Search for pieces with unusual techniques

[tedwan]

Hey guys,

I love pieces that sound completely unique with techniques not too often used.

Like La Campanella and Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 with these double notes or even triple notes.
Or Un Sospiro or Chopins Etude op 25 No 1 with a wonderful melody within quick arpeggios.

I mean these pieces that take the piano to the edge of its capabilities. They sound so unique and wonderful.

I'm searching for such pieces. Of course many pieces sound really unique but I'm especially talking about such with unregular techniques.


best regards

Tedwan

[visitor]

the most unique, limit pushing pieces in my collection  are the books 1 and 2 of Sam Raphling's 24 etudes for piano which seek to exploit piano techniques encountered after world war I since etudes and similar pieces in older traditions fell short in addressing the challenges pianists would face with evolving music types. i have an lp w the entire set recorded. I need to pull it out and see if i ever archived these in my collection.  Cannot believe someone actually learned all 24 of these....

worth checking out, they're super interesting/unique, and insanely difficult at times, some not so much but the style is so out there/foreign that even simpler textures can be quite hard to pull off.

[adodd81802]

Have you considered some Left hand only pieces. I think these definitely push technique.

I'm also thinking of the Godowsky Etudes. Arrangements of Chopin Etudes that take the pieces even further (some are unrecognizable really compared to the originals so it's not like learning the same pieces)

Also IMSLP contains a LOT of music, you can arrange your search by Piano-Etudes. Ultimately if you're looking for pieces that will push technique, Etudes are designed for just that reason.

Or almost anything by Liszt

[stevensk]

-Kapustin concert etudes! 

-Earl Wilde etudes!   

[visitor]

also up there for pushing the limit are the 100 or so piano etudes of David Rakowski. His compositional approach was that each  etude must be written  with no revisions and take a maximum of 6 days to compose. and the titles are incredibly unique and require the pianist to do things likely will not see outside his music like
this one where the piece parts are spaced out so much you need a third appendage...enter the nose in "Snozzage"
scores easily found online, published by Peters i think there are 4 maybe more books at about 36 - 40 usd per book

so many cool pieces impossible to really list them all but 25ht one - fists of fury is super cool

2014 WPC competitor Youkyoung Kim performs Rakowski's Piano Etude #25: Fists of Fury, during the first round of competition.

[ahinton]

also up there for pushing the limit are the 100 or so piano etudes of David Rakowski. His compositional approach was that each  etude must be written  with no revisions and take a maximum of 6 days to compose. and the titles are incredibly unique and require the pianist to do things likely will not see outside his music like
this one where the piece parts are spaced out so much you need a third appendage...enter the nose in "Snozzage"
scores easily found online, published by Peters i think there are 4 maybe more books at about 36 - 40 usd per book

so many cool pieces impossible to really list them all but 25ht one - fists of fury is super cool

2014 WPC competitor Youkyoung Kim performs Rakowski's Piano Etude #25: Fists of Fury, during the first round of competition.

Snozzage is clearly not a piece to be performed when the pianist is suffering from a bad cold.

As for Fists of Fury, very little of the use of fists was either "furious" or indeed impossible of execution by other means such as the more convention fingers that pianists usually use.

That said, they're attractive pieces so I appreciate your having posted these recordings; many thanks.

Best,

Alistair

[visitor]

Snozzage is clearly not a piece to be performed when the pianist is suffering from a bad cold.

As for Fists of Fury, very little of the use of fists was either "furious" or indeed impossible of execution by other means such as the more convention fingers that pianists usually use.

That said, they're attractive pieces so I appreciate your having posted these recordings; many thanks.

Best,

Alistair

You are most welcome, the with a cycle of 100 'exercises'-pieces, it is hard not find something attractive to one's own tastes   . I do agree some are more inventive than others, and fists of fury is one of the more begin (hence I guess it's inclusion as a young artist competition piece, maybe was one of the more approachable ones for the uninitiated/underexposed pianist).  
this one has quite the ...."name"....  it makes you read it twice to make sure you read it properly ha ha. I happen to absolutely love it (pun intended)

 , i like the jazzy - stravinsky ish ala Ginastera quality of it.

I believe they're an important body of work for the instrument.
Definitely reccommend further reading, here's an DMA dissertation/academic paper  on them
https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=bgsu1288402170&disposition=inline
 

Abstract
Since the early history of piano music the etude has played an important role in the instrument’s repertoire. The genre has grown from technical exercises to virtuosic concert pieces. During the twentieth century, new movements in music were reflected in the etudes of Debussy, Stravinsky and Messiaen, to mention a few. In the past fifty years,
Bolcom and Ligeti have continued this trend, taking the piano etude to yet another level. Their etudes reflect the aesthetics and process of modernist and postmodernist
composition, featuring complex rhythms, new techniques in pitch and harmonic organization, a variety of new extended techniques, and an often-unprecedented level of difficulty.


David Rakowski is a prolific composer of contemporary piano etudes, having completed a cycle of one hundred piano etudes during the past twenty-two years. By mixing his own modernist aesthetic with jazz, rock, and pop-culture influences,Rakowski has created a set of etudes that are both challenging to the pianist and approachable for the audience. The etudes have drawn the attention of several leading pianists in the contemporary field, most notably Marilyn Nonken and Amy Briggs, who are currently recording the entire set. Because of pianistic difficulty, approachability for the listener, and interest of noted pianists, Rakowski’s etudes seem destined for recognition in the contemporary standard repertoire. This doctoral document is the first to focus on the completed set of etudes and also provides the first method of categorization for the etudes.


In his etudes, Rakowski explored both traditional pianistic problems as well as the challenges of new music. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between
Rakowski’s piano etudes, other contemporary etudes, and the traditional etude of past historical periods. The first chapter of this document consists of a historical and musical
overview of the most important piano etudes in the standard repertory. The rest of the document consists of a more focused look at Rakowski’s etudes, providing an overview
of styles, techniques, influences, and difficulties in the music. I have described the aesthetic and technical challenge of each etude and have placed them into categories
based on their technical challenges. While the categories were my own invention, my decisions concerning the categorical placement of specific etudes were based on
information gathered through secondary sources, interviews with Dr. Rakowski, and personal analysis and performances of the etudes.


as for pianists with colds playing, yes probably best to lay off that piece when sinuses are 'acting up'. More reason for us to be armed with



folks that might want a different performance of fists should look to pianist Lillie Garnder (she's a doctoral student at a CT uni, really fantastic knack for modern pieces, this was a while back as a student but she nails it, her smirk at the end of the piece attests to it. This is the video that introduced me to Rakowski)
better side view shows the 'fists' better

https://www.lilliegardner.com/

her yt has nice recordings of Copeland and Barber, and she holds her own w Chopin and Brahms r

[ahinton]

 , i like the jazzy - stravinsky ish ala Ginastera quality of it.

Almost Igor meets Kapustin and the former discusses whisky while the latter waxes lyrical about vodka, peut-être...

Abstract
Since the early history of piano music the etude has played an important role in the instrument’s repertoire. The genre has grown from technical exercises to virtuosic concert pieces. During the twentieth century, new movements in music were reflected in the etudes of Debussy, Stravinsky and Messiaen, to mention a few. In the past fifty years,
Bolcom and Ligeti have continued this trend, taking the piano etude to yet another level. Their etudes reflect the aesthetics and process of modernist and postmodernist
composition, featuring complex rhythms, new techniques in pitch and harmonic organization, a variety of new extended techniques, and an often-unprecedented level of difficulty.

Stravinsky wrote few few piano études, yet there's omission of mention of Sorabji's cycle of 100, the world première recording of which is now nearing completion (Fredrik Ullén on BIS, 5 CDs out so far and two more to go).

as for pianists with colds playing, yes probably best to lay off that piece when sinuses are 'acting up'. More reason for us to be armed with

Indeed, otherwise Schnozzage could so easily turn into Schneezage...

Best,

Alistair

[stevensk]

-OMG what an awful pieces you suggests here   
This is the way:

[ahinton]

-OMG what an awful pieces you suggests here   
This is the way:

S'wonderful, of course - Wild's transcriptions can usually be relied on to be that at the very least - but why is it broken into chunks here?

Best,

Alistair

[visitor]

yes let's do more awful awful awful.