List of pieces with their timestamps. Also your Prelude in C# Major sounds excellent, it sounds like something straight out of the golden age of post-romanticism (Rachmaninoff, Scriabin and all that). 0:06 -- (10.) Camille Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Movement I (Andante sostenuto), Opus 22 0:40 -- (9.) Sergei Rachmaninoff: Études-Tableaux, Opus 33, No. 3 1:13 -- (8.) Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata No. 23 in F Minor "Appassionata," Movement III (Allegro ma non troppo -- Presto) Opus 57 1:49 -- (7.) Sergei Rachmaninoff: Études-Tableaux, Opus 39, No. 5 (Appassionato in Eb Minor) 2:17 -- (6.) Josef Hofmann: "Kaleidoscope," from Charakterskizzen, Opus 40 2:48 -- (5.) Eric Bouchard: Prelude in C# Major 3:17 -- (4.) Franz Liszt: Mephisto Waltz No. 1, S. 514 3:52 -- (3.) Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in Bb Major, Movement I (Allegro non troppo), Opus 83 4:23 -- (2.) Maurice Ravel: "Ondine," from Gaspard de la nuit, M. 55 5:01 -- (1.) Charles-Valentin Alkan: "Quasi-Faust" from Grande Sonate, Op. 33 I'm sorry for the timestamps not really lining up with the pieces, but all the pieces don't start on good places for timestamping. I'd rather have the timestamps be earlier (and have some of the previous piece) than "technically" being more accurate, but making you rewind to get the complete start of the piece.
@@blackforestt3717 As a classical composer and pianist, I can say that difficulty is a very subjective topic. Although I don't fully agree with the ranking myself, there are many factors that might vary from pianist to pianist that can change how they rank the pieces. There is no 'objective' or 'true' ranking of the difficulty of pieces. As an example, I know violinists who spend more time on even small excerpts from Mozart concertos than they do with Paganini caprices, because they struggle with musicality. I could see someone struggling with keeping the high (and comparatively short) notes suspended over the fast notes underneath, and just general musicality throughout.
The fugue part of Alkan's 30 ans is very scary to even look at. The fact that Alkan made an 8-part fugue and made it sound decent in the right hands cements him as one hell of a genius in musical composition, imo. The hardest things I've played for piano, (and I'm definitely not boasting, my playing is bad even for some of these pieces, and many I've forgotten) is: - Liszt reminiscences des puritains - the triplets as well as repeated notes in the RH arpeggios are very hard to adjust. I underestimated them at the time. And don't get me started on the double notes in the finale, it makes Chopin's op. 25 no. 6 look baby level. - Spanish Fantasy - it's as if Liszt put in the deadliest techniques he had in his arsenal in this piece.. almost everything is hard. What throws me off are the last broken tenth intervals in the RH near the end... when you're so tired at that point, it can mess you. Reflecting on that, now I understand why Mikhail Pletnev messed that part as well. - Alkan Festin d'Esope - it's not too difficult, but the chords in the near-finale are tricky. - Alkan Symphony 4th mvmt - this doesn't really count, because I've never finished it, but it's not the octave leaps that give me trouble, (they're the easiest parts) but it's the quirkiness of how some of the passages are written. It isn't pianistically friendly.
4:33 - now THIS i surely gotta double down. I remember sightreading for several times the whole Gaspard (~5 years ago) and damn, how pleasant and fun Scarbo felt after torture that middle section of Le Gibet and whole Ondine were😂
@@Manuel-pd9kf it's not really that complex in terms of notation compared to let's say late Scriabin Sonatas or Szymanovski Sonata 2 (not even mentioning Ives, Sorabji or post-WW2 avantgarde stuff lol), technically difficult - yes ofc but during really slow sightreading it's not really that much of a problem
as someone who loves music but put off learning about classical for awhile because it was very intimidating this was an amazing list and i almost feel embarrassed to say i play keyboard after listening to all of these 😂excellent work! i can only imagine how frustrated i'll be when practicing some arpeggios on a scale like this truly some dedication to the craft. a well earned subscriber i hope to hear more of your original work! best wishes!
I've been learning Alkan Concerto For Solo Piano, the most difficult thing is bringing it all to performance standard simultaneously as it's like the largest set of difficult etudes that all run into each other with almost no respite.
@@moev51 I do think Alkan's compositions are full of quirks. Cluster chords, punchy dynamics, and very technical sections are some examples that are scattered throughout.
Alkan was a student of the Classical tradition and before. Actually, what he did that u speak of was done before him. He resurrected the dead (per say) that the Romantics ignored. This "style"of his is still debated and misunderstood because he astonishingly fused the two musical worlds into a new/different approach to romanticism. And how! A compositionally Classical (Hayden, Beethoven, etc.) thinking of new 19th century tradition. Poulenc and friends took this thinking even further later on.....So, our western classical music always leads back the earlier birds. Bach, etc etc
Fantastic technique! Rachmaninoff's hand-stretching chords can deliver a punch. But to me, his softer, melodic themes (e.g. Concerto #2) are more memorable.
excellent playing. i really enjoyed your Hofmann and the Mephisto Waltz (the tempo is perfect!) i wonder if you have played any kapustin? i have been working on the first two of his concert etudes and it's safe to say that both of them are notoriously challenging technically and rhythmically (the doppio mvmt. in the second is a firecracker!)
wow that escalated pretty quickly interesting mix of standard and lesser known repertoire too. would you consider playing something like Medtner (assuming that you haven't already)?
Thank you for your comment! I have never officially played a piece by Medtner, but I was thinking of learning one of the op. 38 Forgotten Melodies, particularly nos. 3 and 6. Amazing stuff.
I am learning 1:50 at the moment. I can assure it was one hell of a struggle. Getting the rhythms right at some parts, a pain. Getting all the notes down takes quiet some time too especially if you highlight all the melodies. I can play it to the end but is the interpretation great? not yet :_)
My current top 5 Gaspard de la nuit Petroushka Islamey Feux Follies Rachmaninoff's 2nd Sonata ( runners up Brahm's Paganini Variations Liszt b minor Sonata)
There are 8 different pianos in this video, but the two digital ones are Kawai CN23 and Yamaha AvantGrand N2. I played the Appassionata, the prelude, and Ondine on the Kawai and the Rachmaninoff op. 39 no. 5 on the Yamaha.
I've only looked at the score of Scarbo and sightread a few passages, so I can't say that I've played it. Ondine, on the other hand, I've performed many times.
Just there is a lot of notes does not mean the piece is difficult. Repeating patterns are not too difficult either you just put in some time into practicing you will be fine.
These may be the hardest compositions to play, but not the best I've heard. I don't like any of these pieces. The hardest doesn't mean the most appealing.
I understand, but many people, including me, do love these pieces not for their difficulty but for their musical content. Personally, I enjoy listening to all of these pieces, so I may just have different preferences from you. But I do agree with you that many very difficult pieces can be rather unappealing to listen to (for example, I don't particularly enjoy some of those crazy pieces by Ives and Sorabji).
@@francesspencer3502 I've played a few etudes and preludes as well as a waltz. I am not currently playing any Chopin, but I was thinking of learning some more etudes, particularly op. 10 no. 8 and op. 25 no. 12.
List of pieces with their timestamps. Also your Prelude in C# Major sounds excellent, it sounds like something straight out of the golden age of post-romanticism (Rachmaninoff, Scriabin and all that).
0:06 -- (10.) Camille Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Movement I (Andante sostenuto), Opus 22
0:40 -- (9.) Sergei Rachmaninoff: Études-Tableaux, Opus 33, No. 3
1:13 -- (8.) Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata No. 23 in F Minor "Appassionata," Movement III (Allegro ma non troppo -- Presto) Opus 57
1:49 -- (7.) Sergei Rachmaninoff: Études-Tableaux, Opus 39, No. 5 (Appassionato in Eb Minor)
2:17 -- (6.) Josef Hofmann: "Kaleidoscope," from Charakterskizzen, Opus 40
2:48 -- (5.) Eric Bouchard: Prelude in C# Major
3:17 -- (4.) Franz Liszt: Mephisto Waltz No. 1, S. 514
3:52 -- (3.) Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in Bb Major, Movement I (Allegro non troppo), Opus 83
4:23 -- (2.) Maurice Ravel: "Ondine," from Gaspard de la nuit, M. 55
5:01 -- (1.) Charles-Valentin Alkan: "Quasi-Faust" from Grande Sonate, Op. 33
I'm sorry for the timestamps not really lining up with the pieces, but all the pieces don't start on good places for timestamping. I'd rather have the timestamps be earlier (and have some of the previous piece) than "technically" being more accurate, but making you rewind to get the complete start of the piece.
Thank you so much! By the way, the Brahms excerpt is actually from the 2nd concerto in B flat Major (in the first movement).
@@ericbouchard3745 Alright, I have edited it to have the proper piece and movement.
@@ericbouchard3745 really? ondine at no. 2? it seems like half of the pieces you ranked below ondine are much more technically difficult
@@blackforestt3717 As a classical composer and pianist, I can say that difficulty is a very subjective topic. Although I don't fully agree with the ranking myself, there are many factors that might vary from pianist to pianist that can change how they rank the pieces. There is no 'objective' or 'true' ranking of the difficulty of pieces.
As an example, I know violinists who spend more time on even small excerpts from Mozart concertos than they do with Paganini caprices, because they struggle with musicality. I could see someone struggling with keeping the high (and comparatively short) notes suspended over the fast notes underneath, and just general musicality throughout.
Z
The fugue part of Alkan's 30 ans is very scary to even look at. The fact that Alkan made an 8-part fugue and made it sound decent in the right hands cements him as one hell of a genius in musical composition, imo.
The hardest things I've played for piano, (and I'm definitely not boasting, my playing is bad even for some of these pieces, and many I've forgotten) is:
- Liszt reminiscences des puritains - the triplets as well as repeated notes in the RH arpeggios are very hard to adjust. I underestimated them at the time. And don't get me started on the double notes in the finale, it makes Chopin's op. 25 no. 6 look baby level.
- Spanish Fantasy - it's as if Liszt put in the deadliest techniques he had in his arsenal in this piece.. almost everything is hard. What throws me off are the last broken tenth intervals in the RH near the end... when you're so tired at that point, it can mess you.
Reflecting on that, now I understand why Mikhail Pletnev messed that part as well.
- Alkan Festin d'Esope - it's not too difficult, but the chords in the near-finale are tricky.
- Alkan Symphony 4th mvmt - this doesn't really count, because I've never finished it, but it's not the octave leaps that give me trouble, (they're the easiest parts) but it's the quirkiness of how some of the passages are written. It isn't pianistically friendly.
Saint-saens concerto finally got a recognition😌
It's one of the most famous concerti actually.
@@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji no, it isn’t
Well if you search the hardest piano concertos list made by caleb hu they are both on the list
Uh, yes it is. It’s a top 25 concerto.
@@mateusmargoto4827 yes it is
MUCH respect!! Your musicality is amazing! Thank you for sharing your gift!
4:33 - now THIS i surely gotta double down. I remember sightreading for several times the whole Gaspard (~5 years ago) and damn, how pleasant and fun Scarbo felt after torture that middle section of Le Gibet and whole Ondine were😂
How do you even sight read something that complex and difficult
@@Manuel-pd9kf it's not really that complex in terms of notation compared to let's say late Scriabin Sonatas or Szymanovski Sonata 2 (not even mentioning Ives, Sorabji or post-WW2 avantgarde stuff lol), technically difficult - yes ofc but during really slow sightreading it's not really that much of a problem
Beautiful playing. Bravo!!!!
You're a great and very professional pianist. Videos like these make me want to practice!
as someone who loves music but put off learning about classical for awhile because it was very intimidating this was an amazing list and i almost feel embarrassed to say i play keyboard after listening to all of these 😂excellent work! i can only imagine how frustrated i'll be when practicing some arpeggios on a scale like this truly some dedication to the craft. a well earned subscriber i hope to hear more of your original work! best wishes!
my mom with a doctoral in classical piano from USC now a college professor in Korea would say these piano pieces are insane.
This is superb playing;) Bravo!
Im so proud Ravel is on here, proud of my music idol
Du grand art !
I love this! Beautiful musicality
I've been learning Alkan Concerto For Solo Piano, the most difficult thing is bringing it all to performance standard simultaneously as it's like the largest set of difficult etudes that all run into each other with almost no respite.
Les quatre ages is quite a masterpiece. Love your musicality for such a quirky composer like Alkan
Quirky?
@@moev51 I do think Alkan's compositions are full of quirks. Cluster chords, punchy dynamics, and very technical sections are some examples that are scattered throughout.
Alkan was a student of the Classical tradition and before. Actually, what he did that u speak of was done before him. He resurrected the dead (per say) that the Romantics ignored. This "style"of his is still debated and misunderstood because he astonishingly fused the two musical worlds into a new/different approach to romanticism. And how! A compositionally Classical (Hayden, Beethoven, etc.) thinking of new 19th century tradition. Poulenc and friends took this thinking even further later on.....So, our western classical music always leads back the earlier birds. Bach, etc etc
Mephisto is crazy. Well played
Very impressive. If you played all these you have won the game of life.
Nice to find you here ;)
Damn, quite the repertoire! 👏
Very well played, that's quite impressive !
Thank you so much!
Good job on the final part of the Appassionata! It's hard to get right.
Fantastic technique! Rachmaninoff's hand-stretching chords can deliver a punch. But to me, his softer, melodic themes (e.g. Concerto #2) are more memorable.
excellent playing. i really enjoyed your Hofmann and the Mephisto Waltz (the tempo is perfect!) i wonder if you have played any kapustin? i have been working on the first two of his concert etudes and it's safe to say that both of them are notoriously challenging technically and rhythmically (the doppio mvmt. in the second is a firecracker!)
Thank you for your comment! No, actually, I haven't played any Kapustin. Probably should!
wow that escalated pretty quickly
interesting mix of standard and lesser known repertoire too. would you consider playing something like Medtner (assuming that you haven't already)?
Thank you for your comment! I have never officially played a piece by Medtner, but I was thinking of learning one of the op. 38 Forgotten Melodies, particularly nos. 3 and 6. Amazing stuff.
@@ericbouchard3745 that's nice to hear! will be interested to hear how you progress with those
@@ericbouchard3745 For me it might be Godowsky
Really cool!
Thank you!
you are insane. bravo
❤️🎼🎹THANKS!!!
hearing your interpretation of mephisto vs laplantes intepretation is insane
impressive indeed!
Grandiose.
Alkan is my most favourite composer!
thanks for giving Alkan some love
You are a good pianist
I am learning 1:50 at the moment. I can assure it was one hell of a struggle. Getting the rhythms right at some parts, a pain. Getting all the notes down takes quiet some time too especially if you highlight all the melodies. I can play it to the end but is the interpretation great? not yet :_)
The hardest piece I've ever played was Granados's first Goyesca. At least....it felt like the hardest thing when I was practicing it.
Please may we have a handcam next time? Great playing by the way.
How long did it take to get the 8 voice fugue down?
About a month I think
nice
nice !
Thank U
I’m studying the Appassionata for sure. It is no joke.
Such great pieces of music and played superbly! Which one would you say was the hardest for you?
The Alkan, no doubt
Although Brahms and Ondine are a close second
I’m not too familiar with Alkan I’ll have to listen to the full piece. I was going to guess Ondine. I’ve subscribed can’t wait to see more. 🎶💙
You should play some Sorabji, Finnissy, and Weissenberg.
LoL . What about the Bach fugues of wtc 1 / 2 ( without sustain pedal) ?? That is the real challenge imo
👍
My current top 5
Gaspard de la nuit
Petroushka
Islamey
Feux Follies
Rachmaninoff's 2nd Sonata
( runners up Brahm's Paganini Variations
Liszt b minor Sonata)
Nice! I'm actually planning to learn feux follets next year.
You’ve played islamey and petrouska?!?!?!?!?! Please please PLEASE make a recording
The "fugue" section of Quasi Faust is almost unplayable, especially if you try (as you are supposed to do) to make all voices sound 😅
Which digital piano did you record on?
There are 8 different pianos in this video, but the two digital ones are Kawai CN23 and Yamaha AvantGrand N2. I played the Appassionata, the prelude, and Ondine on the Kawai and the Rachmaninoff op. 39 no. 5 on the Yamaha.
and above all they are even more difficult to play on a keyboard
3:38 Finally someone plays this correctly 😩 music to my eaarrrsssse
It’s printed corrected in Henle and Peters edition I believe
It’s like listening to heavy metal the day the music died.
Ondine 😯
played ❌ heard⭕️
you should try alkans op 39 no 11 if you like alkan its mesmerising
I recommend Czerny Sonate Op.145, Op.399 etude 10, Op.400 prelude and fugue 12, Op.692 Ocean Waves and Hero etudes 20 and 21, op.756 etude Moonlight 10 and 19
how is appassionata harder than these two
do you know caleb by any chance
You've ever played. I never play 😂
Interesting that you chose Ondine and not Scarbo
I've only looked at the score of Scarbo and sightread a few passages, so I can't say that I've played it. Ondine, on the other hand, I've performed many times.
woah man is this your playing?
Yes
Who is playing?
Me
@@ericbouchard3745
Oh! Very nice performance. Thank you.
Have you ever played a piano piece composed by an AI? 😇🥰
Just there is a lot of notes does not mean the piece is difficult. Repeating patterns are not too difficult either you just put in some time into practicing you will be fine.
You're forgetting one part: it's not just about memorising which keys to press, there's a great deal of difficulty in translating the notes into music
how the hell did you play those double notes on the first piece... looks horrible
They took me some time.
Harder is better
All difficult, but not all worth listening to. And not a single Chopin etude.
These may be the hardest compositions to play, but not the best I've heard. I don't like any of these pieces. The hardest doesn't mean the most appealing.
I understand, but many people, including me, do love these pieces not for their difficulty but for their musical content. Personally, I enjoy listening to all of these pieces, so I may just have different preferences from you. But I do agree with you that many very difficult pieces can be rather unappealing to listen to (for example, I don't particularly enjoy some of those crazy pieces by Ives and Sorabji).
@@ericbouchard3745 I love JS Bach and Vivaldi's music the most.
@@johanna5688 yeah you are the baroque classical type which there is nothing wrong. Most of these hard pieces are Romantic or late before contemporary
You are very talented but frankly, I didn't find any of these pieces pleasant to listen to.
That may be just because I'm not that great of a player, musically speaking. I know these pieces can sound really good in the right hands.
@@ericbouchard3745 I think you are probably a prodigy. I will never be at your level. Do you play any Chopin?
@@francesspencer3502 I've played a few etudes and preludes as well as a waltz. I am not currently playing any Chopin, but I was thinking of learning some more etudes, particularly op. 10 no. 8 and op. 25 no. 12.