So what is your dream piece you want to go and tackle on a relative short time basis, like somewhere in 2007? Mine is Alla Turca, I'd very much like to be able to perform that at full speed somewhere in the near future. It's just such a fun piece, well known, and sounds very complicated, while certainly the main theme I think is quite doable.

Look forward to hearing your ambitions!

My dream piece is a jazzy Georgia on my Mind, played by ear. It won't happen in 2007, but I have my hopes set on 2008.

My dream piece to play is "The Heart Asks Pleasure First".

I would love to play Images book1 by Debussy. The first one in particular I think is translated 'Reflections in the water' or something like that. One of my favorites and hopefully I can build up to that between now and the end of '07.

Mozart's Fantasia in D minor.
Finished and Memorized: By March!

Chopin 10/3

My dream piece is Prelude, 1st movement of the Suite Bergamasque by Debussy. I can only play the beginning right now. It is nowhere near as well known as Claire de Lune, which is a shame, because it's an incredibly moving and beautiful piece of music. Not to say Claire de Lune isn't, but that one is mysterious, while the Prelude just lifts my spirits everytime I hear it.

Croatian Rhapsody.

Or maybe George Winston's version of Canon in D.

Für Elise ... for my mother. Yes, she's a big Beethoven fan. The minute I bought a piano she made me promise to learn that one. I'd love to manage it by Christmas 2007, but I don't hold out much hope. It's four pages long, and there's a lot of ink on those pages!

Gosh, all of these are such great ideas. I am going to write all of them on my "consider" list. I am working on "The Heart Asks Pleasure First" right now, and I hate to report that it is hard than I thought it'd be. And I found the music to George Winston's Canon in D online somehwere, but I haven't tried it.

My dream piece, for the time being, Scriabin's Etude in C# minor, Opus 2, No. 1. It's dark but beautiful.

Nancy

Hmmm...for 2007 there's Gliere Arietta and a short Mendelssohn piece I'd like to learn. My dream piece is Chopin 10/3. I've learned the first two pages but I'm told the rest is about a grade 9 or 10 level!! so it may be a few years before I get through that one!

may be Beethoven 32 variations in c minor, hopefully by the end of next year. for shorter one, would like to try Chopin etude op.10.2 which would take at least 6 months to get it under fingers i'd guess.

I haven't even got next week planned, let alone next year!

Some really awesome suggestions from you all, though - looking forward to hearing them!

[Edit] Post number 666!!

Magnetic Rag - Joplin

Chopin Nocturne 9.1. That'll keep me busy all 2007. However, if I manage one Nocturne per year, in 10 years I'll have 10!!!

And stop playing these beautiful nocturnes all over the place in the recitals - I should still resist for the next 2 years or so!

Patty

Nighteyes,

If you like the Mozart Rondo Alla Turca, check out this video of Alex Aitammer playing Volodos' virtuoso transcription of it:

Mozart-Volodos

Notice those accurate, incredibly fast, left hand octaves.

He seems to be having so much fun!


My dream piece is the Chopin Polonaise in A Flat, Op.53, Heroic. It's one of the greatest masterpieces of the piano literature.

I have the 1st half memorized and in some kind of working condition, but it will be a good amount of time before I've completed the piece.

Mel

Right now, the four Chopin ballades.

I love that one too. I learned some of it once and then dropped it for some reason. I would like to pick it up again soon.

Schubert - Impromptus Op. 90 Nos. 2 and 3 - Working on 2, which requires significantly more finger dexterity than I have!

Debussy - Arabesque 1 - Just "finished" Clair de Lune and I like this Debussy piece almost as much.

Chopin - Valse Op. 64 No. 1 "Petit Chien" - Again too fast for me to start with, I'll have to slow it down a lot

And way off in the distance Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu - Love this piece but it is ridiculously above my level... I can play the opening 6 measures though

The first arabesque is a wonderful piece. I first learned it many years ago (age sixteen, I believe). But I recently relearned it in a much more mature way. Getting the three on two to work smoothly takes some work and there are a few complex runs that yield to slow careful practice. The piece is also more melodic than most of Debussy's later work. [you can listen to my take on it HERE ].

My current fantasy piece? Hmmmmmm. Perhaps Debussy's Dance (Tarantelle Styrienne).

Personal favorites:

Chopin's Etude Op. 25, No. 1 in A-flat Major (Aeolian Harp Etude).

Get the John Browning (a lost treasure) version off iTunes. Horowitz did it too but he changed a lot of it.

My other personal favorite is Gottschalk's Grand Tarantelle for Piano & Orchestra. Killer piano. Good version on iTunes is Maurice Abravnel with the Utah Symphony but it is available in print as a four-hand reduction.

They say Gottschalk played it all himself. . .

I have Browning's CD of the Etudes.

His 25/1 is by far the best I've ever heard.

Mel

Hopefully I'll have finished Scriabin's C# minor etude op. 2 no. 1 and Chopin's C# minor posthumous nocturne by the new year. And of course to get all the notes of Chopin's 10/1 etude in my fingers.

As far as next year is concerned, I'm looking at perhaps another Chopin nocturne and Scriabin's D# minor etude.

Ultimate dream piece: Liszt's Reminiscences of Norma

I am working on #2 also and it has been a good workout. A little too good actually.

I'd like to complete this one and maybe mozart's C minor fantasy next year. If I can get that done(and some smaller works too) I might feel ready to give the debussy a shot.

Right now it would be Chopin 48/1. Don't know if I will or could ever play those octaves at tempo.

i'm working on Schubert op.90.3 now (through 3 pages) and hopefully get it done this year rather than next year.

I played that Aeolian Harp Etude last year, and it was sooooo hard. I asked my teacher for something difficult over the summer, and that's what I got. I took it to one of my two summer substitute teachers, and he mapped out a plan for learning it, and it worked well. After about ten months, I had it at a decent tempo and got many of the notes right. It hurt my forearm to play, so my regular teacher sent me to the other substitute teacher, and he said, "You play the Harp Etude?" I said, "Well, yes, though not very well. I've been working on it for a long time..." He was still deep in thought, or maybe it was shock. He repeated, "You play the Harp Etude?" I said, "Well, I am trying." Finally, he closed the Chopin book and said, "It's way too hard for you." End of conversation. It was a little blunt, but you know, he was right. It was too hard for me. I was glad I did as well with it as I did, but I think it would be years before I got it up to tempo. It's beautiful, though.

Nancy

I'm a beginner so be easy on me, but I'd like to play Jim Brickman's Rocket to the Moon, from the sheet music, not by ear.

Being able to play Chopin's Berceuse Op. 57. It's the song that inspired me to take up piano.

Nancy,

Yes, it is a lovely, lovely piece!! I checked out the sheet music a while back (with the deluded idea that I could give it a shot), but I got lost with all the notes!

I have two current dream pieces

1. Chopins Nocturne in D flat, opus 27-2. This is an absoloute delight to listen to.

2. Chopins Grand Poloniase Brilliante. THAT piece at the end of the pianist, it is an amazingly beautiful piece.

I am not sure if I will manage in 2007, I hope to learn to play the Lento part of J.S. Bach Triosonate no 6, Gmajor.

I worked on it this summer, but my problem now is I get very little time to play the organ.
I think learning to play with your feet as an adult is a little like learning to play with both hands.

Ragnhild

Too many to list...
Mike White

Mmm, tough question... I got quite a lot of dream pieces, but I actually think that if I only could choose on to play it would be Vocalise by Rachmaninov together with a cello. That would be truly amazing...

Mmm, tough question... I got quite a lot of dream pieces, but I actually think that if I only could choose on to play it would be Vocalise by Rachmaninov together with a cello. That would be truly amazing...