Which is harder? Clementi/Chopin

[elconquistador]

On a scale of 1-10 (1 being easy and 10 being advanced) where do you think Clementi's Sonatinas and Chopin's Etudes would land?

I'm thinking Clementi at 4  and Chopin at 9/10?

[pianoman53]

If red would be very easy, blue would be rather difficult, purple= super easy and dark pink is incredibly difficult. I would say... Brown/green.

[dima_76557]

Which is harder? Clementi/Chopin

Depends on what version your teacher hits you with when you make mistakes: hardcover, leather-bound, or paperback.

[thalbergmad]

haha, nice answer.

[future_maestro]

ALL of Chopin's Etudes smoke Clementi's Sonatinas, no surprise there. Clementi was also composing when the piano was barely an instrument, and very limited in its abilities, Chopin composed when pianos were much better. Clementi actually wrote very difficult works for his day, the Sonatas by him are neck and neck with Mozart's.

[beethovensonata]

Chopin would be 8&1/2 and Clementi would range greatly from 5-7

[beethovensonata]

ALL of Chopin's Etudes smoke Clementi's Sonatinas, no surprise there. Clementi was also composing when the piano was barely an instrument, and very limited in its abilities, Chopin composed when pianos were much better. Clementi actually wrote very difficult works for his day, the Sonatas by him are neck and neck with Mozart's.

Clementi's Sonatas surpass Mozarts in almost every way.  And don't be so quick to put ALL of Chopin Etudes ahead when you forget that a 2 minute Etude does not present the challenges that a full 10-15 minutes sonata might.  Clementi's difficult Sonata's I would say be even with Chopin Etudes...

[future_maestro]

Clementi's Sonatas surpass Mozarts in almost every way.  And don't be so quick to put ALL of Chopin Etudes ahead when you forget that a 2 minute Etude does not present the challenges that a full 10-15 minutes sonata might.  Clementi's difficult Sonata's I would say be even with Chopin Etudes...

Perhaps you're right...

[pytheamateur]

Hardly anyone plays Clementi nowadays.

[awesom_o]

Hardly anyone plays Clementi nowadays.

It's actually bloody difficult to do well!

There are many, many people who are learning Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff Concertos who simply don't have enough technique to play the Classical style with any real authority!

[saranoya]

Clementi's Sonatas surpass Mozarts in almost every way.

As a novice pianist, and a member of the "unwashed masses" when it comes to most of Clementi's work, I'd like to know what this opinion is based on.

And then, a related question: someone recently told me to maybe work for a while on K331, as a first introduction to Mozart sonatas. It was suggested as an alternative to K545 which, besides being a bit cliché, I'm liable to grow tired of hearing before ever learning to play it decently. Both would be quite a stretch for me, but then, that's exactly what I'm looking for. So: say I wanted to stay off the beaten path entirely, and learn a Clementi Sonata before turning to Mozart. Which one would you recommend?  

[j_menz]

As a novice pianist, and a member of the "unwashed masses" when it comes to most of Clementi's work, I'd like to know what this opinion is based on.

A long line of learned opinion tracing itself back to Beethoven.

"They who thoroughly study Clementi, at the same time make themselves acquainted with Mozart and other composers; but the converse is not the fact".

And then, a related question: someone recently told me to maybe work for a while on K331, as a first introduction to Mozart sonatas. It was suggested as an alternative to K545 which, besides being a bit cliché, I'm liable to grow tired of hearing before ever learning to play it decently. Both would be quite a stretch for me, but then, that's exactly what I'm looking for. So: say I wanted to stay off the beaten path entirely, and learn a Clementi Sonata before turning to Mozart. Which one would you recommend?  

Any of the ones called Sonatinas is probably a good place to start. Quite a lot of the ones called Sonatas are more difficult than Mozart's.

The Sonata/Sonatina distinction is actually a little quirky in Clementi's case. After the Op 26 (?) Sonatinas were a popular success, an enterprising publisher re-issued some earlier Sonatas as Sonatinas.  Clementi obviously learnt something from this - he went on to be a successful publisher in his own right.