piece of music.

Best wishes,

[beebert]

I have played three of the six moments musicals, they aren't that difficult. I know about the complexity of this piece, but in my opinion this movement, along with the second movement of his last sonata are the two best pieces of piano music ever written in the whole repertoire. But right now, I just want to know about the technical difficulty, is it easier or harder than the impromptus in that perspective?

[pianowolfi]

It's in a different dimension. You can't just come and play three moments musicaux and then this. It's a part of a huge sonata. If you have one whole set of impromptus and at least one other, earlier sonata under your belt, you might come back to this, of course as the whole sonata.

[beebert]

I am not stupid, I know the complexity of this piece, and this particular movement. All I wonder right know is the the technical difficulty of this piece. What grade would you consider one has to be to pull of the middle section of the movement well?

[pianowolfi]

8+ ABRSM

[beebert]

Thank you very much, that's what I thought too

[bachbrahmsschubert]

I'm curious as to why a grade level is so important to your mindset. As you say, you're not stupid (nobody said you were) and you seem to be fully aware of how difficult the piece is.

If I said this movement was level 6, what difference would that really make? If I said it was unfathomably difficult and no human being should ever play it, would you believe me?

If the impromptus are grade 7 and a sonata is grade 8, does that mean you are going to have an easier time learning an impromptu? I find this entire grading system arbitrary, but I guess that's a discussion for another time. What I would like to know is why a grade level matters to you specifically when you seem to be aware that the movement is very difficult.

[beebert]

Well, it's important because it was a while ago I tried playing an Impromptu and now I have managed playing this andantino and I have no particular problem with it technically, that's all.