Piano Forum

Hey, diomedes,

I'm glad to hear you're willing to give them a shot, they're definitely among the very best transcriptions ever made, in my oh so humble opinion. And don't let any Katsaris recording of them get you down! I don't have terribly large hands myself, so I occasionally stumble upon tricky bits like in the second movement of the 6th, and of course wide intervals are far from being the only difficulty present in them, and yes, most of it requires a formidable technique, but they are doable.

Why not start with some of the lightest movements, like the second one from the 1st? Or even the third one from the 5th? True, that one has some tough parts in the left hand when the double basses enter in those quick passages and all that, but the first section of it is pretty easy, actually. Hell, even the first section of the Andante of the 7th could be a good starting point, and it's such fun! And once your technique is more robust, why not try out the first movement of the 'Pastoral'? It's tough, but I think it might actually be the easiest first movement out of all nine symphonies, with the possible exception of the very first one.

I've never had a go at the Pauer transcriptions, but I've had a look-see at some of them and, like christbutch said, they do seem to be easier than the Liszt ones, so perhaps it could also be a good idea to start with those, and then proceed to the Liszt ones.

Very best,
M.W.