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Joined: May 2010
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Are there any pieces that you really wanted to learn, and loved to listen to, but when you started learning them it was a frustrating, tedious experience?
I'm currently working on Chopin's third sonata...and wow. I don't know whether it's the awkward passagework, or the elusive musical moments, but it's just awful to work on. There are some days when I feel like it's the greatest piece in the world, and then sometimes I wonder why I'm even working on it.
Another piece which was pretty bad was Debussy's "Pagodes" from his Estampes.
An example of a professional pianist going through the same dilemma...Richter really liked Prokofiev's 2nd sonata, but upon learning it, it "gave him no pleasure" and ceased to be one of his favourite works.
Any similar experiences?
Working on:
Chopin - Nocturne op. 48 no.1
Debussy - Images Book II
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I felt very much the same way about the Schubert big A-major sonata. Almost 60 pages of score to learn, a really good slow movement, none of it physically difficult, yet only a few really good musical ideas in the rest bridged by endless transitional material that isn't very architecturally sound or logical. So it's hard to memorize and not really interesting or satisfying to work on.
I also feel that way about Islamey. A rather long score, generally tedious writing, yet you'll have to work like a slave for months or even years to to make it go, and it's not even a good piece of music.
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Joined: Jun 2012
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Almost 60 pages of score to learn, a really good slow movement, none of it physically difficult, yet only a few really good musical ideas in the rest bridged by endless transitional material that isn't very architecturally sound or logical. So it's hard to memorize and not really interesting or satisfying to work on. ?
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Joined: May 2010
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OP
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I felt very much the same way about the Schubert big A-major sonata. Almost 60 pages of score to learn, a really good slow movement, none of it physically difficult, yet only a few really good musical ideas in the rest bridged by endless transitional material that isn't very architecturally sound or logical. So it's hard to memorize and not really interesting or satisfying to work on.
I also feel that way about Islamey. A rather long score, generally tedious writing, yet you'll have to work like a slave for months or even years to to make it go, and it's not even a good piece of music. That's D959, right? I'll give it a read, I've only read through 960 from his last three sonatas. And I feel the same way about the first half of the exposition of the first movement of Chopin 3....2 bars after 2 bars of material....then a pedal point and away the sonata goes. But until we reach the second subject, yuck.... (IMO! Heresy I know...)
Working on:
Chopin - Nocturne op. 48 no.1
Debussy - Images Book II
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D.959, that's the one! The slow movement is gorgeous, the rest not so much. The last movement, a rondo, only has two real themes and it's 16 pages long in my score.
You never know, you really might love it. I love that Chopin you're working on!
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Joined: Apr 2013
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Almost 60 pages of score to learn, a really good slow movement, none of it physically difficult, yet only a few really good musical ideas in the rest bridged by endless transitional material that isn't very architecturally sound or logical. So it's hard to memorize and not really interesting or satisfying to work on. ? What can I say? Schubert, one of the greatest melody writers who has ever lived, was not very skilled at the architecture required for longer forms.
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Look at the next sonata and see that he was good at architecture!  I really love 959 too... Anything Bach for me 
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Beethoven's Fur Elise and any movement of Moonlight Sonata.
On the opposite side, Rachmaninoff's op.32 no.10 prelude was an absolute joy to learn, and it has been one of the most rewarding things I've ever done.
Scriabin's op.2 no.1 is also extremely satisfying.
Not exactly the virtuoso level of writing you others mentioned, but I'll keep practicing.
Beethoven - Op.49 No.1 (sonata 19)
Czerny - Op.299 Nos. 5,7 (School of Velocity)
Liszt - S.172 No.2 (Consolation No.2)
Dream piece:
Rachmaninoff - Sonata 2, movement 2 in E minor
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Anything Bach for me Seriously?
Private Piano Teacher and MTAC Member
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Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
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For me, a lot of Debussy is a case of diminishing returns in return for the effort.
If my last two teachers hadn't given me Debussy to learn, I probably would never have touched any of his music (other than reading through maybe a couple of the popular Préludes and Clair de lune and Arabesques and Children's Corner).
But ever since, I haven't gone back to playing any of his music.
If music be the food of love, play on!
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I think it's just a natural stage that happens for many pieces. It's like you lose your coherent sense of the "meaning" of the piece when you start to really take it apart to learn it. And, for some pieces with some people, it's not possible to regain that sense - the piece never does come back together in quite the way you expect it to. There are all kinds of reasons that could happen, I think.
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any movement of Moonlight Sonata.
Really? Even the 3rd movement? To me that one was very rewarding because it sounds really hard, but isn't. Sounds much harder than it is and fits the hands very easily. Good bang for the buck. 
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My current piece is the Rachmaninoff Prelude in G, Op. 23 no. 5. It sounds so light and carefree when others play it, but I can't make it sound that way, and then I get angry with it and then obviously it gets worse. So now I dread having to work on the piece because I don't want to get frustrated... Which leads to the piece not getting better... Arghhh! (haven't had an "Arghhh" moment for a while here )
Professional pianist and piano teacher.
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Look at the next sonata and see that he was good at architecture! I really love 959 too... Anything Bach for me Many people argue the point, even with the last sonata.
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Laguna, I've actually heard people argue about him dragging too long, but the best performances of Schubert captivate me every time! And AZNpiano, I'm afraid so. I don't have enough experience playing his music. After I give a recital this semester, I will play a Prelude and Fugue.
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Hi OSK, Laguna, I've actually heard people argue about him dragging too long, but the best performances of Schubert captivate me every time! And AZNpiano, I'm afraid so. I don't have enough experience playing his music. After I give a recital this semester, I will play a Prelude and Fugue. That's very true, but I think that's more about the strength of the artistic vision of the performer than it is about the work. I heard Radu Lupu, who is made for this kind of rep, play the last Schubert is if it were one long, uninterrupted sigh. A truly astounding performance. In lesser hands, the whole thing can fall very flat. Whereas if you play the Apassionata and just hit all the right notes pretty much, you'll wow the audience every time because the piece just sells itself. BTW, good luck with the Bach!
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And AZNpiano, I'm afraid so. I don't have enough experience playing his music. After I give a recital this semester, I will play a Prelude and Fugue. I don't believe OSK is saying he doesn't like Bach. He's saying it can be tedious to learn and I, a great lover of Bach, agree. There is no other composer who forces me to learn so slowly, note by note, measure by measure. In Classical and Romantic music, the notes often fall easily under the fingers as you follow the melodic line. Finding the best fingering for Bach can take a long time. In Bach, you find yourself doing unexpected acrobatics to make the measures, continuity and voices work. Then, bringing out the voices can take painstaking work. I adore Bach but his works take me longer to learn than any other composer. It is satisfying work but, drilling it into my fingers can be tedious at times.
Best regards,
Deborah
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I adore Bach but his works take me longer to learn than any other composer. It is satisfying work but, drilling it into my fingers can be tedious at times.
I hear that! It does get better over time though. It used to take me as long as a year to learn a fugue. Now it sometimes takes me only 6 months....sometimes...
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I'm enthusiastic about many works written in the 20th/21st centuries, but - due to learning curves - I've given up on a couple: The Elliott Carter Sonata and Charles Ives's 3-page Sonata.
I used to know the 3rd of Schoenberg's Drie Klavierstucke , op. 11. That was an extremely tough one to learn and I like to think that I came close to mastering it. I left it alone for a couple of years and when I re-opened the score I could not remember one darn note of it.....
I pay lip service to the notion of picking up these pieces again, it's most likely an economical reason that's keeping me away.
D.959 is one of my favorite works and learning the last movement took a bit of patience for me, too.
Last edited by Gerard12; 08/24/13 03:32 PM. Reason: spelling
Piano instruction and performance
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Are there any pieces that you really wanted to learn, and loved to listen to, but when you started learning them it was a frustrating, tedious experience?
I'm currently working on Chopin's third sonata...and wow. I don't know whether it's the awkward passagework, or the elusive musical moments, but it's just awful to work on. There are some days when I feel like it's the greatest piece in the world, and then sometimes I wonder why I'm even working on it.
Another piece which was pretty bad was Debussy's "Pagodes" from his Estampes.
An example of a professional pianist going through the same dilemma...Richter really liked Prokofiev's 2nd sonata, but upon learning it, it "gave him no pleasure" and ceased to be one of his favourite works.
Any similar experiences? Normally it's the working out that I enjoy the most—finding solutions to technical and musical problems. But for me, the Beethoven Op 106 fugue nearly did me in; I had to postpone my senior recital because it refused to stick. I was, of course, too young for it. Finally got it learned and Performed it 3 times, then put it away forever.
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