Debussy... 2 arabesques vs suite bergamasque in terms of difficulty...

[lalo57]

So my teacher suggested some Debussy... And I love it. The only thing is that I found the second arabesque a little harder than I expected... Do you consider the suite to be harder?

[chopincat]

I think they are fairly close in level but that Suite Bergamesque is a slightly harder, so it's probably better to start with one of the arabesques. That's what I did  

[invictious]

I would say the Suite Bergamasque is a tad more difficult than the arabesques. I think the passepied is the hardest from the suite, but it is highly rewarding to play.

[ianw]

These are graded at 7 for Arabesque No.1 and grade 8 for Arabesque No. 2 on www.pianosyllabus.com. The four movements in Suite Bergamasque are graded 9,8,8,9 respectively.

[visitor]

play the one you like more, even if it's 'harder' you'll tend to work at it w/ more focus, and in the end will probably get more out of it, and give a better more personal performance. 
i think they're about the same actually in terms of demand (components) but the suite is more total music so playing the entire suite i would say is much more demanding due to the volume of music vs a single arabesque no?

[lalo57]

Thanks for your answers. The thing is I would have to play both arabesques or the whole suite (and truth be told, I've never really liked the second arabesque. But in the other hand the first one must be the most beautiful thing ever composed). But anyway, will see.

[j_menz]

The second Arabesque is not eventually as hard as it first seems. There's quite a bit of the same technique throughout, and once you get that it gets much easier. The first, IMO,  is ultimately more challenging - I agree it's the superior work, and to really bring that out.... well, always a challenge, even in the most skilled hands.

EDIT: I should add that once you can, the second is actually rather fun to play.