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Indeed, and what an underrated piece! I've been meaning to get to it for a few years now. In some ways I find it more musically satisfying than the PCF.

I totally agree with you! For the life of me, I cannot understand why this magnificent triptych is so seldom played. Someday I would love to tackle it, though I don't really have the hands for it. I did learn the PCF several years back.

5'6" and a good reliable 9, sometimes a very strained 10

10th, 11th if really stretch hard

11th. No idea why this is important. I have never needed more than a 10th and rarely more than an octave.

I can reach an octave with my first and second finger.

I think I can do a tenth... but I like to think my hands still have growing to do.

5'1" and arthritic fingers - an octave is my limit. Fortunately that's all I've needed so far.

Look at the chords at the beginning of the original La Campanella. I can hit tenths but I can't play those chords.

This guy hits an 11th with ease:



I can do a tenth fairly well on black keys, quite a bit more difficult on white. I tend to think I have great piano hands, though, octaves are super natural to play.

My left hand can easily take the 10ths at the opening of Rach 2, but I cannot do those in the Ab minor version of La Campanella. (I just tried. )

From what I have read about Liszt (just covering the 10ths at the close of the slow movement of Beethoven's Opus 106 without breaking), he certainly wouldn't have managed those 10ths in La Campanella either.

Can anyone here take the left hand 10th's in the 6th Rhapsody (Presto section- measure 57) without breaking them? Argerich would seem to be doing that in her recording (which I've listened to a billion times), yet I've heard that her hands are not particularly large. She must be breaking them at supersonic speed.

I can only stretch an octave.

I wish I had big hands.

There's an Ab minor version of La Campanella? Apart from the key signature, how does it differ from the "conventional" G# minor version?

Regards,

The first version is in A flat minor.


Mel

It is practically a completely different piece.

I tried playing those chords. Not hard at all.

Now, the rest of the piece... Much thicker than the revision.

brojek.

Since my right hand is less flexible than my left [it should tell you which hand I write w/], I can reach an octave, but barely b/c my hands are small. It's rare I get those fast notes [that are an octave apart] just right. I have no problem whatsoever w/ the octave-apart note w/ my left hand, though. In spite of my flexibility, I guess my right hand is as flexible as it'll ever be.

Hi folks - I'm new round these parts, so Hello!

I suspect that as important as overall stretch is the reach between fingers. For example, it is possible to reach a 10th, but still not be secure on the opening chords of Rach 2 (sorry, I have to disagree argerichfan - IMO they really should not be spread- the build up of the sound from chord to chord carrying the line - not relying on the spreading! ). Rather, it takes the ability to reach well between fingers. I suspect this generally becomes quite important in all kinds of passage work as well, as it simply enables a wider range of useful fingerings to be used.

Mine is 11th. The first edition La campanella chords are in reach, so are the Rach 2 opening chords. But there's one catch - it makes a difference if the chords have middle tones inside, or there just a plain stretch - 2 notes! For instance - F# to A: no problem; but then, Rachmaninoff F# minor prelude final chords...

Only an 8th. Hate it. :p

I can only stretch an octave too, but my teacher says that its enough to play most songs, she couldn't stretch any further than me herself!!