Rachmaninoff Red Riding Hood

[joshua1849]

Me and my friend were discussing the difficulty of Rachmaninoff’s etude Tableaux ‘little red riding hood’ and obviously both agreed it was very difficult. However, at the same time we both thought that it should be doable with an enough practice (as is typically the case I guess), we both though it certainly isn’t on the same level as most Liszt etudes but it probably is harder than MOST Chopin etudes. This was just our opinion… I was curious what pieces (in terms of pure difficulty) everyone else would compare the etude Tableaux with?

[lelle]

Me and my friend were discussing the difficulty of Rachmaninoff’s etude Tableaux ‘little red riding hood’ and obviously both agreed it was very difficult. However, at the same time we both thought that it should be doable with an enough practice (as is typically the case I guess), we both though it certainly isn’t on the same level as most Liszt etudes but it probably is harder than MOST Chopin etudes. This was just our opinion… I was curious what pieces (in terms of pure difficulty) everyone else would compare the etude Tableaux with?

For me, this Rachmaninoff etude was easier than many of the Chopin Etudes. I felt a lot of it lay nicely under the hand and it keeps switching things up which for me is easier than the relentlessness of Chopin's Etudes.

[joshua1849]

For me, this Rachmaninoff etude was easier than many of the Chopin Etudes. I felt a lot of it lay nicely under the hand and it keeps switching things up which for me is easier than the relentlessness of Chopin's Etudes.

Interesting! How did you cope with the middle section, it’s quite relentless as well?

[lelle]

I'm not sure what you mean by cope?  I practiced it slowly and patiently until I got it down. I didn't play it fully as fast as the top virtuosos, but I did perform it. The middle section still isn't as fast and relentless in the way many Chopin Etudes are IMO. Like the octaves in the octave etude are faster than the chords in that middle section.

[rfsshh]

Well, in my experience, the Rachmaninov Etude Tableaux is on par with many Liszt etudes in difficulty but not in length. The notion that it is easier than Chopin Etudes is absurd. There are some exceptions in the Chopin Etudes but overall the Rach Etude is harder. It’s hard to compare difficulty.

[liszt-and-the-galops]

The notion that it is easier than Chopin Etudes is absurd.

I'd say all of the following ChopEts are harder:
10/1 Waterfall
10/2 Chromatic
10/4 Torrent
10/8 Sunshine
25/3 Horsemen/Knight
25/6 Double Thirds
25/8 Sixths
25/10 Octaves
25/11 Winter Wind
That's 9/24 or ~38% of them. Far more than "a few exceptions."

A comparable piece might be Liszt's Fusees Etude or Debussy's Ce qu'a vu le Vent D'ouest. Maybe Chopin's Ballade no. 3.