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New Piano Piece by Chopin Discovered – Free Piano Score
A previously unknown manuscript by Frédéric Chopin has been discovered at New York’s Morgan Library and Museum. The handwritten score is titled “Valse” and consists of 24 bars of music in the key of A minor and is considered a major discovery in the wold of classical piano music. Read more >>

Topic: Pieces by difficulty  (Read 549 times)

Offline upcoming0682

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Pieces by difficulty
on: May 12, 2024, 07:31:31 PM
Hello,

Can you help me ranking the following pieces by difficulty? It doesn't need to be an exact ranking. By group can be fine

- Debussy, Doctor gradus ad parnassum
- Debussy, Clair de lune
- Debussy, Arabesque 1
- Mozart, 12 variations of "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman"
- Chopin, Etude op. 10 no. 9
- Chopin, Etude op. 25 no. 1
- Chopin, Etude op. 25 no. 2
- Chopin, andante spianato
- Chopin, Waltz in E Minor, op. posth., B 56
- Bartok, Romanian Folk dances
- Schumann, Arabeske
- Prokofiev, Sarcasm no. 3
- Khachaturian, toccata op. 11
- Schubert, impromptu op. 90 no. 3
- Copland, the cat and the mouse
- Brahms, Romance in F Major, op. 118, no. 5

Thank you!
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Offline transitional

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Re: Pieces by difficulty
Reply #1 on: May 12, 2024, 10:45:41 PM
In my opinion (though I haven't played all the pieces on the list yet) -

Almost sight-readable
- Debussy, Clair de lune
- Debussy, Arabesque 1

Fun to play and not too difficult
- Debussy, Doctor gradus ad parnassum
- Chopin, Etude op. 10 no. 9
- Chopin, Etude op. 25 no. 1
- Bartok, Romanian Folk dances
- Khachaturian, toccata op. 11
- Schubert, impromptu op. 90 no. 3
- Copland, the cat and the mouse


Hard to get right until you do
- Chopin, Etude op. 25 no. 2
- Chopin, Waltz in E Minor, op. posth., B 56
- Schumann, Arabeske
- Prokofiev, Sarcasm no. 3
- Brahms, Romance in F Major, op. 118, no. 5

Lots of dedication and I still can't get it right
- Mozart, 12 variations of "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman"
- Chopin, andante spianato

This ranking is based on my personal challenges. The first category is almost sight-readable in the sense that I can sightread those pieces at 50% speed and decent accuracy. The second category is pieces that I consider to be much harder than they sound, with simple patterns or technique and easily comprehensible interpretation. The third category has some of the most technically challenging ones, but more generally they are pieces that take some grappling with until you figure them out. I had to give the Mozart and Andante Spianato their own category because of how delicate those pieces are and how frustrating they can be to interpret.
last 3 schubert sonatas and piano trios are something else

Offline liszt-and-the-galops

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Re: Pieces by difficulty
Reply #2 on: May 12, 2024, 11:47:05 PM
Hello,

Can you help me ranking the following pieces by difficulty? It doesn't need to be an exact ranking. By group can be fine

- Debussy, Doctor gradus ad parnassum
- Debussy, Clair de lune
- Debussy, Arabesque 1
- Mozart, 12 variations of "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman"
- Chopin, Etude op. 10 no. 9
- Chopin, Etude op. 25 no. 1
- Chopin, Etude op. 25 no. 2
- Chopin, andante spianato
- Chopin, Waltz in E Minor, op. posth., B 56
- Bartok, Romanian Folk dances
- Schumann, Arabeske
- Prokofiev, Sarcasm no. 3
- Khachaturian, toccata op. 11
- Schubert, impromptu op. 90 no. 3
- Copland, the cat and the mouse
- Brahms, Romance in F Major, op. 118, no. 5

Thank you!
Is there a specific reason you want these pieces ranked (e.g deciding what to play next, just for the fun of it, etc.)?
Amateur pianist, beginning composer, creator of the Musical Madness tournament (2024).
https://www.youtube.com/@Liszt-and-the-Galops

Offline upcoming0682

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Re: Pieces by difficulty
Reply #3 on: May 13, 2024, 08:22:27 AM
To transitional:

Thank you very much! It really helps me to organize things in a better way and manage expectations. It's true some pieces are much harder than they look.

Offline upcoming0682

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Re: Pieces by difficulty
Reply #4 on: May 13, 2024, 08:32:23 AM
Is there a specific reason you want these pieces ranked (e.g deciding what to play next, just for the fun of it, etc.)?

It is to decide what to play next. My teacher has been mentioning those pieces during the last few months, and I wrote them down. Right now, I'm learning Doctor gradus ad parnassum, and I was wondering how hard the other were. To be honest, I feel the pieces look pretty hard in general, but after playing Doctor gradus ad parnassum for a few weeks, it's not more manageable than I expected. I'm not a piano teacher, so it's hard for me to judge. However, I'm sure some are more challenging than others.
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