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The Lullaby Motif was a rich vein that Brahms mined for many gems. In additiion to the ones you featured, another one of my favorites is the melody of the Trio of the Scherzo movement of the Piano Trio No. 1.

Glad I wasn't only the on that thinks Brahm's waltz sounds similar to his lullaby.

Extremely interesting analysis of some works by the great Brahms! Good job!👏🏻

Last movement of Mahler 3!? Considering how the first movement's opening also references Brahms...

7:45 its also worth noting, that Brahms uses almost the same motif in the beginning of his song ,,Immer leiser wird Mein Schlummer" - ,,My sleep grows ever quieter". Also very lullaby-like!

Op. 56a - Finale.

Brahms was a professional napper

Wow, I never realized how often these motifs occur in Brahms' music! I also noticed the main theme of Clarinet Trio's first mvt. contains the descending 'five-note motif' (1:24) in the minor key. I noticed the other later pieces which use this motif are mostly in minor, such as op. 118 no. 2, op. 119 no. 1, and op. 120 no. 1. However, op. 117 no. 1 and op. 118 no. 5 are in major, so maybe it wasn't all gloomy for Brahms after coming back from retirement. Thanks for the great vid!

Nicely put together.

One thing I’m surprised you didn’t mention is how this Lullaby motif actually resembles the descending 5-note Clara motif Schumann uses all the time, which you can actually see in the Schumann Album Leaf op.99/5. The B flat at the end of the lullaby motif is followed by an A flat, finishing the 5 note descension. Another thing I realized is that the motif in “Einsame Blumen” (Solitary Flowers) from Schumann’s Waldszenen kind of resembles the Lullaby theme and the Clara theme. This number is probably the second most devastating major key work ever written outside of Brahms op.117/1

he also used this in one of his choral works, O Schone Nacht. Basses sing that motif in their second time appearing.

If brahms lyke schumenn so much then y did he bang his wife?!? libruls owned 😂😂😂

You missed two great uses of the second lullaby in Op. 76 (very underrated, imo): at the climax of the first phrase in no.6, and in a stark minor key setting in no. 7.

Good to see another Brahms's fan here! Amazing work

I find Brahms' affinity with lullabies to be fascinating. Does anybody have any insight into why he used lullaby motifs so often in his music?

Thanks for putting me onto Paul Wee's recording of the Symphony and Concerto for Solo Piano, that album's going right into my music library.

That's more the highlights of the best and most memorable musical moments of our favorite composer rather than it is the specially hard ones to play!

Having actually played one of the honorable mentions (Suggestions Diabolique from the 4 pieces) puts it into perspective how fking unplayble some of his pieces are. o.o Then again, I'm just a hobby pianist xD

I feel like Davidsbundler is not as hard as its made out to be here - certainly I would put the sonatas, the Fantasie, and Kreisleriana above it. Henle only gives it a difficulty of 7!

You forgot prelude op.28 no.16

I play this one, love it everytime, but recordings are extremely rare to find, and I'm not good enough to post my own😂

6:12 Hummel's Fifth Sonata, Op. 81 is harder if you actually want to come close to the metronome markings (MM minim 1/2 = 76). The concerti are more reasonable 8:41 same with Felix Mendelssohn. The 2nd Trio's Scherzo is marked at MM minim 1/2 = 88. Straight from the madhouse 9:23 Chopin's Allegro da Concert Op. 46 is definitely tougher sans endurance. There's a double note part in the middle of the movement that most pianists slow down for...

op2, op10-2, op 22 op 46, op 49, op 60, preludes... there r so many other hard hard chopin pieces

symphonic dances op 45 are very beautiful and underrated

Praise to that Hummel concerto section. It's just nuts.

1:08:55 "Very rapid and energetic" LOL

Great montage. I would have further divided this idea into hardest solo piano pieces, vs hardest concerto/chamber music piano pieces.

top 10 hardest of Bartok please?

‘Fraid I stopped listening when I realised that the baroque pieces were being played on inappropriate instrument, they sounded so weird! Entertaining idea, tho’.

I wondered which of Louis Moreau Gottschalk’s pieces you’d choose. Bamboula? Tarantella? (My favorites.) Sigh. Loads of fun anyways - thanks!

where is my man Medtner?? He only did unapologetically difficult compositions which for reason if you listen for a moment or two, you will get hooked for life:)

List needs to be updated with Roman Kim's transcription of beethovens 5th symphony... try using all FIVE fingers (yes thumb included) at ONCE to play the music to simulate 3 or 4 instruments at the, same time on ONE violin... mamy passages would have 2 line polyphony double stopped while the 3rd line is pizzed at the same time... sometimes while doing all of this you have to juggle harmknics into one of the double stops...

A pretty monumental accomplishment to perform this work. Congrats :) I really enjoyed this on my run today.

Michelangeli remains amazing. A true artist.

Very odd: 2-piano concerto reductions are customarily printed with the soloist’s staves above the second piano’s, but the Amy Beach score had the piano solo on the bottom!

I just tried sightreading the Liszt Symphony #9 and I was like this is not too bad. And then I looked at the page count and oh my word... 88 pages? What is this, a page for each key???

Sounds like the recording of a cat strolling across Michael Finnissey's piano keys - cat difficulty 1++

Where is piano concerto no 1?

Isn't sonata 6 harder than 7?

Awesome video, thanks for putting it together. Some others that could have been included: Chabrier: Bourree Fantasque Bizet: Variations Chromatiques Dukas: Sonata Borodin: Petite Suite (I guess, can't recall what else he wrote for piano)

Indeed, Brahms 1 is literally perfect in every aspect.

mozart most difficult piano work may be the concerto c minor K491

In my humble opinion, I might pick some other pieces and other passages. The opening of the third movement of the second concerto is maybe the most difficult passage from that piece according to most people I know. Also, of the op 39 etudes, the 8th is REALLY hard to play well. It’s so incredibly intricate. Op 33 no 4 is probably the hardest (d minor). Most people can’t do the articulation correctly, but if you hear the richter recording, you see that it’s actually possible. Corelli variation no. 10 is probably the most infamous. If you walk by the practice rooms at any conservatory, that’s the one they always practice. (Particularly a nasty passage in double notes). Some other pieces that I have not played but highly suspect are among his most difficult are the e-flat minor moment musical and the e-flat minor prelude from op. 23, and the e minor prelude from op 32.

About Hamelin ¿His hardest piece is his Chopin triple etude?

I have a lot less issues with this list (er, Lizst?) than I thought I would have. Dvorak's hardest piano piece is probably his F Minor Quartet, though, Faure's Violin Sonata is probably his trickiest piece involving piano, and Barber's Piano Concerto should be a 9. Also, where's Chausson?

You are 100% correct about Richter's 2nd being the standard by which all other recordings are judged. It is pure gold. It is the only 1 of 2 recordings where, at the end of the 2nd mvmt, the flutes and clarinets in triplets are balanced correctly. The other, of course, is vK and Weissenberg.

Nice you put some less know and very good pianists in your selection. For Saint-Saens Etude en forme de vals I don't know anyone more astonishing then Alfred Cortot! Wagner could be skipped as a composer for piano:)

Yes movie orchestras play it for sound effects.

My wrists hurt. I wish you'd included either the third or fourth sonatas of Michael Tippett. and maybe Persichetti Sonata no. 11.