Photo: Brett Sayles

Which composer is hardest to play?

These are the definitively the hardest pieces of music to play Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji - Opus clavicembalisticum. ... Alexander Scriabin - Mysterium. ... Franz Liszt - La Campanella. ... Giovanni Bottesini - Double Bass Concerto No. ... J.S. Bach - Chaconne in D. ... Luciano Berio - Sequenzas. ... Conlon Nancarrow - Studies for Player Piano. More items... •

classicfm.com - These are the definitively the hardest pieces of music to play - Classic FM

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These are the definitively the hardest pieces of music to play

We’ve asked musicians, we’ve scoured the internet and our music library - these are the hardest pieces of classical music out there.

Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji - Opus clavicembalisticum

Why not kick off with an impossible-to-pronounce piece? Here’s a blistering performance of this utterly bonkers piano piece - not for the faint-hearted:

Alexander Scriabin - Mysterium

So yeah, it’s an orchestral evocation of the end of the world that could potentially last for up to a week, and was intended to be performed in the foothills of the Himalayas. Here’s what Scriabin himself said about it: “There will not be a single spectator. All will be participants. The work requires special people, special artists and a completely new culture. The cast of performers includes an orchestra, a large mixed choir, an instrument with visual effects, dancers, a procession, incense, and rhythmic textural articulation. The cathedral in which it will take place will not be of one single type of stone but will continually change with the atmosphere and motion of the Mysterium. This will be done with the aid of mists and lights, which will modify the architectural contours.”

Sure.

Franz Liszt - La Campanella

It sounds innocent enough at the beginning, but give it a minute… This piece has been haunting encores for centuries.

Giovanni Bottesini - Double Bass Concerto No. 2

There was a reason Bottesini was known as the Paganini of the double bass. For extra difficulty points, be true to the period and play it on three strings.

J.S. Bach - Chaconne in D

The absolute daddy of violin showpieces. SO exposed.

Luciano Berio - Sequenzas

OK, it’s hard to narrow these down to just one - but Berio’s experimental Sequenzas were actually designed to push the boundaries of what might be possible with any given instrument. Try the soprano one for size:

Conlon Nancarrow - Studies for Player Piano

Imagine writing a piano piece so insanely tricky that you know a human wouldn’t be able to handle it. That’s what Conlon Nancarrow did, much to everyone’s consternation, and enlisted the help of a trusty player piano to make sure it was finally heard:

Heinrich Ernst - Variations on The Last Rose of Summer

This transcription of Thomas Moore’s poem is utterly bewildering - the techniques required are not only at the very extremes of the violinist’s capabilities, but also required at the same time as one another. See Hilary Hahn nail it:

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What are 3 of Beethoven's most popular songs?

Beethoven's Top 10 Works Fidelio. "Fidelio is very important for the history of German opera, adding a political component to the well-worn Rescue Opera plot device while affirming the archetype of the Heroic German Woman. ... Piano Sonata No. 14 ("Moonlight") ... Violin Concerto. ... Piano Sonata No. ... Piano Concerto No.

wfmt.com - Beethoven's Top 10 Works | WFMT

As we celebrate Ludwig van Beethoven's 250th birthday, WFMT looks back on the eminent composer's most important works. Here is our ranking of Beethoven's top 10 most important compositions.

10. Fidelio

"Fidelio is very important for the history of German opera, adding a political component to the well-worn Rescue Opera plot device while affirming the archetype of the Heroic German Woman. Leonora/Fidelio is one of the best characters in all of opera, and the homoerotic, gender-bending scenarios in which she finds herself due to her disguise is simultaneously very 'Baroque' while feeling of the current Zeitgeist." – Oliver Camacho

9. Piano Sonata No. 14 ("Moonlight")

"The Moonlight Sonata may be a cliché choice, but as a singer, the first movement feels like the best wordless Lied he never wrote. And the Presto agitato still thrills." – Oliver Camacho

8. Violin Concerto

"The Violin Concerto — it's [Beethoven's] only violin concerto... [It is] so powerful and I think recognizable and plainly moving." – Becky Nystedt

7. Piano Sonata No. 8 ("Pathétique")

"The Pathétique sonata is I think Beethoven's best. It's the most cogent, all three movements have banger melodies, and the mood is 'Listen up, world, I might join the 27 Club at any moment!' A solo piece can be personal in a way an orchestral piece can't." – Robbie Ellis

6. "Archduke" Trio in E-flat, Op. 97

5. Piano Concerto No. 4

"The Piano Concerto No. 4 is the best of Beethoven as the poet and the outsider, trying to be understood by society and, like Orpheus, trying to tame a savage society with music that speaks a gentle peace." – Oliver Camacho

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