Le Tombeau de Couperin

[steinwayguy]

How beast is this piece, because it looks pretty daggum hard, especially that Tocatta. My teacher assigned it to me today. Great  . How would you compare it in difficulty to the other titantic Ravel works like Gaspard de la Nuit or Miroirs?

[fred smalls]

I wouldn'y say it's incredibly difficult.  Well, the tocatta is.     But it definately isn't as hard as Gaspard de la Nuit.  It's a really, really good suite thought, my favourite of Ravel's piano music.  Of course if your learning the whole thing that will be alot of work...
(I say all this not being  yet able to play Gaspard de la Nuit or the Tocatta at all, just from looking/listening to the music and my syllabus...)

Peace
Fred Smalls

[nanabush]

If you're not good at crossing over ur right hand at VERY fast speeds, then the Tocatta could be harder in many parts than some of Ravel's more difficult repertoire.  I gave it a shot, and failed miserably.  I tend to try music too hard for me, because it sounds good at the time, until I ruin it    The Rigaudon is also a great piece, but also looks very difficult too.  The prelude is a grade ten piece for RCM exams in ontario, and looks to be the easiest next to the menuet in this entire suite...but still looks dificult at the same time...

[nicko124]

If you're not good at crossing over ur right hand at VERY fast speeds, then the Tocatta could be harder in many parts than some of Ravel's more difficult repertoire.  I gave it a shot, and failed miserably.  I tend to try music too hard for me, because it sounds good at the time, until I ruin it    The Rigaudon is also a great piece, but also looks very difficult too.  The prelude is a grade ten piece for RCM exams in ontario, and looks to be the easiest next to the menuet in this entire suite...but still looks dificult at the same time...

I have studied Forlane and that piece that must rank with menuet as the easiest. The prelude is surely second in difficulty only to Toccata and Rigoudon.
I really like Forlane though, love the sicilian rythm.

[nanabush]

The rigaudon I find is somewhat similar, 'somewhat' to the Tocatta, because I have the same problem in the same areas in both pieces.