Difficulty of Liszt's Liebestraum?

[davidjosepha]

My piano teacher and I were talking a bit about what I should learn next, and he suggested (and I wholeheartedly agreed), because I'll be leaving for college in 2 months and will have a new teacher, we should try to expand my horizons and play some new composers and more difficult works. Based on my ability, which he knows pretty well since I've taken lessons with him since I started, 12 years ago, he recommended a huge number of pieces that I should look into and decide what I liked. Pieces I've played in the past year or two include Brahms' two Rhapsodies op. 79, Rachmaninoff's Prelude in G minor - Alla marcia, Chopin's 19th Nocturne, Bach's Prelude No. 17 from WTC, the second movement of Grieg's sonata, and some other miscellaneous pieces.

He recommended Prokofiev's 7th sonata, Hindemth's 2nd sonata, Scriabin's Vers la flamme, Scriabin's 2nd sonata, some Schumann,Schubert, and finally, Liszt's Liebestraum no. 2. I wrote all this down on a sheet of paper, but when I went to look these pieces up online, I did it from memory, and just searched YouTube for Liebestraum and number 3 came up. I listened, and absolutely fell in love with it. How does it compare in difficulty to Liebestraum 2? He might have just recommended 2 because it's less popular, or he might have recommended it because he thought it was more within my ability level. Is there a huge gap in difficulty between the two? Of course, I'll ask my teacher next time I see him, but that could be two weeks from now and I'd like to get started as soon as possible.

I ordered Liebestraum and Prokofiev's 7th sonata. I'm hoping Liebestraum will be a nice break for my ears after the dissonance of Prokofiev.

Thanks for any advice

[stoudemirestat]

My piano teacher and I were talking a bit about what I should learn next, and he suggested (and I wholeheartedly agreed), because I'll be leaving for college in 2 months and will have a new teacher, we should try to expand my horizons and play some new composers and more difficult works. Based on my ability, which he knows pretty well since I've taken lessons with him since I started, 12 years ago, he recommended a huge number of pieces that I should look into and decide what I liked. Pieces I've played in the past year or two include Brahms' two Rhapsodies op. 79, Rachmaninoff's Prelude in G minor - Alla marcia, Chopin's 19th Nocturne, Bach's Prelude No. 17 from WTC, the second movement of Grieg's sonata, and some other miscellaneous pieces.

He recommended Prokofiev's 7th sonata, Hindemth's 2nd sonata, Scriabin's Vers la flamme, Scriabin's 2nd sonata, some Schumann,Schubert, and finally, Liszt's Liebestraum no. 2. I wrote all this down on a sheet of paper, but when I went to look these pieces up online, I did it from memory, and just searched YouTube for Liebestraum and number 3 came up. I listened, and absolutely fell in love with it. How does it compare in difficulty to Liebestraum 2? He might have just recommended 2 because it's less popular, or he might have recommended it because he thought it was more within my ability level. Is there a huge gap in difficulty between the two? Of course, I'll ask my teacher next time I see him, but that could be two weeks from now and I'd like to get started as soon as possible.

I ordered Liebestraum and Prokofiev's 7th sonata. I'm hoping Liebestraum will be a nice break for my ears after the dissonance of Prokofiev.

Thanks for any advice

Judge for yourself (sorry about it being Leslie Howard).

I would think the second was easier...But I don't think his decision would have been a difficulty thing: Some of other pieces he recommended are more difficult than both of them...unless he thought you would struggle with the cadenzas in the third Liebestraum.

[davidjosepha]

Thanks for the help! He rattled off a lot of names of pieces (I could give more, if anyone cared), so it might just have been the one that came to mind (for example, just because he mentioned Consolation in D-flat doesn't mean he didn't think I could play Consolation in E). It also could have been about the cadenzas, since I think he knows I'm better with chords than with fast single/double note streaks, but that's something I need to improve on so no. 3 could be a good chance to do that.

Along with the Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff's Prelude No. 12, Op. 32, I think I'll have plenty to keep me busy for the week or two it'll be before I see him, though, so I'll talk it through with him then.

Thanks again

[pytheamateur]

The first two Liebestraume are so underplayed that I think it might work well to include one of them in a recital programme.

[davidjosepha]

I was thinking that. I liked all three so I'd have no problem playing any of them. However, I'm not really too interested in a recital programme at the moment. I've just graduated high school and will be going to a school to study math and I'm not sure if I'll have many chances to perform. I'm going to continue taking lessons, of course, but I think I'll mostly just be playing for friends, instead of for a large audience.

[sleepapnea]

The 2nd of the Liebestraume is extremely easier than the 3rd - technically speaking. The beginning has an odd character that might be a musical challenge to work out. That being said, it is not a difficult piece.

Playing all 3 of the Liebestraume is a very beautiful combination.

[davidjosepha]

So funny story! I went to my lesson and brought with Liebestraume because I had ordered it online and it had just shown up. My teacher and I were going through it, and I was fully prepared to ask if he'd be all right if I did the third one instead of the second, which is the one he suggested last time. So, we're going through it, and he said, "Which one did I say you should do? The second?" And I said, "Yeh," and so we turn in the book to the second Liebestraum, and he says, "Oh, this isn't the one I was thinking of. Maybe it's the third." So we go to the third, the one I wanted to play, and it's the one he was thinking I should play too! So win-win!