I've been working on Pictures at an Exhibition for 30 years, and now that am retired am within a month or two of being note perfect. Might take all next winter to get it up to speed, even my relaxed speed. I'm playing it in 90 minutes now.
I bought the 2 piano 4 hands version of Rhapsody in Blue last week. I didn't want to learn the simplified Warner Bros arrangement I've had five year, as it would mess up my memory for the real thing. I have the 2 similar sounding pianos; now if I can just find another do-it-yourselfer in this area whose hobby is not bass (fish) taxidermy. I also want to rework the Ira Gershwin part for Hammond H100 organ. (nice trumpet, clarinet, oboe sounds).
I've been working on the manual parts of JSBach Passacaglia & Fugue in C min for 30 years, but the real work started when I bought and repaired an electronic organ in 2009-10. I've got page 1 to 3 up to speed (Peters ed) but it may take years before I learn to color it with different sounds (stops). May take extensive modification to the organ, mine doesn't have any multisound presets or modern conveniences.
I've got Movement 3 of Moonlight Sonata Beethoven up to about 1/3 speed of Rudolf Serkin's blistering pace. At age 62 I am not too optimistic of there being a lot of speed improvement, but I do like finishing things. I started movement 1 in 1961 and played it for the Piano Guild tryouts. I started movement 2 and 3 in 1982 when I bought my own piano, I have been note perfect about a year on movement 3.
Maybe Beethoven Appassionata some day. My piano teacher started me on Pathetique in 1964, then took the music back to the store after a couple of months, without comment. I was concentrating on bassoon in those days, as the band director was getting antsy about the $360 he had wasted on loaning me the instrument. I quit piano in late 1964, to not play much until I bought my own in 1982.
And I want to play by ear, Cole Porter, Beatles songs, Gershwin movie music, Johnny Mercer, etc. 6 songs down including Yellow Bird, Day Tripper, Baby Elephant Walk, Sugar Plum Fairy. All these could use further improvement of the arrangements.
I'd like to add Finger Buster and other Fats Waller songs to the Joplin rags I play already: Paragon Rag, Magnetic Rag, Maple Leaf Rag. I saw one of the students planning his spring recital quote Finger Buster, I though only people that watched The Blues television series on PBS had ever heard it played. No Entertainer in my dream sheet, Marvin Hamlisch ruined that song for me forever. You would think it was written by Chopin, all that stopping and starting he did. And I want to learn to play Pine Top Perkins Boogie Woogie the way Joann Castle did once on television. Also her version of American Patrol.
Topic: What is your ultimate goal piece?