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How difficult is the first movement of Beethoven's op 109? I understand the entire sonata is very advanced but I'm only interested in the first movement.
How does it compare to some other Beethoven pieces such as Sonata Pathetique Mov 1, schubert impromptus, or Chopin Nocturnes? Is it easier? Is it harder?
Last edited by George Miller155; 01/29/15 02:24 AM.
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I've read through it so that, eventually, when I get to it, I am familiar with the piece.
And for me, technically, it is not extremely challenging.
The difficulty is the character, the beauty, and the perfection that is Op. 109. Getting that down will take time.
Compared to those other pieces, it is entirely different. A different type of Beethoven, and a whole different type of beauty as compared to Schubert Impromptus or Chopin Nocturnes, in my opinion.
Good luck!
Everyday is a great day.
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Much harder. It is considered one of the most difficult of all the Beethoven Sonatas. That being said, there is no official ban on playing it. The "Advanced Music Prohibition Squad" will not arrive at your door to confiscate your piano and haul you off to a dingy cell where all you'll have is a small casio keyboard. You are quite safe.  And heck ... if you love it and want to wade through it and aren't planning to play it for a competition or exam, go ahead and try it. You can flip through a few You Tube performances to get a general idea of what you're up against. Caveat and Disclaimer: If you were one of my students, I'd bribe you. I'd say '"You can try the first two lines of the Betthoven ... but only after I've heard the scales and the Hanon and your regular assigned work". My first teacher did this with the Pathetique. I loved it so much, I picked out those opening chords even though I couldn't read notes well enough to play Clementi. Ironically I stuck with it and a couple of years later included it as an audition piece which got me into the Conservatoire. The adjudicators assumed I was exceptionally talented and had no idea I'd been working on it for three years ...
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Much harder. It is considered one of the most difficult of all the Beethoven Sonatas. That being said, there is no official ban on playing it. The "Advanced Music Prohibition Squad" will not arrive at your door to confiscate your piano and haul you off to a dingy cell where all you'll have is a small casio keyboard. You are quite safe. And heck ... if you love it and want to wade through it and aren't planning to play it for a competition or exam, go ahead and try it. You can flip through a few You Tube performances to get a general idea of what you're up against. Caveat and Disclaimer: If you were one of my students, I'd bribe you. I'd say '"You can try the first two lines of the Betthoven ... but only after I've heard the scales and the Hanon and your regular assigned work". My first teacher did this with the Pathetique. I loved it so much, I picked out those opening chords even though I couldn't read notes well enough to play Clementi. Ironically I stuck with it and a couple of years later included it as an audition piece which got me into the Conservatoire. The adjudicators assumed I was exceptionally talented and had no idea I'd been working on it for three years ... the whole thing is past my skill level but I am talking about only the first movement of the sonata
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It is incredibly dense and detailed. I had the whole sonata in my rep for two years, took it to quite a few teachers, and can tell you that me and legions of other pianists are extremely picky about the first movement, the most difficult of the three.
"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties."
-Chopin
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Regards,
Polyphonist
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lol well that's not very encouraging
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again people...I am not talking about the whole sonata-just the first movement.
Last edited by George Miller155; 01/30/15 12:55 AM.
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You can try the first movement, though it's got unusual pianistic figurations, and many musical details which require a lot of deep study. You can try learning the first movement, and playing through it is always beneficial. If you are going to devote study to perform it, you'll have to learn the whole thing. As with late Beethoven, the technical requirements are quite high, but overall it is a deep understanding of the work, which distinguishes a good performance from one which still needs further growth.
Working on:
Chopin - Nocturne op. 48 no.1
Debussy - Images Book II
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IMO too many posters assume for some reason that when these types of questions are asked the poster is planning to perform the piece in a recital in front of a highly critical audience or for an exam or audition. I don't sense that's the case, and it's not the case very often when these questions are raised. I see no reason not to try this movement if you love it.
The only thing that wouldn't make sense to me spending all your time working on pieces that you might not be capable of playing at a reasonably high level.
Last edited by pianoloverus; 01/30/15 10:33 AM.
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"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." Failure is an option, but.... If you don't suceed, try, try again. 
If music be the food of love, play on!
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I was planning on trying this piece anyway just for the sake of trying it but I wanted to get an idea what I was in for ahead of time.
I also was curious about what pieces had an equivalent difficulty so if I can play this piece then I know what else I can play. I understand that all pieces are different and just because someone can play one thing doesn't necessarily mean they can play everything 'easier' than it but I also feel like comparing pieces can be useful. I just wanted to get a general idea of how difficult this movement is compared to other popular piano pieces.
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Okay good news...I got it down. I haven't yet perfected the changing dynamics but besides that it is pretty good.
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One day he is wondering whether he can learn Beethoven 109 and the next day he claims he has "got it down." 
Regards,
Polyphonist
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You can try the first movement, though it's got unusual pianistic figurations, and many musical details which require a lot of deep study. .
Yup. The piece poses no real technical challenges except for, what is it, 4 or 6 measures all taken together? Those two passages of hands together playing in unison are not for beginners. Interpretively and artistically, the movement requires the utmost maturity, nuance and restraint. Really, really not for beginners, and definitely not a first sonata to give to students even if it is one of the best things he wrote (if I may say that). And it's very true, there's no reason not to play this piece in the comfort of your own living room. But then again, it's no pleasure to play a piece like this badly when you might avoid it.
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