Can i pull off Chopin's Scherzo no 2 as a beginner/intermediate

[aleksej]

For context, i have started playing piano normally a year ago, i knew how to play piano but not the technical stuff, used to to play Pop etc. last year i got hooked on piano. i've played Chopins Revolutionary etude in a concert but it was a disaster because i did not put enough attention to the actual technique etc. now my repertoire is Ludwig van Beethoven's Sonata no. 1, Carl Philip Emanuel Bach's Solfeggieto, and Grieg's Menuet no.1 "Vanished days". if i start now until this year september would i somewhat be able to pull off Scherzo no.2?

[lelle]

You said the Revolutionary Etude was a disaster when you played it. Can you play it with good control now? The Scherzo, while not relentless the way the Revolutionary is, has many passages of similar difficulty. If you cant manage the revolutionary, it seems unlikely to me you'll manage the scherzo.

[ranjit]

if i start now until this year september would i somewhat be able to pull off Scherzo no.2?

It's impossible to tell. But if I were attempting this, I would try to work on all sorts of relevant technique and some smaller Chopin pieces for ideas on musicality, for say 6 months until August. Then, having had enough time to forget old tendencies, with technique 2.0 I'd start working on the Scherzo and try to finish it by the year end.

[danesi]

Hmm. I respect and support ambition, but this goal might be a bit out of reach. Compared to the Scherzo, your current repertoire is child’s play. Even as a somewhat advanced pianist, I found the scherzo to be deliciously difficult, and I could never play it with such a technique that I would be proud to play it in concert. Because you have 7 months until your goal, there is a high chance you will be able to learn the notes (in which case, go for it!), but the musicality and maturity required to phrase correctly and play cleanly are on a completely different level. Since you already know the Revolutionary Etude, maybe try op. 10 nos. 3, 6, and 9, and op. 25 no 1 (if your hands are big enough and you want a challenge). You can learn a lot of valuable technique with Chopin’s Etudes. Nevertheless, if your one goal is to learn the scherzo by September, go for it! Practice hard, and you might just make Chopin proud. 

[aleksej]

You said the Revolutionary Etude was a disaster when you played it. Can you play it with good control now? The Scherzo, while not relentless the way the Revolutionary is, has many passages of similar difficulty. If you cant manage the revolutionary, it seems unlikely to me you'll manage the scherzo.

haven't tried the Etude since fall, i would try to go for it again actually to check it out, but the teachers did say as much as i need work on my passages, my main problem was pedaling and right hand not playing the notes fully, they were like usually without sound, cause my left hand is superior to my right

[aleksej]

Hmm. I respect and support ambition, but this goal might be a bit out of reach. Compared to the Scherzo, your current repertoire is child’s play. Even as a somewhat advanced pianist, I found the scherzo to be deliciously difficult, and I could never play it with such a technique that I would be proud to play it in concert. Because you have 7 months until your goal, there is a high chance you will be able to learn the notes (in which case, go for it!), but the musicality and maturity required to phrase correctly and play cleanly are on a completely different level. Since you already know the Revolutionary Etude, maybe try op. 10 nos. 3, 6, and 9, and op. 25 no 1 (if your hands are big enough and you want a challenge). You can learn a lot of valuable technique with Chopin’s Etudes. Nevertheless, if your one goal is to learn the scherzo by September, go for it! Practice hard, and you might just make Chopin proud. 

my goal so far is scherzo no 2, but i still wanna normally study it rather than play it with not knowledge.
about the etudes, most pianists tell me my hands are really small, i barely reach an octave with my right hand, i could try them tho but right now i've also been given the Czerny etude op 740 no 47(haven't started)

[pianistavt]

For context, i have started playing piano normally a year ago, i knew how to play piano but not the technical stuff, used to to play Pop etc. last year i got hooked on piano. i've played Chopins Revolutionary etude in a concert but it was a disaster because i did not put enough attention to the actual technique etc. now my repertoire is Ludwig van Beethoven's Sonata no. 1, Carl Philip Emanuel Bach's Solfeggieto, and Grieg's Menuet no.1 "Vanished days". if i start now until this year september would i somewhat be able to pull off Scherzo no.2?

I'm getting to this post late, there are plenty of good answers, I'm only commenting because I played this when I was 16 (advanced intermediate, maybe) and am practicing it now, over 30 years later, so I have some perspective...
A) there's nothing wrong with exploring a piece of music that is a few steps beyond your current ability (preferably with a teacher) - a lot will be learned.  I learned a lot, and had a lot of fun.  I played it for family and friends.  Great ego boost.
B) now that I'm much more experienced with advanced music, in hindsight, I would have recommended some Chopin etudes to my 16 yr old self instead of this - - it's a tricky piece to play well, partly because it needs to go fast, wants to go fast, impels you to play fast - and to pull that off you need a very strong technique. You also need a good deal of discipline with tempo control, especially in bravura passages.

This is definitely a young person's piece - the musical ideas are about dazzle - it must have been jaw-dropping to hear in 1836, played by Chopin the Paris salons.

So maybe build your technique more with Czerny (and then Chopin) etudes and revisit this idea in a 2-3 years.

[aleksej]

Hello, thank you for the reply!
I've put aside the scherzo sadly, but i am happy to say that i think i am now able to get this piece as i am now! I transferred from violin to piano this year, and every teacher wanted to decline me, but to my luck a new teacher got a job and accepted me, since i am the only student of his now. This years semesters were hard, but i got the techniques down, and for my exam i played Schuberts D784 sonata and Rachmaninoff Moment Musicaux op 16 no. 4, got a 100%!

Comments like yours who motivate others are what pushed me to try even more, thank you!

[pianistavt]

Hello, thank you for the reply!
I've put aside the scherzo sadly, but i am happy to say that i think i am now able to get this piece as i am now! I transferred from violin to piano this year, and every teacher wanted to decline me, but to my luck a new teacher got a job and accepted me, since i am the only student of his now. This years semesters were hard, but i got the techniques down, and for my exam i played Schuberts D784 sonata and Rachmaninoff Moment Musicaux op 16 no. 4, got a 100%!

Comments like yours who motivate others are what pushed me to try even more, thank you!

Thank you for the kind words.  I believe I could teach the Chopin second scherzo now, I've studied it so much, I have a zillion practice tips.  Hopefully will post a video soon.

Please post videos of your Rachmaninoff and Schubert if you get a chance.