Hardest movement of Rachmaninoff sonata no. 1?

[dsch313]

Hi! I created an account just now to ask this question- which movement of Rachmaninoff's first sonata is the hardest?

I'm a 14 year old piano student and Rachmaninoff sonata 1 is my dream piece. I've played pieces like Liszt's Transcendental etudes no. 5 and 8 and the piano transcription of Erlkonig, which from what I can tell are around the same difficulty as the sonata in terms of technique (though of course very different).

But the sonata would definitely be the longest piece I've ever played and would obviously require a LOT of stamina, so I'm hoping to learn each movement separately, starting with the most technically difficult one.

Also, any tips on how to practice/learn the piece, or on how to make it sound coherent (since from what I've heard that's difficult for this sonata too), would be great!

Thanks!

[lelle]

IMO 1 or 3 are both difficult, which one is the hardest depends on your strengths. 1 is more fiddly, 3 is big and loud and goes on forever haha.

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Just start it

[skari123]

Hi! I created an account just now to ask this question- which movement of Rachmaninoff's first sonata is the hardest?

I'm a 14 year old piano student and Rachmaninoff sonata 1 is my dream piece. I've played pieces like Liszt's Transcendental etudes no. 5 and 8 and the piano transcription of Erlkonig, which from what I can tell are around the same difficulty as the sonata in terms of technique (though of course very different).

But the sonata would definitely be the longest piece I've ever played and would obviously require a LOT of stamina, so I'm hoping to learn each movement separately, starting with the most technically difficult one.

Also, any tips on how to practice/learn the piece, or on how to make it sound coherent (since from what I've heard that's difficult for this sonata too), would be great!

Thanks!

While I agree that movements 1 and 3 are of similar difficulty, the 1st movement seems more dense note wise, so it might be a good idea to start with the 1st

[lelle]

Just start it

I mean, pretty much.

You'll figure things out as you work.

As for making it sound coherent, you need to spend a lot of time with the music, playing it, listening to the result, analyzing the structure of the work, figuring out what Rachmaninoff intended. There are a lot of climaxes but you need to balance them, figure out which ones are the most important, how to build up to them, making the others less intense, etc etc.