Just how good does one have to be to be able to play Scarbo?

[scarbofiend]

I absolutely love Scarbo. I have set a summer project for myself to learn it, but is that even possible?

I am willing to practice 4 hours per day. To give you an idea of my skill level, the hardest piece that I can play perfectly is Rachmaninoff's Moment Musical No. 4.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

I wouldn't suggest that you learn it.  Scarbo is WAAAY harder than the moment musical.  Ravel composed it just to make it the hardest piece in solo repertoire.

Scarbo has way faster scales than the moment musical and with chords lol.

You would need to have perfect technique.

[birba]

It's like one of the most difficult pieces in the entire piano repertory. 
It doesn't sound feasible to me.

[roseamelia]

 I've never heard it before.My level is 4, What level is it? Maybe I can fine it on piano street or.. Oh I go on this site called musicnotes here's the link just in case you want to go on it.musicnotes.com

[austinarg]

I don't know. Maybe like, a bloody piano master? 

I too desire to learn this piece, of course that will happen in about 5 years. Meanwhile, I'll learn other easy pieces, that will serve as a foundation on which I'll be able to build that piece. I suggest you do the same.

[larapool]

I've never heard it before.My level is 4, What level is it? Maybe I can fine it on piano street or.. Oh I go on this site called musicnotes here's the link just in case you want to go on it.musicnotes.com

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say it's a 15.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

I've never heard it before.My level is 4, What level is it? Maybe I can fine it on piano street or.. Oh I go on this site called musicnotes here's the link just in case you want to go on it.musicnotes.com

It's on like level 10, whatever is the highest level.  But every piece is on level 10!  I don't like assigning levels to pieces.  First off, the levels aren't accurate.  And second off, it's not sensitive!  Everything past the difficulty of a Chopin etude is given the highest level.  But there are pieces that are WAAAAAAY harder, so how can you distinguish the difficulty difference between two pieces if they're given the same level?  Such as Prokofiev piano concerto two vs. Chopin etude op 10 no 12?

But yeah, Ravel composed this just so he could say that this is the hardest piece in solo repertoire EVER!

Sorry, but he doesn't stand a chance.  

[roseamelia]

Well you never no some of us have different ways of playing harder pieces maybe I'd do it well.

[pytheamateur]

Is it harder than Balakirev's Islamey.  I ask because that piece hasl also got a reputation for being the most difficult solo piece.

[49410enrique]

i'd never heard that said about either, will make for interesting reading further research on my end later, the only references to insanely difficult works for piano are the ones i have come across regarding the Strauss Burleske for piano and orchestra,

usually reads something like this (lifted from a CD review featuring the rarely recorded work)
"...Marked as extraneously difficult and even unplayable since its composition in 1886, Richard Strauss' Burleske for Piano and Orchestra rarely finds its way onto CD programs and even less frequently in live concert halls. Much like the extreme demands Strauss places on orchestral musicians, the technical feats called for in Burleske are truly Herculean; 10-note chords, huge leaps, enormous reaches, and rapid filigree passages fill the 20-plus minutes of music. ..."

i heard this live years ago it blew me away, one of those works that anyone can make look hard, few pull it off with finese convincingly

[scarbofiend]

Ok I understand. I won't attempt Scarbo...yet.

I'd probably butcher it anyways if I tried to play it this summer. My repertoire is not extensive by any means, so it is probably better for me to learn easier pieces to serve as a springboard for Ravel.

Here is my limited repertoire:

Rachmaninoff-
Moment Musical No. 4
Op. 3 No. 2

Scriabin-
Op. 8 No. 12
Op. 11 No. 11

Chopin-
Op. 10 No. 12

That is ALL (plus some miscellaneous easy pieces that aren't worth mentioning). I played piano very casually for about 8 years, but less than a year ago, I fell in love with Rachmaninoff and started working on the above pieces.

As you can see, I am really interested in Romantic and modern piano, particularly pieces that are fast and fun to play.

Do you have any suggestions for what piece(s) I should learn next?

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Learn all six of the moment musicals!!!

The 4th one is the hardest, and the rest of them are pretty fast with the exception of like the third one I think?

Scriabin Etude op 42 no 5 is pretty romantic and fast too!

They're difficult so they should challenge you!

[scarbofiend]

Hey, that's a great idea! I'm listening to the other five moment musicals right now, and I like no. 2 a lot.

Scriabin etude op. 42 no. 5 looks really hard, but I just printed off the sheet music, and I'll give it a shot. Thanks!

[pytheamateur]

Why not learn some of Rachmaninov's preludes?

In addition to the Op3 No2 which you play, the most popular ones are Op 23, No5, Op 32, Nos 5 and 12.

You might also like Op 23 No2.  It's not played as often, but I think it's no less exciting than the others and certainly manageable.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Hey, that's a great idea! I'm listening to the other five moment musicals right now, and I like no. 2 a lot.

Scriabin etude op. 42 no. 5 looks really hard, but I just printed off the sheet music, and I'll give it a shot. Thanks!

I was learning op. 8 no. 12 and my teacher that op. 42 no. 5 was the the next step after op. 8 no. 12.  But yeah, you should listen to the guy above me too!  Try some of his preludes.  Rachmaninoff said his favorite was op. 32 no. 10.  It starts off as lent but the tempo picks up, so you might like it.  Or how about his etudes!  Op. 39 no. 5 is awesome!

[scarbofiend]

Ah, now I'm really conflicted. There are too many pieces that I want to play.

Your post reminded me that I got the sheet music for op. 23 no. 2 a while back, played the first couple of measures, and then forgot about it. I also like op. 23 no. 7 a lot.

There are tons of great pieces from op. 32, op. 33, and op. 39. It's hard to decide which ones to pick.

I'm considering op. 39 no. 6, but would that be out of my reach?

I think my schedule for the summer will look like this:
Scriabin's op. 42 no. 5 (definitely)
some Rachmaninoff prelude/etude (definitely)
either Moment Musical 2 or 6 (maybe)

[danhuyle]

It's a high discipline piece and it's one of those you want to practice slowly. I've got Ivo Pogorelich recording and he just owns this piece.

Scarbo is a long one to learn. You have to be decisive in pedaling, phrasing. Besides, there's other pieces I want to learn that are way easier than Scarbo, and still challenging. 

I'm finishing off all the Scriabin Etudes Op8 one before moving on to Op42,49,65 and that C#minor one.