What is your favorite Challenge piece?

[lilpep4ever]

Which music piece is your favorite challenge piece? A challenge piece is defined as a piece of music that you play whenever you think other songs are too easy for your level of skills and that you have difficulty mastering.

[pianomann1984]

Whenever I feel like a challenge, I pick up my scores of Rach 2nd Sonata and the Barber Concerto

[Triton LE 76]

anybody good at getting the thirds fast?

[musik_man]

Khatuchurian (sp?) Toccatta

It's a blast to play

*bang* *bang* *bang* *bang*

[pianomann1984]

anybody good at getting the thirds fast?

What thirds?  I dont recall thirds in Rach 2 or Barber. 

[bachmaninov]

Chopin Ocean Wave Etude

Scriabin Etude No. 12

[Triton LE 76]

What thirds?  I dont recall thirds in Rach 2 or Barber. 

wow..must have listened to the wrong song

[Alde]

Any of the Chopin Etudes are challenging works.

[robo1001]

Any of the Chopin Etudes are challenging works.

How about one of the Liszt Etudes?

[IanT]

Probably Liszt's transcription of the Tannhauser overture.  I try it every now and again but it remains the most daunting of the pieces that I would really like to be able to play.

Actually I can recognize my challenge pieces because I get a pain under my left shoulderblade when I try them ;-)

Ian

[pianomann1984]

wow..must have listened to the wrong song

Haha  .  U Sure u weren't listening to the Brahms 2nd Concerto?  Plenty of thirds there!

[musicsdarkangel]

La Campanella and Mephisto Waltz are giving me a good ass kicking.

[musik_man]

Oops, I kinda misread the topic in my first post.  The piece that's beating the hell out of me at the moment is Pathetique mvt 1.  I worked on it for a month, got disappointed with my inablity to play it as musically as I'd have liked to, and dropped it.  I plan to come back to it after I finish Liszt/Schubert Auf dem Wasser zu Singen and Schumann's Aufschwung.

[Waldszenen]

At the moment I'm learning the Valse Impromptu by Liszt, which is reasonably difficult.

[Triton LE 76]

Haha  .  U Sure u weren't listening to the Brahms 2nd Concerto?  Plenty of thirds there!

Hey, Hey! Don't get too funny now

[allthumbs]

For me it's Chopin's Fantasie-impromptu, Op.66. At the speed I play it at (slow), it's a good muscle warmup.

[Dazzer]

the khatchaturian is ... (no offense) not really THAT technically demanding!!!

now unless you're talking the Prokofiev Toccata Op. 11... now there's an ass-kicking.

[BoliverAllmon]

Rach concerto 1

[musik_man]

the khatchaturian is ... (no offense) not really THAT technically demanding!!!

now unless you're talking the Prokofiev Toccata Op. 11... now there's an ass-kicking.

It's certainly nowhere near the Prokofiev, but my skills are nowhere near those required for the Prokofiev.  There are some parts though that I find hard.  I have difficulty playing the LH octaves fast enough when they go 16th, 16th, 16th_rest, 16th, 16th, 16th_rest, 16th, 16th_rest, etc  Also I have difficulty doing the 2 handed arpeggios that go down the whole keyboard. 

Those of us who don't play crazy virtuoso stuff also need love.
 

[pbr2005]

Good question - Feux Follets, Op.10 no.2, Op.25 no.6

[etudes]

Don juan Liszt and his Transcendental etudes no.2 4 5 6 8 10 12 his Paganini Etudes and his Bminor Sonata also some of his transcription
Chopin Etudes op.10 no.1 2 4 8 10 op.25 no.4 5 6 8 10 11 12 all 4 ballade and scherzo sonata no.2 and 3
Schumann toccata
Ravel Gaspar de la nuit
ooh i have a lot more
too much to say....

[goldfinger]

hey...
What about Rach's 3th PC and Prokofief's 3th PC???

[pianomann1984]

hey...
What about Rach's 3th PC and Prokofief's 3th PC???

I dunno...I find Rach 3 is just too frustrating.  I think I would need a deadline to push me into learning it and force me to keep at it!  Prok 3, and 2 though are alot of fun to just sit and work out with no pressure.

[Waldszenen]

Anyone ever tried Liszt's transcription of Rossini's William Tell overture?


It makes the Don Juan look simple.

[rob47]

'Trouchka constantly leaves my tendons itising for a while everytime i reach the shrovetide fair. 

[etudes]

Anyone ever tried Liszt's transcription of Rossini's William Tell overture?


It makes the Don Juan look simple.

i have a score
where can i find the recording?
one more solo piece
islamey
it was,it is,it will be my challenge piece

[rob47]

i have a score
where can i find the recording?
one more solo piece
islamey
it was,it is,it will be my challenge piece

Richard Chiu, but he doesn't play the ending fast enough (IMO), but still does the overture justice.  His first 9 mnutes are awesome...and so is the ending, I just don't think its humanly possible for someone to play that part on piano.

[etudes]

can u give me that record
i will pm u
thanks

[musicsdarkangel]

I would definitely add Rach's 2nd Sonata to this.

[thalbergmad]

The Weber-Tausig Invitation to the Dance

[ak]

Fur Elise. Can somebody pppppppppppllllllllllllllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssssssssssssssssssssseeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee help me on it. I will die if I don't learn it!http://http://ftp://[td][/td]

[xvimbi]

Fur Elise. Can somebody pppppppppppllllllllllllllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssssssssssssssssssssseeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee help me on it. I will die if I don't learn it!

Stop posting the same question in different threads. You'll confuse everybody on the forum and you won't get the help you are looking for.

[Dazzer]

not to mention piss everyone off.

i'm trying out flight of the bumble bee/arr. rach at the moment.

can't seem to get it fast enough to sound good.

[thalbergmad]

not to mention piss everyone off.

i'm trying out flight of the bumble bee/arr. rach at the moment.

can't seem to get it fast enough to sound good.

Try the Cziffra. It's a killer

[apion]

Prokofiev Toccata
Schumann Toccata
Brahms Paganini Variations

Good, that will keep you busy for a few weeks!   

[Dazzer]

Try the Cziffra. It's a killer

i can't even get the rach, who's the say i can get the cziffra?

[nanabush]

Whenever I'm feelin good and wanna try something crazy, I just whip out the old Prelude in B flat minor by chopin and learn about a measure from it then just toss it away, then switch to the firewerks prelude and realize it's even more hopeless, then play the Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum to make myself feel good because it's an easy fast song...

[RoyalJoyal89]

I would go with the 15 variation from the goldbergs, or Impromptu No. 3 in B flat, F. Schubert or Apres une lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi sonata, F. Liszt.

[nanabush]

   I just recently discovered Chopin's ballade in F minor, that should cause some hair ripping outing, I've heard it's harder than G minor, and that G minor is harder, what techniques in F minor would make it harder?

[pianonut]

poulenc toccata.  i haven't started it, but it looks like a challenge.  it is in three (trois pieces) prelude, hymn, and toccata.

barber's fourth nocturne isn't easy either, and it's greatly improving my sightreading (still finding naturals or flats that are carried over in the measure that i forget - esp if one is in the right hand and another in the left).  just today, i figured out a better fingering than is in the book from the previous pianist.  i grab a few notes with the rh thumb (makes it much easier and smoother, i think).  anyway,  someday, i will play it.

[Dazzer]

oh i love hymn. i've played toccata. accuracy and speed is key.

[pianomann1984]

  I just recently discovered Chopin's ballade in F minor, that should cause some hair ripping outing, I've heard it's harder than G minor, and that G minor is harder, what techniques in F minor would make it harder?

Do you have a score?  Take a look at the 6th's passagework, try to memorise the wierd counterpoint after the A major run, and for fun, look at the coda on the last 3 pages (In padererwski edition).  Also, getting to grips with pedalling with pinpoint accuracy, creating a warm, but transparent tone with arms/fingers, and figuring out just how the music progresses across the very broad structuring.  That said, it is an incredibly rewarding experience to play this piece.  Enjoy it!

[nanabush]

I don't think so.... lol  My worst nightmare in terms of technique are fast 6th and 3rd passages, my hand refuses to play, I guesse I won't be playing that piece anytime soon...  Does the G minor ballade have 3rd or 6th runs?  If not I'll give that a shot..

[nanabush]

Wow, I just found G minor and it looks way more doable, there are not running third passages, but a lot of fast passages, I listened and it's Incredible!  I also kill octaves and same notes at fast speed, so I think i'll test my skillz at this instead of F minor..

[presto agitato]

Anyone ever tried Liszt's transcription of Rossini's William Tell overture?


It makes the Don Juan look simple.

+1

But i the final is not the hardest. There is a part that you need to play a double trill that is impossible, not to mention the tremolo on the left hand.

[presto agitato]

As i have mentioned before, everybody has different skills.

I cant play and probably i will never play Chopinīs Op 10-1 and Op 10-2 but i know guys who are able to play those etudes but they cant  play the a fugue by Bach.

Is you have little hands Rachmaninov is the ultimate challenge.

Do you get my point? 

It has not existed any pianist able to play all the composers. (Except for Horowitz)

[nanabush]

Damn double trills this is the William Tell overture score?

[pianomann1984]

As i have mentioned before, everybody has different skills.

I cant play and probably i will never play Chopinīs Op 10-1 and Op 10-2 but i know guys who are able to play those etudes but they cant  play the a fugue by Bach.

Is you have little hands Rachmaninov is the ultimate challenge.

Do you get my point? 

It has not existed any pianist able to play all the composers. (Except for Horowitz)

And Richter!

[sznitzeln]

Has Horowitz made any good Mozart recordings?
I heard one, and it was not good at all.

[musicsdarkangel]

Has Horowitz made any good Mozart recordings?
I heard one, and it was not good at all.

Nope, that's the thing, he sucks at straight up classical music.