Most difficult classical piece?

[recnepspencer]

What is the most difficult piano piece? I want to learn it. I'm at the level where I could give it a go, but after ordering a Liszt Etudes book, it seems there are harder pieces than feux Follets (douze grandes etudes no 5). I'd be pretty disappointed spending that much time to learn 'the hardest piece' only to find something harder.

[pencilart3]

Oh boy. Here we go.



Edit: well actually I made this topic once and it was covered in 34 replies of "STOP MAKING THIS TOPIC WE ALL HATE YOU" so I will not do that to you. Try Ravel's Scarbo Balakirev's Islamey etc... and find which is hardest for you. TE 12 or 4 some find harder than 5 but not many. Musically Chopin's Ballades and 3rd piano sonata are tough. Good luck

[medtnaculus]

I was a bit curious about the hardest Classical period piece, but in general this has been asked too many times.

Rather than just suggest the usual nominees like Sorabji, Ravel's Gaspard, Xenakis, Nancarrow, countless transcriptions, or Mereaux's etudes, how about some lesser known but still quite difficult pieces.

Such as Tanayev's Prelude and Fugue?

Recently my interest was piqued by Barlow's Cogluotobusisletmesi...

Wouldn't necessarily say these are the hardest, but interesting none the less. I understand many say the hardest musically is Mozart or Bach to play with perfection. I'm curious, what are the hardest works pre-1800?

[briansaddleback]

Oh boy. Here we go.



Edit: well actually I made this topic once and it was covered in 34 replies of "STOP MAKING THIS TOPIC WE ALL HATE YOU" so I will not do that to you. Try Ravel's Scarbo Balakirev's Islamey etc... and find which is hardest for you. TE 12 or 4 some find harder than 5 but not many. Musically Chopin's Ballades and 3rd piano sonata are tough. Good luck

hate is a passionate word . as if you're saying we actually care or think about you.

[chopinlover01]

^ Damn. Care for some fries with your salt?

---

There's no such thing as the "most difficult" or "hardest" piece ever, because there isn't an objective standard to judge such things by. There IS a (quite extensive) list (which, if you'll forgive the pun, happens to be full of Liszt) of ridiculously difficult pieces in piano literature. Look into composers like Liszt, Alkan, Scriabin, Prokofiev, Ravel, and Sorabji.

[mjames]

I was a bit curious about the hardest Classical period piece, but in general this has been asked too many times.

Rather than just suggest the usual nominees like Sorabji, Ravel's Gaspard, Xenakis, Nancarrow, countless transcriptions, or Mereaux's etudes, how about some lesser known but still quite difficult pieces.

Such as Tanayev's Prelude and Fugue?

Recently my interest was piqued by Barlow's Cogluotobusisletmesi...

Wouldn't necessarily say these are the hardest, but interesting none the less. I understand many say the hardest musically is Mozart or Bach to play with perfection. I'm curious, what are the hardest works pre-1800?

>medtnaculus
>doesnt mention the nightwind sonata

*** pls

[rubinsteinmad]

Liszt's Don Juan Fantasy is difficult.

[pencilart3]

hate is a passionate word . as if you're saying we actually care or think about you.

Plenty of thought went into those hateful replies

@Chopinlover fries with your salt LOOOOL


I believe that somebody mistook hardest piece for hardest piece to spell... Cogluotobusisletmesi

[stevensk]

Why dont you play feux Follets whith your left hand alone? That must be hard 
or what about playing a compositions for Piano Four-Hands whith just your two hands? That must be challenging. Wohltemperierte clavier in octaves? Whith one hand? Chopin etydes backwards whith just three fingers?

[pencilart3]

Or that one study on Chopin's Black Keys etude w/ sixths... oh my gosh! I can't remember his name for some reason right now.

[recnepspencer]

Thabks for the replies everyone. Right now I'm learning transcendental Etude no 2, and it's not the hardest, but it has this crazy passage in the middle that I've seen even concert pianists screw up on

[rubinsteinmad]

Or that one study on Chopin's Black Keys etude w/ sixths... oh my gosh! I can't remember his name for some reason right now.

Godowsky? Reger? Brahms?

[pencilart3]

Yeah I think Godowsky

[visitor]

those right hand-left hand inversions of several Chopin etudes by Carlos Chaves (there's 3 of them that i know of where the parts are reversed) are knarly, don't think there's a publicly available recording of them (library holdings only i think).  

as pointless as the question is, it does allow for mentioning of less common works so that's a plus i guess.

do we include collaborative piano such as chamber works and also concertos and similar?

The Richard Strauss Burlesque for piano and orch is super crazy hard.   i've only seen it programmed live once and i loved it (saw it live about 12 years ago)
this lady has one of the most extensive piano concerti repertoire on the planet, she does a really nice job of it here

[symphonicdance]

Yes, there is no hardest.  There is only harder.   

[trollbuster]

I'd be pretty disappointed spending that much time to learn 'the hardest piece' only to find something harder.

BULLSH!T METER: 5000



you are too funny and you are so full of sh!t.   

   

[trollbuster]

hate is a passionate word . as if you're saying we actually care or think about you.

dick 

[adodd81802]

.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

I wrote a piece for my post World War Two musical form class and I can guarantee you it's impossible to play. 

[pencilart3]

Wait I forgot about this

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=58915.0

[dcstudio]

I'd be pretty disappointed spending that much time to learn 'the hardest piece' only to find something harder.

WOW  I think this is the most pretentious comment I have ever seen in 10 years here at PS.  Are you aware of the insinuation you are making?  seriously...

you are saying we had better provide you with the name of the hardest piece or you will be "pretty disappointed."  So if someone gave you "the 2nd hardest classical piece" and you learned it then found out there was something harder you would be disappointed and displeased that you learned the 2nd hardest piece instead of the hardest?  why wouldn't you want to learn both?.  Why does "the hardest" piece have to be now?  and what makes you think you are advanced enough to try? 

 Most importantly why should any of us worry about your disappointment--we have our own music to practice.  A great pianist at an advanced level is disappointed.. are you expecting the forum to  respect you simply because you say you are advanced and you have listed some rep you supposedly play?

it takes quite a bit more than idle claims to earn the respect of the forum members,  some of us here really do know what we are talking about because we do this for a living and we can spot a liar a mile away.

 No wonder you got trollbustered lol  dang.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

WOW  I think this is the most pretentious comment I have ever seen in 10 years here at PS.  Are you aware of the insinuation you are making?  seriously...

I agree it's pretentious but maybe not the most.

Remember the89thkey guy?  He said he was a famous pianist and learned to play all of the Rach concertos in like a week.

[dcstudio]

oh yeah Mr. 89th key the prodigy  a legend in his own mind and who could forget The blue note pianist who claimed to be "the world's best" pianist because he learned one of the hexatonic scales...

they were bad... but this op acts like he/she is entitled to something.   I have never seen anyone here word their request quite that way...  "I will be disappointed if I find something harder?"  there is an expectation there.  The op is asking for help but yet demanding it at the same time and conveniently leaving a door open to blame and belittle anyone fool enough to make a suggestion. I know that trap--used to get caught in it all the time... but not anymore.
 smells like Narcissism

[rachmaninoff_forever]

oh yeah Mr. 89th key the prodigy  a legend in his own mind and who could forget The blue note pianist who claimed to be "the world's best" pianist because he learned one of the hexatonic scales...

Blue note?

Maybe he was around before me.

[dcstudio]

Blue note?

Maybe he was around before me.

it was a few months back... it was EPIC  and also hilarious.  He punished the forum for not agreeing with him that he was indeed, the greatest pianist in the world and removed his vids. He knew 1 theory word... hexatonic.. lol.  which led to "the hexatonic" scale --but there is more than one 6 note scale.  oh he was EPIC. lol.   worse than the jeeves

my favorite all-time number 1 guy is that man that posted 30 original scores in the audition room and then got all mad when nobody wanted to download the score play it and give him feedback... It was so obvious he had written something he could not play--but of course he accused the forum of not having enough skill to play his work..   He really thought that we were all tired of playing Beethoven and that we would just be so excited to see "new classical" music.. that we would download all his crap and record it for him...LOL  just because we liked it sooooo much. He was highly offended when we didn't.   

[briansaddleback]

it was a few months back... it was EPIC  and also hilarious.  He punished the forum for not agreeing with him that he was indeed, the greatest pianist in the world and removed his vids. He knew 1 theory word... hexatonic.. lol.  which led to "the hexatonic" scale --but there is more than one 6 note scale.  oh he was EPIC. lol.   worse than the jeeves

my favorite all-time number 1 guy is that man that posted 30 original scores in the audition room and then got all mad when nobody wanted to download the score play it and give him feedback... It was so obvious he had written something he could not play--but of course he accused the forum of not having enough skill to play his work..   He really thought that we were all tired of playing Beethoven and that we would just be so excited to see "new classical" music.. that we would download all his crap and record it for him...LOL  just because we liked it sooooo much. He was highly offended when we didn't.  

hehe. I can handle all sorts of people. But stubbornly pretentious AND self-entitled people?  I cant stand them . The worst.

[klavieronin]

I would suggest that what is most difficult on the piano is not playing "difficult" pieces, but playing any piece really well. Playing Mozart's Sonata Facile with absolute clarity, rhythmic precision, and utmost artist sensibilities is far more difficult that playing Sorbji's Opus Clavicumbalisticum like a piece of sh*t… Just a thought.