Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Vecsey/Cziffra La Valse Triste

No real point to this thread other than wanting to share my journey in attempting to learn this piece.

I've just started a project to attempt to learn this Cziffra transcription of Vecsey's La Valse Triste in approximately 6 weeks time before I plan to play it for a masterclass.

This piece is a real workout for average sized female hands! I can reach a 9th stretched and even quick octaves are proving to be a challenge since my fingers don't seem to be long enough to grip the keys while doing the octave and octave runs/jumps are plentiful in the piece. It appears only 2-3 female pianists on youtube have recorded this piece, while plenty of male pianists have recorded it. I wonder if due to the speed/stretch it's extra difficult for smaller hands to play this.

In addition, Cziffra seems to use some seemingly eccentric timing/pedaling in the piece which adds to the difficulty. This is going to be a real challenge

I will probably update the thread from time to time with my progress.

If anyone's interested in learning this with me, feel free to join!

If not, here's my favourite rendition of this piece by Agnes Kovecs (one of the few women playing this that I found!)

[video:youtube]Cdv9kVLdg_A[/video]

This is my favorite of the Cziffra transcriptions. There is definitely some flash but not so much that it ruins the piece. Plenty of depth as well. Thanks for sharing that performance of it.

I agree, it's my favorite too!

I also really love his arrangement of Brahms Hungarian Dance No 5 but that one becomes a little over the top and breaks the flow of the actual piece towards the last 2/3 of the piece if I remember correctly. There were either a few areas with double handed alternating either octaves or 6ths (can't remember) that goes on for too long imo.

I think La Valse Triste follows pretty closely to the original piece and adapts it very well for the piano. Playing it well though, that's an entirely different matter...