which Chopin piano sonata would you play??

[cucudas]

for a guy which chopin sonata will be more suitable??
i like the No.2 but I also love No.3 the last movement
however...which one do you think is better for me to study? if i choose only one
 

[steinwayguy]

I couldn't decide between 2 and 3. So I would just learn both.

[shasma]

for a guy which chopin sonata will be more suitable??

lol  "for a guy"?!?! is it really that some of chopin's sonatas are feminime or masculine? oh well i haven't heard any of those two but i agree with the post above. if i'd be in a similar situation i'd learn both of them.. maybe i'd like the other one better after a while and focus more on that one

[johnnypiano]

They are both superb pieces.  No.2 is  meaty, chordal, very economical, and
masculine in nature.  No3 is exactly the opposite: dreamy, romantic and lengthy in its many ideas.

If you like them both, learn them both.  Unless you are doing a recital you don’t have to learn each movement.  In the 3rd Sonata, I was also attracted first of all by the last movement, which has some extremely difficult left hand broken chords; but the first movement is superb. 

In the 2nd Sonata there is not one superfluous note, but there are three very difficult movements. 

You wouldn’t think two such different pieces had been written by the same composer.  Good luck with whatever you decide.  John

[SteinwayTony]

Before you decide that you're definitely going to play either 2 or 3, you must first listen to a decent recording of the first sonata, in C minor (op. 4). 

Chopin composed the first sonata to impress his teacher at the time.  It's pretty clear that he couldn't stand it, in fact, he originally refused to have it published.  Many people sympathetize with his sentiments, but I love it.  Yes, it's completely out of sync with the other two more famous sonatas, but it is delightfully unique.

A great recording is Ashkenazy on Decca (along with the other two sonatas, and the complete etudes; quite a deal), and Zilberstein on DG as part of the Complete Chopin edition.

[steinwayguy]

Keep in mind that Chopin's 1st sonata is quite, quite immature

and that the second sonata is extremely awkward to play.

[cucudas]

thank you guys~!

[SteinwayTony]

Keep in mind that Chopin's 1st sonata is quite, quite immature

and that the second sonata is extremely awkward to play.

Of course the first sonata is immature, but one could make the argument that all three are "awkward" to play; they're all just absolutely ridden with notes.  As a precursor to a sonata also consider the F minor fantasy, which many consider to be his "fourth sonata" yet is much less "awkward."

The Variations on "La ci darem la mano" (Op. 2) are immature as well, but that didn't stop Robert Schumann from falling in love with it and regarding the composer very highly.