Chopin - Ballade no 1

or

Bach - Italian concerto

And for those that have played them, which did you learn faster?

Never played either, but "technically demanding" means very different things between Baroque and Romantic music.

I agree with Horowitzian. The question posed is almost an apples-oranges question to which their can hardly be a definitive answer.

Regards,

I play them both. You can't compare them. The Bach was even written for the piano, though it lends itself to the piano's capabilities wonderfully.

The Ballade is leaps and bounds above the Italian Concerto, I don't see how people are saying you can't compare them

The technical difficulties are totally different between the two.

Have you played both of them yourself?

Being someone that has played both, I will further agree with what has been said regarding the two; that being that their difficulties are different.

However, assuming that the poster wants a definitive answer, I will have to say that Chopin's G minor Ballade is harder, particularly because of the range of demands it poses on the performer.

However, if someone does not have the appropriate finger work capabilities, there is much of Bach's music that can remain unplayable to that person, yet some of Chopin's nocturnes and great portions of his Ballades would be well within reach.

That being said, the pieces still place different demands on the performer. I, personally, fear Bach's music because one must practice the finger work or else pay the price no pianist'd wish to pay in public. As for Chopin, there is always a good amount of chord passages, and not so much fingerwork as can be found in Bach.

I would suggest practicing through the WTC books for his music. Had you mentioned Bach's 'Art of Fugue' , I would've said its so much harder. My brain splits in 2 parts when attempting to voice everything distinctly. Nearly impossible!

xD

I have played all three movements of the Italian Concerto, and am about 3/4 of the way through the Ballade, if that counts

And I disagree that the technical difficulties are "totally" different. IMO the greatest difficulty in both is single-note fast fingerwork

I've played the entire Italian Concerto. I haven't played the Ballade but I've played a ton of Chopin. I have to agree with BruceD that you are comparing apples to oranges. What may be challenging to one pianist may not be to another. Personal taste and hand construction can be a factors as well.

If you are someone like me, the speed and intriquate fingering demands of Bach are a pleasure and come naturally, (after a lot of work). Once the fingering is down, I fly through it. On the other hand, Chopin is very challenging to me in entirely different ways. I've got to work harder on expression, emphasis and interpretation.

Can't compare them.

I would personally find the Bach a lot harder than the Chopin. I'm not very good at baroque music, but romantic music comes a lot more easily to me.

I've performed them both in concert (the same concert in fact), and my experience was that the purely physical demands of the Ballade far outweigh the Italian Concerto. However, once the the technical issues of each are worked out, I think the Italian Concerto requires more intellectual engagement in developing an interpretation and in the actual performance. The Ballade is written in such a way that it sort of interprets itself (ie. just playing through all the notes well without giving them much thought still sounds pretty good and/or a wide range of divergent interpretations can sound fine), whereas the Italian Concerto can easily sound mechanical and uninteresting if you aren't focused every second on making sure all the melodies and counter-melodies are interacting interestingly. I also found, unsurprisingly since it's Bach, that the Italian Concerto provided more memorization difficulties.

The brain splitting point by William is what I experience more often with the Bach...its a difficulty on a whole different scale. I played the Ballad years ago and didn't find it exceptionally difficult but perhaps that is because I play more Chopin and Liszt than any other composers work.

Learning Bach can be difficult because the fingering is demanding and often not intuitive. The complexity of the fugues can be daunting too but I've found great rewards in sticking with it. Once you "own" the fingering, you find your technique and reading ability take huge leaps. Besides, I love Bach...and Brahms...and Chopin...and Rachmaninoff...and...and....

Can't play Bach. Chopin comes naturally.

I'm actually getting ready to play both of those pieces (all three movements of the concerto) in a recital this spring.

I would say that it depends on your abilities. It you are good at ambidextrous counter melodies and fast scales and ornaments without many chords, than the Bach will come easier, and the Chopin will be more demanding. On the other hand, if you are good at playing with more emotions and getting a more "powerful" sounds, and you are prone to use the pedal a lot, than the Chopin will be easier and the Bach will be more technically demanding.

I'm actually getting ready to play both of those pieces (all three movements of the concerto) in a recital this spring.

I would say that it depends on your abilities. It you are good at ambidextrous counter melodies and fast scales and ornaments without many chords, than the Bach will come easier, and the Chopin will be more demanding. On the other hand, if you are good at playing with more emotions and getting a more "powerful" sounds, and you are prone to use the pedal a lot, than the Chopin will be easier and the Bach will be more technically demanding.

Sorry, accidental double post.