Is the Prokofiev Toccata out of my league? (Just finished Chopin's 1st Ballade)

[edbogie]

I know, I know. *sigh* Another one of these threads. But truly, I'm interested in feedback from those who have played this.

I recently learned and performed Chopin's 1st Ballade in G minor and I'm looking for something to learn over the summer for next semester, and I have my heart set on this piece. Don't get me wrong, I love a good challenge and will no doubt learn it at some point in my musical career regardless, but realistically speaking, I would have about six months to work it up and am curious to hear you guys' opinion on how absurd that sounds. The Ballade took me a little over a year, and it still (of course) needs much work.

If not the Prokofiev, I'll be attempting Liebermann's Gargoyles (or at least the 3rd and 4th movements). Does that sound more feasible?

[cometear]

Seriously how do you expect someone to craft an answer?

[rachmaninoff_forever]

I would go for it.  It's 5 minutes tops.

[edbogie]

Seriously how do you expect someone to craft an answer?

Just looking for input from anyone who has learned this piece as to how long it took to learn, was it technically more demanding than a piece such as the Ballade is (if they've played it or something similar), etc...

I've played a couple of short Bartok pieces, but other than that, this'll be my first venture into "20th century" repertoire and I have a difficult time discerning the demands of a piece in this style merely by listening...

[michael_c]

Just looking for input from anyone who has learned this piece as to how long it took to learn, was it technically more demanding than a piece such as the Ballade is (if they've played it or something similar), etc...

I've played a couple of short Bartok pieces, but other than that, this'll be my first venture into "20th century" repertoire and I have a difficult time discerning the demands of a piece in this style merely by listening...

I learnt Chopin's 1st Ballade and the Prokofiev Toccata at about the same time. The technical problems in the two pieces are quite different, so it's really impossible to say which is "harder". My advice? Start learning the Prokofiev, give yourself a couple of weeks and see how far you've got. Then you will be in a better position to decide if you could have it ready in 6 months. If you decide that it won't be ready, just put it aside and learn something easier.