Aman Ahuja ([log in to unmask]) wrote:

>Hi, I have heard on more than one occasion that Liszt's La Campanella is
>the most technically difficult piano piece.  A difficult piece, without
>doubt, but that seems to me too bold a claim.
>
>My curiousity is aroused, however.  What pieces _are_ usually considered
>the most "difficult" piano music? What does one mean by "difficult" in the
>first place?

Good question.  In one sense the concertos and sonatas of Mozart are among
the most "difficult" ever written - but not technically of course.

If you are talking sheer technique and stamina there are many candidates:
the "usual suspects" would include Balakirev's Islamey, many, many pieces
by Alkan, esp the Concerto (Nos.7-9 of the 12 studies in the minor keys)
and the Etudes Op.76.

Then, of course, there's Sorabji.  His most famous (notorious) pieces
being the 1930 Opus Clavicembalisticum.  Ogdon's recording lasts 4 3/4
hours, although Madge's 1980s Dutch recoding was something like 45 minutes
shorter.  Sorabji's longest piece is probably the Symphoni Variations,
estimated (noone's ever played it publically) to last something like 7
hours.

OC, like much fiendish piano music, frequently expands to more than two
staves.  In fact the close, IIRC, uses 7.

Deryk Barker
[log in to unmask]