Can I attempt a Rachmaninoff concert or I am crazy?

[rovis77]

Hi, I have been playing for 9 years and I have played many pieces, I can play 5 Chopin etudes, the op 10 1, op 10 12, op 25 12, op 25 1 and op 25 2 with success. Can I attempt to play the first movement of Rachmaninoff´s second or first piano concert or I am crazy?. thanks

[piulento]

I'd suggest you to wait. Better to wait until you're 100% ready than to make Rachmaninoff sound bad...
If you really wanna do it, you should first study a lot of his "simpler" works (none of his works are simple, but I guess you know what I mean). I think the preludes are a good start.
Once you can play a lot of them, and well, you should consider taking it to the next level.
But hey, that's just my opinion.
Good luck!

[marijn1999]

You might. Actually there's an easy way to find out. Go try it. Try playing through the first movement of one of the concertos and see if you can get through them a little bit. And then again, if you can't get through them even in the slightest, you will still be able to learn it (however, it will most likely take you a lot of time in that situation). If you can get through it a little bit, go ahead and start working on it.

Another thing: Do you know if you can perform it with an orchestra afterwards or is it just for your own pleasure. If you will be performing it with and orchestra, I wouldn't go with such hard concertos at first. Try some easier ones like late Mozart or early Beethoven. Maybe Schumann or Grieg. Playing with an orchestra is really hard. In fact, playing with more people than just yourself already is hard.

Last comment, telling us that you can play those Chopin exudes already, for me, doesn't add anything of valuable information to this post. Since every single piece will give you different problems, so will this one. Also, Chopin composed his etudes between 1829 and 1839, Rachmaninoff wrote his concertos in 1891 and 1901. Their music are very different from each other. Being able to play some Chopin etudes doesn't mean you are at a certain level of some kind. It simply means you put time into those pieces and therefore you can play them.

Anyway, give me some more information so I can give you more specific advice. And please don't take me wrong, I'm not trying to discourage or offend you. I'm not an expert myself. Just giving my own opinions and sharing the experiences that worked for me.

BW,
Marijn

[chopinlover01]

You haven't really got that much of a grip on Rach's music. Great that you did the Chopin, and those will probably help some, but studying Rach's etudes and preludes and other music (the Op. 3 Suite and Op. 16 moments musicaux are great starts) would help much more.

[mjames]

NARUTO ONCE SAID:

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!!!!!!

[adodd81802]

NARUTO ONCE SAID:

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!!!!!!

+1

[chopinlover01]

Naruto also was an anime character who never really existed and was part fox

[xdjuicebox]

Lol at the Naruto comments.

Rach's concertos feel really good, but stay away from the third one as of now XD
Second one's not that bad though, at least most of it isn't

It's super easy to memorize too

[rachmaninoff_forever]

You'll be fine dude go for it. 

[visitor]

You listed solo pieces. I would begin working collaborative piano works such as simple italian songs for voice w piano, accompany for other instrument ie violin sonatad, then also duets and duos w other piano.
from there small eneble work like piano trios quartet quintet etc, then pony up to smaller concerto before ponying up to sergei. 
Its a different animal and you need to develop your listening skills while you play w other players first or you will struggle w balance and synchrony w other parts.

[mk22]

Possibly but it depends. You mentioned a few Chopin etudes but what larger scale works have you played? If we're talking about Chopin, have you played any of his ballades, scherzos, or sonatas? Knowing this will give us a better idea of your preparedness. For example, I've only recently begun to tackle Chopin's 1st concerto and Rach's 3rd concerto after having multiple ballades, sonatas, and etudes under my belt. If you can play those etudes, then you are probably technically ready to tackle something like the Rach 1 or 2 but again it would be helpful to know your other repertoire.