Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum How hard is Fantasy Impromptu?

Just out of curiosity, as a question to all those who have tackled or have mingled with the piece, how hard would you consider Chopin´s Fantasy Impromptu? I´m asking because the other day I heard a guy playing the entire piece decently and he has been learning piano for around three years, starting in his late teens (around 17).

I think it's about a Grade 3 piece.

The book "Chopin: A graded practical guide" by Eleanor Bailie rates Fantasie Impromptu as Grade 8+, just below the Very Advanced rating. It is not horrendously difficult once you conquer the polyrhythms. There is a slow "moderato cantabile" middle section which is quite easy. The whole piece has many repeats so it shouldn't take too long to learn it and play it at half speed. Bringing it up to final tempo does take a fair amount of practice, several months for me. I believe a motivated teenager with 3 years of lessons under his belt and good practice habits should be able to tackle this piece.

It's not as dificult as first seems. Yes there are some tricky parts but once you master these it isn't too bad. I was surprised by how fast I learnt it. I would imagine someone at intermediate level and with the amount of experience you mentioned should be able to tackle this piece with enough motivation and practice.

I found that to play it was not all that tough. But to play it "well"... that is another story.

If you can learn to play it and gain some satisfaction from it you may as well do it. Most of us will never play anything "well" if held to today's professional standard so we may as well play what we want. It's taken me about four months off and on to learn it. Of course I don't play it any better than I do anything else but I do enjoy it.

If a 7 year-old kid can do it very well, why can't we grown ups do it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuQDV5TCn5Q&NR=1

Because in about 15 years or so that 7 year old will probably be playing Rach III and we never will.

A lot of these prodigy's you never hear of after they reach age 14. (Thats my youtube experience so far at least)

Well said, Frycek. The FI is sort of a benchmark piece, a ritual of accomplishment and a rite of passage for classical pianists. I think that's important, and it's got to be a confidence booster to play it in a way that's pleasing to oneself.

Steven

Not all the Fantasy Impromptus out there are the original version. There are quite a few simplified ones. I don't think it's a grade 3 piece. I wanted to play it for a piano class and showed my copy to the teacher, and she said it was "fake", ie an easier version.

It was still pretty though.

Hi Nikalette,

You have a pretty name.

My comment was entirely sarcastic. The FI is a difficult work - Grade 8 as per Jazzyprof's source. It is definitely, without question, a piece one would be best served to learn hands-separately before even considering hands-together, so as to more effectively facilitate the 4-against-3 rhythm.

Chopin composed a very similar piece in his Op. 28 Preludes.

It's difficult because of the polyrhythms primarily but, in my personal opinion, your time would be better spent learning one of the other impromptus... Chopin didn't like this one for a reason. The third impromptu is far more beautiful and unique.

Aren't the other impromptus considerably more difficult?

As for Chopin not liking it - we don't necessarily know that. As I recall there's some evidence (an extant private copy) that he actually composed this piece on commission and considered it the exclusive property of the individual who paid him and therefore no longer his to publish.

The first and the third are arguably easier but the second is about as difficult as the Fantasie Impromptu. That's just my opinion though.

As for Chopin's fancies, my only concrete source of information comes from Wierzynski's biography so you'll have to forgive my ignorance.

I am basically grade 3, having bought my piano 3 years ago in September (although before that I had a keyboard for about 1 1/2 years on which I played some songs, but now I consider it a toy, it only has 61 keys and the sound is just not that of a piano). Anyway, I tried the FI last year and I just didn't "feel" it, mainly because of the polyrhythms (maybe I was not very confident either, I gave up after only "looking" at it). I now tried it again after reading this thread and I can suddenly play the polyrhythms without even trying with separate hands, without any difficulty, but I still have to increase the speed. I would say that I am now playing allegro, rather than allegro agitato, but I guess I can get there if I practice now that I have overcome the main problem.
Thanks for kicking me into trying it again!

CA

Thanks ChopinAddict for suggesting that we can do it. I haven't yet started doing any major pieces outside of Alfred's but it's good to know nontheless.

Thank you.

Which piece in his Op. 28 Preludes is similar?

pretty difficult.

there are so many chopin pieces one could learn. (the accessible waltzes for instance)

Op 28 No. 8 in F sharp minor, maybe, with its polyrhythms, arpeggiated left-hand patterns and fast right hand. It's a bit harder though than FI, I presume?!