Chopin Difficulty Ratings

[Nocturneguy]

10/7 is stupidly awkward out of all the Etudes. I bet that he could play it but not to the same standard as the rest of the etudes (didn't he say that he 'couldn't play' 25/10 as well?)

He could play 25/10, it's in the art of the piano...

[Max]

Yeah, but he said he couldnt play it properly

I'll find the exact quote

[PJF]

Once you get to playing Chopin, it's not a matter of leveling, or whatever. You can't just "grade" it by difficulty as if it were some method book, because now, challenges arrise because of weaknesses of the pianist himself.
Hamelin> Nocturnes?
Horowitz> Etude no.7?

etc...

That's absoutely true. The difficulty of a piece depends almost entirely on the pianist's technical capabilities. What may be easy for one person might be hell on earth for another. Of course one can rate a piece generally speaking, but there can be no definitive rating system for every pianist since everyone's capabilities on the piano vary a great deal..

Difficulty is most definitely dependent on the pianist. I'll use etude 10/1 an an example. Most pianists consider it to be one of the harder pieces. I find it pretty easy, simply because I have very well balanced arms, broad, muscular palms and slim fingers.

A pianist with thicker fingers or shorter arms might find it very, very hard.

[PJF]

10/7 is stupidly awkward out of all the Etudes. I bet that he could play it but not to the same standard as the rest of the etudes (didn't he say that he 'couldn't play' 25/10 as well?)

This is another example of difficulty determined by the biomechanics of a certain player. I can play this etude fairly easily, it doesn't feel awkward in the least to me. My fingers are alot slimmer and therefore alot lighter than Horowitz's. For the same reason, I would have trouble with Rach's Third Concerto, a piece Horowitz played with ease.

[pianoknight]

Interesting how you find both 10/1 and 10/7 manageable because if I recall, these are the two etudes that Horowitz struggled with. In fact he said something about how if Chopin would have played on a modern piano, he might of altered 10/1. Case and point, difficulty of the etudes varies depending on the assets of each individual player.

As far as the preludes go, I can't possibly agree with No. 2 being one of the easier ones (in my subjective opinion ). Musically, it's considerably difficult to make this piece not sound like a mindless drone, going on and on for what seems like ages. But of course this is just my opinion.

[PJF]

Interesting how you find both 10/1 and 10/7 manageable because if I recall, these are the two etudes that Horowitz struggled with. In fact he said something about how if Chopin would have played on a modern piano, he might of altered 10/1. Case and point, difficulty of the etudes varies depending on the assets of each individual player.

As far as the preludes go, I can't possibly agree with No. 2 being one of the easier ones (in my subjective opinion ). Musically, it's considerably difficult to make this piece not sound like a mindless drone, going on and on for what seems like ages. But of course this is just my opinion.

Yes, Chopin's Etudes were composed on the narrow keyed pianos of the day.
I agree, if Chopin were alive today, he'd alter his compositions. It's only logical.

Incidentally, on a period (1840) Pleyel piano, the keys are noticeably narrower and shorter. I've played 10/1 and 10/7 on such a piano, they are shockingly easier!

[johnmar78]

thats a great experience , playing on chopins style piano. I have never played the old piano, but I have tendency to say the older piano is the ligter the action. Thanks that you have tried already...

Imagining that yamaha made a grade that is 20 narrower than the traditonal one and have all differnt widths to fit all difernt hands....

[PJF]

Another notable difference in the 1840 Pleyel is the short white keys. There's about a third less length between the tip of the black keys and the tip of the white as compared to a modern piano.

[PJF]

Etude 10/7 is a perfect example of a piece using a technique which requires the player to activate the whole of the playing mechanism, from head to toe.
The mistake many people make is trying to play the 10/7 with the fingers. The muscles of the hands and forearms are totally inadequate to generate the necessary power this piece requires. When played with the right muscles, you should "feel the burn" in your upper back and upper arms (you shouldn't actually burn, its just an example).