What level is Fantaisie Impromptu?

[nick.25]

Hi! I am an (I would say) intermediate pianist. I used to go to music school but now play by myself. Some of my repertoire is:
Chopin - Nocturne op. 9 no. 2 (Eb Major)
Chopin - Waltz op. 64 no. 2 (C# Major)
Debussy - Claire de Lune
Debussy - Arabesque no. 1
And I am currently practicing Chopin's nocturne op. 32 no. 2 in Ab Major.
I thought that I would challenge myself with my next piece, and so I thought of Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu. Seeing my current repertoire, would it be too difficult or is it easier to play than what it sounds like? Thanks for the feedback!

[lelle]

Fantasie-Impromptu has, as you can probably tell, a lot of fast, running passage-work. It lies fairly comfortably under the hand but ideally I think you should have experience of having mastered some easier pieces with quick sixteenth notes or similar before you tackle it. The repertoire you have listed is mostly slow to moderato-tempo pieces. Have you played any small Czerny or Burgmuller studies in quicker tempi? Or perhaps som Mozart or Clementi sonatas?

[nick.25]

So far I have focused a lot more on the Romantic and Post-Romantic periods, but I have still played some Classical. The only sonata I can now play is Mozart's K545 in C major. I would still appreciate any recommendations on other sonatas to play at this level (not necessarily Mozart, but also Clementi).
And for the studies, it has been a long time since I played them.
Thanks for the response!

[lelle]

My suggestion would be Clementi op 36, there are six sonatinas there that you can select from that are pretty good, maybe no 3 or no 6 would be good. You can always play the Turkish March from the Mozart sonata in A major.

If you feel in command over your fingers in these pieces you can probably at least be able to study fantasie impormptu in a calmer tempo and be ok. Chopin depends a lot on being relaxed and supple as you play or else it gets exponentially more difficult, and it's good to develop this in easier pieces so you can gain some confidence and ease with running passagework.

PS I hope someone else can give some complementary tips to my suggestions on pieces!

[nick.25]

I will try them out for sure, thank you very much! It is true that I don't have much practice on fast-pace pieces, but those recommendations will come in handy!

[mjames]

i'm not a fan of playing a piece to prepare for another. your current repertoire's comparable to fantaisie impromptu's difficulty, so I would say just go for it lol

[lelle]

Not sure why you would say that. I think fantasie is much harder. It's faster and puts higher demands on having your technique in order to pull it off comfortably and in tempo.

[mjames]

It really isn't a major step up from Chopin's waltzes or Debussy's arabesques, come on. The only realistic challenge are the polyrhythms, everything else fits into place quite easily.

[ivorycherry]

It really isn't a major step up from Chopin's waltzes or Debussy's arabesques, come on. The only realistic challenge are the polyrhythms, everything else fits into place quite easily.

I agree. Once you get the 4:3 down, you’ve done half the work. Go ahead and try it. If it’s too hard, figure out what part(technique, rhythm, etc.) work on the skills appropriate and there’s no harm done. Honestly, I think if you’ve mastered the pieces you mentioned you play, go for it, it’s good to challenge yourself.

Alex

[lelle]

It really isn't a major step up from Chopin's waltzes or Debussy's arabesques, come on. The only realistic challenge are the polyrhythms, everything else fits into place quite easily.

My biggest protest against that is that the Fantasie Impromtu is significantly faster and has more motorically complicated passagework than Debussy's Arabesque no 1, for example. Arabesque no 1 I could nearly play everything in tempo a vista, Fantasie Impromptu I will need to put some work in before I can play it in tempo.

[slurred_beat]

Fantasie Impromtu is my dream piece to play!! Can I learn it if I play Arabesque by Debussy first or can I just go for it?

[ranjit]

Neither, you will need to practice separately for it. I'm not sure where your level is, but I would suggest simply trying it out and seeing where it gets you. There's no one stopping you, and I'm increasingly coming to the conclusion that this kind of exploration is beneficial.