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]