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Hardest piece you know?


Tyler JOhnson

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  • 3 weeks later...

Know of or know how to play?

I expect that it would depend on the performer, but for piano I believe that the most difficult pieces are written by Ferneyhough. In my opinion they are by no means lovely to listen to, but they are certainly difficult. For pieces that are very difficult and yet retain a general sense of beauty, Rachmaninoff's 3rd Piano Concerto is incredible, and there are always Liszt's Transcendental Etudes...

The hardest piece that I can play would have to be one of my compositions. Probably the current idea of the third movement of my Piano Concerto.

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Because it's not that hard of a piece.
Not only is it not that hard, it is intentionally a student piece.

Pluuus... the question was what is the hardest piece you know.

Which I think would imply... know of-

And if that's it... :P

Sorry about that guys, I meant the hardest piece I have near tackled so far. The hardest pieces that I know are the ones I am currently working on, one is a composition by our very own M is D, (Variations in A minor in the chamber music section), one by Paganini that's mostly scales but has much shifting towards the end, a concerto by Bach, and finally I plan on getting to Paganini's 24th caprice which is possibly on of the most difficult pieces for violin. Boy was that a mouthful! Anyway considering the difficulty of all these pieces I haven't got much anywhere on anyone of them except M is D's composition and that one by bach.

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Anything high and fast on a bassoon is annoying as hell.

the hardest piece I've worked on (hands down) is Sequenza XII. I can circular breathe for thirty seconds. The technique is vicious and the tremelando are not really possible. The Saint-Saens Sonata for bassoon and piano is beyond vicious as well as the Tansmann sonatine. Many of Victor Bruns sonatas for bassoon and contrabassoon is not very friendly. Come to think of it, contrabassoon is a scallop anyway you slice it lol.

For piano I would have to say the Grieg Piano Concerto sounds vicious as well as La Campanella. But when I listen to Lang Lang, I can't tell if it's hard or easy lol.

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Hmmm... the hardest pieces I ever learned to play (for piano!):

Prokofiev: Toccata in D Minor, Suggestion Diabolique

Rachmaninoff: 3rd pfconcerto, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Moments Musical - 2 and 4

Scriabin: 1st, 6th, 7th, and 9th sonatas, Prelude in D Minor, op. 11

Shostakovich: Fugue in Db Major from the 24 Preludes and Fugues

Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin - Toccata

Liszt: Transcendental Etudes - Mazeppa and Wilde Jagd

For organ (I'm not as experienced an organist as a pianst:sadtears:)

Bach: Great Fantasy and Fugue in G Minor, Toccata and Fugue in D Dorian

Vocals (Haven't really done much vocally...)

Handel: Certian pieces in The Messiah were difficult, because the 1st tenors have some fairly high notes... especially considering that I technically shouldn't be a 1st tenor in the first place! I can actually hit low bass range, so would be more comfortable as a 2nd tenor, baritone, or a bass... but since we are low on 1st tenors, they stuck me there too... I can do it... but it's not fun.

Mozart: Kyrie from Requiem Mass... for some reason... it just kinda threw me off... I don't know why...

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'd say one the hardest that I've been working on is Rachmaninov piano concerto 1. I'm still plugging away on it. *sigh*

I don't think the Brahms piano concertos have been mentioned, but they're incredibly difficult. Even Emmanuel Ax says that he still finds them "terrifyingly difficult"

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