Fantasie Impromptu or Nocturne in D flat.

[schwartzer]

Hey everyone!

My younger brother just finished all the movements of the Pathétique Sonata. Still struggling a bit with the third movement, but I'm sure he'll master it nonetheless.

Thing is, he won't be having any musical lessons for a bit since his teacher is sick. And since he's got nothing to do, he decided to learn a new piece. He asked me what would be better, the Fantasie Impromptu or Chopin's Nocturne in D flat. Since I didn't learn the Impromptu yet, I couldn't tell him which one would be easier for him. Can you guys help me??

Pathétique was the first sonata he learned. He can play Chopin's Op. 9 no. 1 & 2, Clair de Lune, Chopin's Military Polonaise, the 2nd movement of the Apassionata Sonata and few other works, just so you guys can have an idea of his skill level.

Thank you all in advance!

[quantum]

FI will teach him about 3 against 4 polyrhythms.  The Nocturne requires a lot of detail work. 

[hmrichter]

With all that he's done, he might want to try some Rach. Show him the two most famous preludes (C# minor and G minor), he might like them.
That aside, between the two, several factors apply. How old is he? At an age like say 13 it's hard to do polyrhythms not because of technical lack of skill, but because polyrhythms tend to take a more mature brain to do so, however that largely depends on the pianist.
Between the two, the nocturne is definitely easier. Fantasie Impromptu is more well known, though it's a bit overdone. It sure gets people's attention though. The nocturne in D flat is definitely a gorgeous piece.
He may also want to take a look at some of the etudes (Watch as I'm beheaded by all other PS members for saying this), particularly  10/3, 10/5 and 10/12.

[schwartzer]

Oh, thanks for the valuable input guys!

He's 17 now, been playing for quite a while. He tried out the 4 to 3 polyrhythms and he told me that the 1st Nocturne made learning these much easier, which makes sense for me. From what I've heard, he doesn't have much difficulty with these at all.

He also told me he wants to wait a bit until he plays Rach, even though he loves him. The Impromptu is definitely a show off piece isn't it? Hahaha. Heard it sounds much harder than it actually is. The main problem with the nocturne is the big ornament towards the end of the piece. Gotta say it took me a while to learn it even though when I did, I had been playing for quite a bit.

All in all, the Impromptu is harder then? The coda seems to be the hardest part of the piece, right?

[quantum]

It depends on the person.  If he is good at fast scale passages, arpeggiated LH, and 3-4 polyrhythms the FI will be easier.  If he is into exploring tone colour, detail, melismatic tunes, and variations, he may like the Nocturne. 

If your brother has no problems with 9/1, the 48-note ornament near the end shouldn't pose too much difficulty. 

[schwartzer]

He'll definitely love playing the Nocturne then. Thank you all so much!