Eric Goldberg ([log in to unmask]) wrote:

>Vladimir Horowitz said that the most difficult piano piece is Traumerai
>from Kinderscenen by Schumann.  I assume that he was talking about balance
>and simplicity of line rather than knucklebusting toughness.

Then there's Godowsky:  the 53 studies on Chopin's Etudes contain some
hair-raising music, including IIRC 19 for the left-hand alone.  Ravel
studied these extensively while writing his concerto.

Godowsky's Passacaglia (on the opening bars of Schubert's Unfinished) is
also horrendously difficult.  Horowitz allegedly gave up on it, claiming it
needed "six hands" to play.  I suspect he had other reasons though.

deryk barker
([log in to unmask], http://www.camosun.bc.ca/~dbarker)