What was your first big romantic piece?

[stiefel]

Mine was Schubert's Impromptu in B flat major.  Now it's a breeze but at the time it was a big deal for me.

What is yours?

[nanabush]

My first piece like that where I was thinking "hell ya!" was probably the Liebestraum by Liszt.

The first Romantic piece that really took a good amount of effort to work out was definitely Chopin's C minor Nocturne (Op.48).  It's not a 'huge Romantic work', but it's definitely a difficult piece to overcome when you've only played a few Preludes/easier Nocturnes before that.

[jollisg]

That depends on what's considered as a "big" piece.
If you consider Chopin's fantaisie impromptu as a "big" piece, then that was my first. I consider Chopin ballade no. 1 as my first big romantic piece, because i think of a "big" piece as a piece that is at least 8 minutes long... But that's me

[lojay]

Is Schubert considered romantic?

I can play segments of repertoire, but I haven't completed a larger romantic work yet.  I hope to finish Chopin's Ballade No. 3 (although I don't necessarily consider this a "big" romantic piece) by the end of this month though, but it's a huge struggle to find time to practice .

[teran]

The Raindrop Prélude!

I remember all the struggles learning it, it all seems so bizarre when you can play a piece with great ease, but then remember the toil it took to get its current status.

Conquering your first "big" piece is great because after that, no matter how much you're striggling with new repertoire, you can look back at how much you struggled with another piece, compare it to how you can play it now, and be reassured that with hard work and will, you can reach your goal.

Well at least that's what I like to think, I won't let Beethoven break me!

[the89thkey]

Raindrop Prelude is definitely not a "big" work. I probably played Chopin Ballades 1 and 3 pretty early on, and Beethoven concertos if those count. However, my first "big" piece was undoubtedly something by Chopin. "Bolero" perhaps.

[thalbergmad]

and Beethoven concertos if those count.

You need to ask???

[jorley]

My first piece like that where I was thinking "hell ya!" was probably the Liebestraum by Liszt.

The first Romantic piece that really took a good amount of effort to work out was definitely Chopin's C minor Nocturne (Op.48).  It's not a 'huge Romantic work', but it's definitely a difficult piece to overcome when you've only played a few Preludes/easier Nocturnes before that.

How difficult is the Op 48 Nocturne? Can you name some pieces that are about the same difficulty?

[teran]

Raindrop Prelude is definitely not a "big" work. I probably played Chopin Ballades 1 and 3 pretty early on, and Beethoven concertos if those count. However, my first "big" piece was undoubtedly something by Chopin. "Bolero" perhaps.

Big is a relative term you know.

[pianoplunker]

Her name was Becky. Wow, what a piece

[williampiano]

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "big" piece, but the first romantic piece I learned that I consider a reasonable step into more challenging repertoire was Chopin Waltz op. 69 no. 2 for my Certificate of Merit Level 3 exam when I was eight. It was way more difficult than the rest of the repertoire I had prepared for the exam or ever learned at the time, considering the other pieces I was learning were Bach minuets and beginning classical sonatinas.

[redbaron]

Raindrop Prelude is definitely not a "big" work

That depends how advanced a pianist you are when you learn it... 

[thesixthsensemusic]

That depends how advanced a pianist you are when you learn it... 

It rather depends on what way you look at it IMHO. It's not a technically difficult piece, but it is one of the masterworks of the Romantic piano repertoire and 'big' because it is one of the best known pieces of the legacy Chopin left behind.

Mine was the Moonlight Sonata (if you consider it to be romantic, some consider it part of the Classical tradition) but only the first and second movements, didn't play no. 3 till a year after that...

If you don't consider it a part of the Romantic era, then it was Schubert's op.90 no. 4, which was also the first ever piece of 'keyboard acrobatics' I ever played.

[lojay]

I read this:

Her name was Becky. Wow, what a piece

and then immediately this:

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "big" piece

thinking the second quote was referred to the first.

[jeffkonkol]

with respect to the difficulty of nocturne 13 (op 48).  It is probably the hardest of his nocturnes, and is comparable in difficulty to the mid-range etudes.  The doppio section is VERY difficult to voice within the confines of the dynamics.

Since there seems to be some debate related to difficulty, length and even period.... how are we defining a big romantic piece here ?

someone mentioned Beethoven concertos earlier.  These certainly meet the difficulty bar, but are they romantic?  Raindrop, although falling comparably short on the difficulty bar certainly is smack dab in the middle of romantic, and given its popularity, can also be considered 'big' or at least significant.

Do all of the chopin etudes qualify, as some of them slightly lean more in the direction of technical studies....etc...etc....

[stiefel]

In terms of what counts as a "big" romantic piece, I was thinking something of at least 7-8 minutes or more and overall constructed as a larger or expanded form.  Like everyone said already, big is relative to what you've already played and your skill level.

Is Schubert Romantic?  I think so. 

[kitty on the keys]

Mine was the Rhapsody in g minor of Brahms and the 3rd Ballade of Chopin.

Kitty on the Keys

[karen_1704]

Well, this is OOT, but my first (literally first) piece if Fur Elise. Yeah, I know  I barely can read notes back then, I memorize EACH note to be able to play it through. After that piece, I was determined to seriously learn to play piano,and I finally took courses (I started autodidact). It was a very BIG piece for me 

[japanesepianist]

My first major romantic piece has to be Fantaisie Impromptu. My teacher didn't believe that I could play it, and I finally proved her wrong when one day when I was playing Chopin's Nocturne Op. 72, and she said "Why have your polyrhytms gotten so much better?" and I explained to her I had been practicing Fantaisie Impromptu by myself at home. The look of amazement and surprise on her face was priceless. She asked me to play it for her, which I did at a perfect slow tempo. She then dropped the Nocturne and instead let me play Fantaisie Impromptu, under the promise that I would practice hard. Since it was the first advanced piece I had ever played, and my introduction to advanced repertoire, I have a really strong connection with thtat piece. It's so beautiful. And, it also sums up how the year before I played it was. Anyways, I hope that Fantaisie Impromptu was an ok answer.   

[symphonicdance]

My first "big" romantic work would be (accidentally) Schumann's Kreislerianna, if not (another accidentally) Chopin's Andante spianato & Grand Polonaise.

[danhuyle]

Chopin Scherzo No2.

[david456103]

Liszt HR 6

[stiefel]

My first "big" romantic work would be (accidentally) Schumann's Kreislerianna, if not (another accidentally) Chopin's Andante spianato & Grand Polonaise.

How did you "accidentally" learn these pieces?  This sounds like a good story!

[ajspiano]

How did you "accidentally" learn these pieces?  This sounds like a good story!

lol...   I'm guessing you repeatedly trip on the piano stool and happen to land hands first on the appropriate keys/notes.

[slobone]

How difficult is the Op 48 Nocturne? Can you name some pieces that are about the same difficulty?

Henle website gives it a 7 out of 9, or Advanced. The only other nocturne that difficult, according to them, is Op 15 #2.

[slobone]

My first "big" romantic piece was the Brahms g minor rhapsody, Op 79 #2. That's one of those pieces that's not as hard to get through as it sounds, although I'm pretty sure I butchered it. And it's one of the few pieces to hit the bottom note on the piano.

[symphonicdance]

How did you "accidentally" learn these pieces?  This sounds like a good story!

I had little ideas on the difficulty range of pieces, when I was young, naive, and actually not well trained.  I just by chance listened to CDs (Horowitz for Kreislerianna and Rubinstein for the Grand Polonaise) and fell like them, self-learnt, and practised them for exam and competition (of course, I didn't win any).

[invictious]

Chopin Ballade No. 3 in A-flat Major
Chopin Scherzo No.2

[catherinezng]

Mine was also Chopin Scherzo no.2 

[davidjosepha]

Assuming I understand the question right, I'd say Brahms' Rhapsody No. 2 in B minor. Not a terribly difficult piece, but that's the first piece where I felt like I was playing real repertoire--like I had entered the big leagues (although obviously the very low end of it). I played that right after the Khatchaturian Toccata, and those two pieces together are what really pushed me forward into practicing. I think that's the first time I really enjoyed playing a piece and really wanted to practice it.

[birba]

The symphonic etudes.  No comment, thal.

[thalbergmad]

Apart from the fact that it is not romantic, I have nothing to say.

Thal

[pianist1976]

Schumann g minor sonata.

[slobone]

Assuming I understand the question right, I'd say Brahms' Rhapsody No. 2 in B minor. Not a terribly difficult piece, but that's the first piece where I felt like I was playing real repertoire--like I had entered the big leagues (although obviously the very low end of it).

It's a slow piece, but by no means easy. IIRC Brahms changes dynamics, articulation, or tempo on nearly every note, so you have to really watch what you're doing. Good place to start though.

[davidjosepha]

It's a slow piece, but by no means easy. IIRC Brahms changes dynamics, articulation, or tempo on nearly every note, so you have to really watch what you're doing. Good place to start though.

Oh yeh, I didn't mean to say it was easy! But compared to many of the pieces people were saying as their first big piece, it's relatively small, and I wanted to justify choosing it as my first "big" romantic piece.

[slobone]

Oh yeh, I didn't mean to say it was easy! But compared to many of the pieces people were saying as their first big piece, it's relatively small, and I wanted to justify choosing it as my first "big" romantic piece.

Actually I was thinking of the wrong piece -- the B minor Intermezzo. Oops. ; Haven't played the rhapsody, although I was reading it last night. Henle rates it 6/7, or bridging intermediate and advanced levels.

[nanabush]

with respect to the difficulty of nocturne 13 (op 48).  It is probably the hardest of his nocturnes, and is comparable in difficulty to the mid-range etudes.  The doppio section is VERY difficult to voice within the confines of the dynamics.

I'll agree with the difficulty of the Doppio section of the Nocturne... but have you seen the B major Nocturne Op. 9 #3?  Gahhh, the left hand in the fast section is really really awkward.  Also, the C minor nocturne doesn't have any of the fluttery passagework that you see in a lot of his other ones.  It's a meaty piece, but I think if you've played a bit of Rachmaninoff, this Nocturne isn't that bad.  At the time for me though, it was horrible haha!  The second part sounded so bad for a while before I really wrapped my mind around voicing chords... and again ya, it's really easy to play that section fff.

[dynamobt]

Perhaps not "big" enough for this sub forum.  But, it was "big " for me.  And not that long ago, either. 

Schumann Arabesque Op 18