Your Favorite Chopin Scherzo

[pencilart3]

Yes, I have of course used the search function, this topic has never been made here as far as I can tell. These may be my favorite compositions by Chopin, perhaps after his ballades and etudes, and I want to start long-range planning for one or two of them in a few years. And I am interested to know which one is your favorite?

[tritone_player]

The sickest one is obviously the third.
The second is the most well-known and probably the most played.
The first is the least difficult, followed by the second and then the third as the most difficult (haven't played the 4th, but some say it is even harder than #3).
You would probably want to learn them in order.
Horowitz's recordings of the second and third scherzi from the 1957 LP "Horowitz Plays Chopin" are the greatest performances of those pieces ever, in my opinion.

[pencilart3]

The sickest one is obviously the third.
The second is the most well-known and probably the most played.
The first is the least difficult, followed by the second and then the third as the most difficult (haven't played the 4th, but some say it is even harder than #3).
You would probably want to learn them in order.
Horowitz's recordings of the second and third scherzi from the 1957 LP "Horowitz Plays Chopin" are the greatest performances of those pieces ever, in my opinion.

Cool! Thanks for the info. My favorite is the first, but just by a tiny, tiny bit. The 4th is REALLY close behind it for me. Lol the 3rd one is the only one I don't really like.

Wait a minute, are you serious that the 1st is the easiest for most people? I read through it today (terribly, and at about a speed of 2 ) And I found it very, very difficult. I have played most of the second and I didn't find it nearly as hard. It could just be me though.

Horowitz does a nice job, but I think I prefer Pollini. He really makes the first an absolutely beautiful piece. Same with all the other scherzi but other people can play 2, 3, and 4 almost as well, but his first scherzo is the best, IMO.

[listesso_tempo]

My favourite is the third, which I play. If you have good octaves, it is not that more difficult than second or first, which seem manageable. If you can play one, you can pretty much tackle the others, but I find forth to be the most complex of them all.

Benjamin Grosvenor, Pogorelich and Argerich have fine interpretations of the third.

[kevonthegreatpianist]

Cool! Thanks for the info. My favorite is the first, but just by a tiny, tiny bit. The 4th is REALLY close behind it for me. Lol the 3rd one is the only one I don't really like.

Wait a minute, are you serious that the 1st is the easiest for most people? I read through it today (terribly, and at about a speed of 2 ) And I found it very, very difficult. I have played most of the second and I didn't find it nearly as hard. It could just be me though.

Horowitz does a nice job, but I think I prefer Pollini. He really makes the first an absolutely beautiful piece. Same with all the other scherzi but other people can play 2, 3, and 4 almost as well, but his first scherzo is the best, IMO.

The order IMO is 2,1/3,4. 1 and 3 are about the same difficulty, although in different ways.

i like rafeal josefy's interpretations.

[kevonthegreatpianist]

you basically copied my post from June, although in a different way   

[tritone_player]

Wait a minute, are you serious that the 1st is the easiest for most people? I read through it today (terribly, and at about a speed of 2 ) And I found it very, very difficult. I have played most of the second and I didn't find it nearly as hard. It could just be me though.

The only reason why some might say the first is easier is because a lot of material is repeated, so that's less for you to learn. A lot of the passages feel awkward at first but with some slow practice they become pretty easy to get under your fingers. Out of all the scherzi, the first probably has the hardest coda.

Horowitz does a nice job, but I think I prefer Pollini. He really makes the first an absolutely beautiful piece. Same with all the other scherzi but other people can play 2, 3, and 4 almost as well, but his first scherzo is the best, IMO.

Pollini is great also, I like his second sonata. The really great Horowitz recording of the first scherzo I think is the one from the 1960s, the sforzandos are executed so well and the clarity he achieves is legit. Also, if you plan to learn the first, check out how Horowitz replaces the chromatic scale in both hands at the end with an interlocking octaves chromatic scale (like the kind at the end of Tchaikovsky 1). I think an interlocking octaves scale is easier to play than what's written, yet people's minds explode when they see you play the scale in octaves.

[pencilart3]

The only reason why some might say the first is easier is because a lot of material is repeated, so that's less for you to learn. A lot of the passages feel awkward at first but with some slow practice they become pretty easy to get under your fingers. Out of all the scherzi, the first probably has the hardest coda.

Ahh, that makes sense. Thanks for the help! I listened to 3 a few more times today and it's growing on me a little. I still don't like it too much, but I don't dislike it at all.

[kevonthegreatpianist]

Ahh, that makes sense. Thanks for the help! I listened to 3 a few more times today and it's growing on me a little. I still don't like it too much, but I don't dislike it at all.

the first scherzo is fav. its even my fav chopin work

[pencilart3]

the first scherzo is fav. its even my fav chopin work

Yeahh... go first Scherzo. I can't believe the 4th doesn't have any votes. And I thought the 2nd one was the most popular but it's sitting at 0!

[kevonthegreatpianist]

Yeahh... go first Scherzo. I can't believe the 4th doesn't have any votes. And I thought the 2nd one was the most popular but it's sitting at 0!

it is the most popular. piano street even has a description of it. its just not that likable

[listesso_tempo]

.

[schumaniac]

Whoo first vote for Scherzo 4 but more because my friend played it and so I am familiar af with it

[pencilart3]

Whoo first vote for Scherzo 4 but more because my friend played it and so I am familiar af with it

Yeah it's my favorite now lol OH HOW THE TIDES CHANGE