Piano Guidance
Photo by cottonbro studio Pexels Logo Photo: cottonbro studio

Who is the hardest classical composer 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
Can a 17 year old be groomed?
Can a 17 year old be groomed?

Anyone can be a victim. No one is immune to grooming, though some are more susceptible than others — including minors, "because of their naiveté,”...

Read More »
Last updated Sep 19, 2022
Is Billy Joel or Elton John Better?
Is Billy Joel or Elton John Better?

Again, John beat Joel, as he had 27 songs — nearly two times the amount. Not only does John win this category because of his many top songs, he...

Read More »
Last updated Nov 9, 2018

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:

What are the 3 chords in every song?
What are the 3 chords in every song?

The I (tonic), IV (subdominant) and V (dominant) chords (primary triads) together encompass all seven tones of the tonic's major scale. These three...

Read More »
Last updated Jan 20, 2021
Why do Guitar Center employees hate Stairway to Heaven?
Why do Guitar Center employees hate Stairway to Heaven?

It is simply a running joke in the guitar community! Stairway to Heaven is 'banned' in guitar stores because people have embraced the forbidden...

Read More »
Last updated Jan 1, 2019

Is Claire de Lune sad?

The piece was published in 1905 as the third of four movements in the composer's Suite Bergamasque, and unlike the other parts of this work, Clair is quiet, contemplative, and slightly melancholy, evoking the feeling of a solitary walk through a moonlit garden.

svs.gsfc.nasa.gov - Moonlight (Clair de Lune) - NASA Scientific Visualization Studio

Planets and Moons

ID: 4655

Moonlight (Clair de Lune)

This visualization attempts to capture the mood of Claude Debussy's best-known composition, Clair de Lune ( moonlight in French). The piece was published in 1905 as the third of four movements in the composer's Suite Bergamasque, and unlike the other parts of this work, Clair is quiet, contemplative, and slightly melancholy, evoking the feeling of a solitary walk through a moonlit garden. The visuals were composed like a nature documentary, with clean cuts and a mostly stationary virtual camera. The viewer follows the Sun throughout a lunar day, seeing sunrises and then sunsets over prominent features on the Moon. The sprawling ray system surrounding Copernicus crater, for example, is revealed beneath receding shadows at sunrise and later slips back into darkness as night encroaches. The visualization was created to accompany a performance of Clair de Lune by the National Symphony Orchestra Pops, led by conductor Emil de Cou, at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, on June 1 and 2, 2018, as part of a celebration of NASA's 60th anniversary. The visualization uses a digital 3D model of the Moon built from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter global elevation maps and image mosaics. The lighting is derived from actual Sun angles during lunar days in 2018.

Related

For More Information

Visualization Credits

Is it better to practice piano in the morning or at night?
Is it better to practice piano in the morning or at night?

The best time of day to practice the piano is usually first thing in the morning. The brain has had a fresh start and you are ready and...

Read More »
Last updated Mar 29, 2021
What key is deja vu in?
What key is deja vu in?

Deja Vu is written in the key of A Major.

Read More »
Last updated Oct 9, 2018
Is 17 too late for guitar?
Is 17 too late for guitar?

It's never too late to learn guitar! While there are definite advantages to learning the guitar at an early age, all it really takes is the desire...

Read More »
Last updated Nov 26, 2022
Does super glue work for playing guitar?
Does super glue work for playing guitar?

As we're going to point out in a minute, super glue is good for SPECIFIC tasks in guitar assembly and repair. But it's not good for everything....

Read More »
Last updated Jan 31, 2020