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The World of Piano Competitions – issue 2 2025
The World of Piano Competitions magazine is a well-established reference for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of today’s international classical piano landscape. In this new issue, Chopin stands at the centre — not merely as the focus of a competition, but as a celebration of a unique musical legacy. Read more
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Topic: difficulty of Chopin sonata versus ballade  (Read 6694 times)

Offline didi100

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difficulty of Chopin sonata versus ballade
on: May 09, 2018, 04:32:14 AM
Which is more difficult—the Finale of Chopin 3rd sonata or Chopin 1st ballade?
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Offline beethovenfan01

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Re: difficulty of Chopin sonata versus ballade
Reply #1 on: May 09, 2018, 05:35:03 AM
Musically, I would think the Ballade by quite a bit--the Sonata finale has a lot of bravura and excitement, but not much in the way of lyricism. Technically, they are about equal I think. I've played the first Ballade, but only looked through the Sonata finale a few times (currently learning Ballade 3).

The Sonata as a whole is of course much more difficult than any of the Ballades I think.
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Bach Chromatic Fantasie and Fugue
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Offline louispodesta

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Re: difficulty of Chopin sonata versus ballade
Reply #2 on: May 17, 2018, 11:42:59 PM
Quote from: didi100 on May 09, 2018, 04:32:14 AM
Which is more difficult—the Finale of Chopin 3rd sonata or Chopin 1st ballade?
What a foolish question, in my opinion.  That does not mean you are necessarily foolish.  However, it is a foolish question which I associate with the following reasoning:

1)  Your predicate denotes and connotes that all pianists (of a so-called higher caliber) all have the same hand morphology and accordingly have the same level of keyboard facility.  That is:  the ability to "Get Around" at the Piano.  My logic (associated with this particular reasoning), in a word, is Absurd!.

2)  The G Minor Ballade is a "Free Form" piece, which is really not all that technically difficult for an advanced pianist.

3)  The B Minor Sonata, with the notable exception of the beautiful Third Movement, is rhythmically and technically straight forward and fast.

4)  Does that means it is more difficult?, not according to my technique coach.  One piece needs a certain approach, and the other needs another, in terms of skill sets.

What all of this means is that:  there is no "hard and fast" rule (In terms of difficulty) for any piece compared with any other work.
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Offline mjames

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Re: difficulty of Chopin sonata versus ballade
Reply #3 on: May 18, 2018, 12:34:45 AM
>2)  The G Minor Ballade is a "Free Form" piece, which is really not all that technically difficult for an advanced pianist.

>3)  The B Minor Sonata, with the notable exception of the beautiful Third Movement, is rhythmically and technically straight forward and fast.

lol...straightforward. bro have you played the sonata?  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D



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Watch the Preliminaries of the Chopin Competition
The Preliminaries of the 19th International Chopin Competition are underway in the Chamber Music Hall of the Warsaw Philharmonic. From April 23 to May 4, 163 pianists from 28 countries are performing their best Chopin etudes, nocturnes, scherzos, and mazurkas. Watch all performances online and form your opinion about who is worthy of a place in the final stages of the competition this October. Read more
 

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