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What are you working on right now.

180K views 1K replies 270 participants last post by  Rasa 
#1 ·
Just curious which pieces everyone's learning.

For me it is:

Brahms, 2nd Rhapsody
Chopin, étude op. 25n2
Bach, WTC1 P&F 23 in G sharp minor
Bartok, Allegro Barbaro


The Allegro Barbaro is pretty epic win. It's easier then it sounds/looks, until you get to the good tempi. then its a fun game to practice the displacements.
 
#235 ·
Liszt Chernomor's March from Glinka's Ruslan and Ludmila (First version, with my own variations and alternative passages). It goes rather slow because of my health condition which makes me not able to sit at the piano for hours, but I got to finish it for sure !
 
#239 ·
I've started learning the last movement of the Pathetique. A couple reasons: I want to play a rondo and I want to play Beethoven, and this is not a terribly technically difficult Beethoven rondo. And I want to actually work on something during my break from school, so I don't just spend the whole month being lazy and directionless. My goal is to get it to a place where it is suitable for informal performance (i.e., the lobby of my grammy's retirement home) by mid-January.

And the Lebewohl sonata is still my ongoing project, but that is long-term, as the third movement is still somewhat beyond my technical abilities. I don't want to start working on the third movement (which will need lots of time) while I'm not taking lessons, as I'm afraid I might develop bad habits.
 
#240 ·
I've started learning the last movement of the Pathetique. A couple reasons: I want to play a rondo and I want to play Beethoven, and this is not a terribly technically difficult Beethoven rondo. And I want to actually work on something during my break from school, so I don't just spend the whole month being lazy and directionless. My goal is to get it to a place where it is suitable for informal performance (i.e., the lobby of my grammy's retirement home) by mid-January.
That's kind of surprising, sounds like a great project, its a substantial and very enjoyable piece without being too difficult.
 
#241 ·
I'm working on Fantasy in D Minor by Mozart and Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Bach. I'm not very talented at the piano, despite my username and spend most of my time on the saxophone but it's really hard to not get bored when practicing an instrument that can only play one note at a time. Still, I love to experiment with these fairly easy pieces (at least... some parts are easy) :D
 
#242 · (Edited)
And now I really really want to work on a slow movement from one of Beethoven's Op. 2 sonatas. I used to be not that into early Beethoven--in my salad days, when I was green in judgment. I was a fool. These are terrific. They stop time. I was playing them today, and I want to learn all of them. (And a bunch of other things--clavichorder, you're not the only one who wants to work on SO MANY PIECES; I understand.) But I think I will pick one.
 
#246 ·
I recently have made some triumphs of which I am very proud, and I hope won't bore you all :tiphat:

I started playing piano a little over 3 years ago (When I was 12 or 13) and immediately became consumed with passion for Classical Music. I quickly devoured the starting books my local music store teacher gave me and within a month moved on to little Chopin nocturnes. A year passed and I decided I wanted to be much more than just a piano student.

I went through a tough Russian teacher that told me I would never be a pianist without my passion leaving me. I was no longer playing just Chopin nocturnes, but serious music aiming to make up for 8 years of lost technique. Over the summer I had the opportunity of attending a Summer Music Institute at our State University. I was chosen out of hundreds of other participants to perform in an honors recital in the main hall of the music school. I played in front of thousands of people. It was really humbling to be around so many musicians and I realized how hard I would have to work to stand out.

I played the Chopin Op. 10 No. 12 etude, and also one of my own compositions. Since then, I have worked harder and just won my first statewide competition playing the Rachmaninoff Etude-Tableau Op. 39 No. 3, a piece that I had thought to be extremely beautiful, but impossible to play when I was first starting out. I swallowed it, with only 8 weeks to play it at the competition. I am now preparing that Etude to be played in front of a conference comprised of every music teacher in my state.

I am also preparing 2 Bach Prelude & Fugues for another statewide competition, and I am playing a Bach Keyboard Concerto with a Youth Orchestra in my state this summer. My new teacher is highly respected, and I like him a lot. He has faith in my talent and also knows how to get my best work out of me. I now accompany for 3 different choirs at my school and am constantly sight-reading and accompanying new works of varied styles.

Anyway, I guess this is sort of a follow up to my old post about the Rachmaninoff Etude. The competition went very well, and my playing is starting to get noticed more and more in my state and I don't think I've ever been so happy after overcoming these obstacles. This Summer I hope to be accepted into a serious summer music program at a good conservatory/college and work very hard on repertoire for a national competition in Fall.


... Sorry for the life story, I think I was a little excited :)
 
G
#250 ·
Imagine that, I've been playing for 3 years too! But according to your progress, your 3 years are like dog years...

My prof added a few more things to my rep for this semester: Ginastera's Danzas Argentinas and Pampeana no. 2 for cello and piano, and Sarabande by my composition teacher Anthony Iannaccone. Only moderately impressive for a third year student...
 
#251 ·
Haha it's been a lot of luck and a bit of hard work :) I think it's really just been all of the passion for the music that's been driving me forward! I own a copy of the Danzas Argentinas and I think that's quite impressive for 3 years ! (Far above average, certainly)

I feel like the main thing to move forward is balancing social life and fun with music study... It's really scary to think that I could have a chance at being a really great musician and miss it because I was too focused on girls and sports, and equally scarier to think I could miss out on all the fun of being a 16 yr old boy because I was too busy studying fugues... :angel: :devil: :confused:
 
#252 ·
It's really scary to think that I could have a chance at being a really great musician and miss it because I was too focused on girls and sports, and equally scarier to think I could miss out on all the fun of being a 16 yr old boy because I was too busy studying fugues... :angel: :devil: :confused:
The former is worse than the latter.
 
#253 ·
Wow Sofronitsky, I am touched by this story of yours. Like seriously, all your hard work paid off, and you definitely have talent! In just 3 years. I wish I can see you perform someday when you've reached the professional level. Good luck, I also hope you'll get accepted in a conservatory, I'm sure you will though.
 
#259 ·
I'm currently studying Beethoven "Pathétique" sonata no. 8.
First movement is physically hard for the left hand. I envy pianists who don't seem to have problems with getting cramp.
Must find a solution for that and try another technique/hand posture.
Also Débussy L'isle joyeuse and the first movement of Rachmaninoff piano concerto 2. I'm about to start with the third movement. And an easy étude-tableaux.
 
#261 ·
I'm about read to embark on a classical era sonata journey. I'm going to simultaneously dabble in the first movements of three sonatas. I may commit when I decide which of these sonatas I want, or if work goes smoothly, I might keep up all three or two of the three. Haydn, Clementi, and Mozart.

Haydn Hob 50 in C major
Clementi op 34 no. 2 in G minor
Mozart K330 in A minor
 
#270 ·
I'm about read to embark on a classical era sonata journey. I'm going to simultaneously dabble in the first movements of three sonatas. I may commit when I decide which of these sonatas I want, or if work goes smoothly, I might keep up all three or two of the three. Haydn, Clementi, and Mozart.

Haydn Hob 50 in C major
Clementi op 34 no. 2 in G minor
Mozart K330 in A minor
I think it's good that you're going with more pianistic works as a younger player. It'll make your period explorations much more enjoyable, as opposed to being frustrated with awkward pieces.
 
#262 ·
I am working on the second movement of Beethoven's Op. 2 No. 3 piano sonata, but can't practice as often as I want to. I'm not at my college this semester and am instead living in an apartment in Philadelphia, and it's a four mile round trip to get to and from a music school where I'm allowed to use the practice rooms. Tomorrow I start my internship and it will be harder to practice because I'll usually be at work during the hours the music school is open. But I treasure my practice time now that it's harder to come by, so I always feel very happy when I'm at the piano lately! Due to my limited practice time and the fact that I'm not currently taking lessons, I'm not trying to learn multiple pieces at once, just to get this one sounding as good as I can.
 
#263 ·
I'm amazed at how much better my site reading has become. Thank you hours of toil on Medtner! Anyway, I was able to explore parts of the first movements of each of the sonatas mentioned.

The Haydn is full of interest, very bumpy and eccentric use of very light material, sometimes pounding that fluffiness deeper than you'd expect it to go.

The Clementi is very kinetic, fun for the fingers and aside from the quirky harmonic patterns of it(tritones and major 7ths occasionally slapped out), rather easy to digest.

The Mozart is very subtle and interesting, but lively all the same. If I had to pick one, this would be it. But unlike Meaghan, I'm not going to pick one. I want all three!
 
#271 ·
Bach has been has been good to me, but it's time to move on. Not move on from Bach entirely, just shifting the main focus!

I have a bit of a problem with raw exposure and I tend to have trouble with subtle fortes and other dynamics, so for the next month or two I'm going to study the K. 332/300k Mozart Sonata. So far the work is very rewarding and I'm excited to learn to interpret such a sneaky composer..

I'm having trouble deciding a piece to study after the Mozart, but I'm thinking of one of the harder Liszt works, the Copland Passacaglia, Scriabin's 2nd or 5th Sonata (Probably not the 5th, too difficult!), or maybe a more modern piece from Liebermann or another composer. Could anyone help me choose ?
 
#273 ·
I didn't mean to give the impression that I didn't think that way! I am terrified by Mozart, and like I said his works stress most highly the technical skills which I am weakest in.

For Liszt.. I'm having a hard time deciding. I love the Hungarian Rhapsody no. 11 and would like to play it. I also think the 'Illustration De L'Africain No. 1' (I hope that's right) is a powerful piece that gets almost no attention. I love the majority of the Transcendental Etudes... but I think I might be gearing more towards the Copland/Scriabin/Liebermann Triumvirate. What would you study in my place? Anything really it doesn't have to be something I listed!
 
#274 · (Edited)
That's right, Illustrations de l'opéra L'Africaine...

Ok, here a list of works I could suggest in this case :

Schumann: Piano Studies after Paganini Caprices (No.1 from Op.3)
note: less known than Liszt's, but in some cases even better ...

Schumann: In der Nacht from Op.12 (Fantasiestücke)

Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No.7
Liszt: Waldesrauschen (from 2 Concert Studies)
Liszt: Mephisto Waltz No.1

from his trascriptions Polonaise from Eugene Onegin and Isoldes Liebestod

***

Balakirev: Toccata (1902, really electrifying !)

***

Debussy: Prelude Ce qu'a vu le vent d'Ouest from book I (electrifying too !)

Macdowell: Sonata No.3 (Norse)

Severac: Le retour des muletiers from Cerdana (special for your large hands !)

and if you're into spanish piano music, then give Albeniz Triana (from Iberia) a try ...

P.S. Can't help with Scriabin sonatas, I know only his shorter pieces plus the beautiful piano concerto.
 
#277 ·
For the first time in a while, I'm not working on much of anything. Just keeping up with my repertoire. Mainly, I'm reading some primary sources on Roman history, for example Caesar's accounts of his war with the Gauls. Less time to listen to and play music, because of my studies.
 
#278 ·
Bach, two part Inventions : I'm still (and will still be, because there's so much depth in this music) on the first (began it in January) and finished learning the two hand together. Two voice polyphony is getting easier, and my head as well as my hands are getting used to the keyboard. I plan on doing at least 2 other Inventions, with at least one which is fast (F major or A minor or D minor). Then I'll try to move to three voice polyphony, but not necessarily Bach - there must be some three part pieces from the Renaissance.
I stopped working on Mikrokosmos volume III. I think I'll do another piece (at the end of the book) and then go to the fourth volume.

Today I'm just working again on the first because I want to play it to my hopefully future piano teacher - I don't have one right now. I hope I'll be able to get lessons and I also hope she'll help me to get to the level I want faster (I want/need to be really comfortable sight reading, to be able to work on P&F from the Well Tempered Clavier, or Haydn sonatas, or such. Intermediate level in other words. All this before September if possible haha).

I'm so enthusiastic. When I'll be able to play guitar as well as I want, to be reasonably competent at the keyboard... [I'll tackle conducting], I'll be able to have so much great music under my fingers and in my head (even without being a virtuoso pianist, that's what's great with the piano repertoire) !
 
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