The Hardest Piano Music Ever: J.S. Bach Edition

[@JumpDiffusion]

A great Bach performer Andras Schiff in an interview once said that he hasn't yet recorded or played the Art of Fugue in it's entirety because it is such a massive/grand project. This is to give some perspective how hard this work is.

[@2011persol]

ANGELA HEWITT HAS RECORDED THE COMPL ART OF FUGUE ON HYPERION RECORDS, AND SHE IS SPECIALIST IN BACH LITERATURE, SHE IS MORE THAN CAP OF TACKLING A-O-F. SHE HAS RECENTLY RELEASED THE COMPLETE PARTITAS A SECOND TIME ON THE SAME LABEL !CHECK HER OUT...SHE IS ONE OF THE BEST ADVOCATES OF BACHS PIANO MUSIC....

[@drvonkrankmeister8094]

Glenn Gould's version is a standard.

[@OldCanadianguy953]

Beautiful!!

[@babai08_]

You should do a hardest piano music for Mozart and Beethoven.

[@Idfk365]

someone in Australia she did

[@judyelias1858]

I love listening to you talk about music! It’s very fascinating to those of us who know absolutely nothing!

[@mw11stuff]

Hmmm. Some of the Bach toccatas, while short, are EXTREMELY difficult.

[@teeple1877]

Bach’s keyboard pieces are my favorite pieces of all time.

[@orvaitzman3436]

I was literally was suffering in my piano lesson trying to learn a Bach piece and then this was uploaded now...

[@EliGodfrey]

Thank you so much for making these videos. I've learned so much piano history from you.

[@lucibemol8586]

this is incredible!

[@ramosgutierrezangeleduardo316]

I love the new videos quality!

[@titanicswimteam9833]

Shostakovich or Ravel would be cool.

[@sonjaruijzing3571]

Yes Ravel!!

[@mr.clasher-clashofclansboo7286]

*cough* Liszt *cough*

[@yashbspianoandcompositions1042]

@@sonjaruijzing3571 The hardest piano music of Ravel is Gaspard de la Nuit that too the third movement which is scarbo

[@JAMES45229]

Awesome channel! Great personality and content.

[@xingphonicx6788]

Could you do a sheet music collection or a music room tour? It would be cool to see what you have and how you store it all!

[@nicolasserranoloaiza4192]

Could you make video about things a college student should know, before get in to college ? For music

[@brent3522]

Theory and an instrument, most probably an orchestral one or a keyboard instrument

[@GuillermoPSKrebs]

#SiempreBach Tremendas obras... Masivas, gruesas, densas; porque portan más música que la que está escrita. Aún así, son livianas y sutiles, etéreas en su sonoridad y casi abstractas en su estructura. Un grosso este tipo! Gracias por los vids, están muy buenos ❤

[@harryjoseph1802]

Lucky to have the brilliant blind organist Helmut Walcha's recording of the Art of Fugue. He does a decent attempt at completing the last fugue. Bach, any day! Harry, India

[@kiwi-bird]

Kia ora! Ngā mihi nui from Aotearoa 😊

[@RichWoodwardMusic]

7:37 I think you meant the Sarabande is considered to have originated in Spain?

[@VictorAvilaPiano]

Rich Woodward Piano Yeah, probably she meant that. I was res flagged too haha Btw, nice project accomplished by recording the whole inventions in 2 and 3 parts!! The dislikes are just jealous people, tho.

[@titanicswimteam9833]

Brahms Paganini variations. More detail about Chopin’s Ètudes, or the Debussy preludes.

[@donhunt3r441]

I love you

[@benjaminbrown5245]

Have you ever looked up on youtube the banjo by Gotschalk? That one starts out pretty simple but the end is oh my gosh!!!!! Crazy!!!!!!

[@DojoOfCool]

How about some late 20th Century piano works like Messiaen "La Fauvette des Jardins", works where space and modern harmony are key. Or Shostakovich - 24 Preludes and Fugues which are rhythmically more like early works, but modern in melody and harmony.

[@bloemundude]

As an idea, why did Liszt adapt Paganini pieces? Did he find fault with the originals or did he want to pay them honor?

[@brent3522]

I think the latter. Also maybe he liked them so much that he wanted to play them on the piano

[@SuperTicklemonsters]

Year late for a reply, but Liszt seeing Paganini live was an important moment in his life. IMO he was likely trying to "artistically digest" Paganini's compositions by arranging his music for piano

[@wrs3004]

Do you know if you could attempt a fugal structure video? Kind of like your Mozart K.545 sonata form or Beethoven Pathetique Rondo videos.

[@NurseDavis]

I agree, I would've thought they would be just about the first thing mentioned. But basically, a lot of his pieces are as hard as your imagination will let them be

[@PsychHacks]

As your discussion is about the hardest piano music by Bach, why did you use a recording on the organ for The Art of Fugue?

[@mushroomedanymore633]

The portrait you showed to represent Goldberg was not Goldberg, it was some nobleman in official portrayal (note the armour). Goldberg was a child prodigy, he was born in 1728 and performed the the Goldberg Variations when he was 14. This is all on Wikipedia.

[@jktekkerz8735]

All right, clever clogs!!!

[@olle_boulle3348]

I have actually created a Spotify-list consisting of (currently) the 110 most difficult piano pieces ever written. I would like to add the Art of Fugue, but it such a long piece, I would prefer just to add one section of it that's considered the hardest, though that would leave out the whole difficulty in playing the full two hour piece.

[@niccolopaganini4268]

Well the whole Art of Fugue could count as only one piece

[@niccolopaganini4268]

Which it is

[@jonathancastillorodriguez2663]

My God!!! ... You are more beautiful now...

[@incription]

What about the 6 part ricercare from the musical offering?

[@Trianonn]

I really need a tutorial on prelude and fugue no2 in c minor. I have 2 weeks to learn it lol x

[@SunriseFireberry]

What's hard? Ludis Tonalis/Hindemith? Scarbo/Ravel? Concord Sonata/Ives? 3 M'vts de Petrouchka/Stravinsky? Some Alkan? Chopin-Godowski etudes?

[@fernandom9979]

I had understood that hardest pieces will be a serie by composer. Now is just Bach.

[@MichaelCwll]

Can you do a same video for Beethoven and it would be really good if you moonlight sonata and the appassionata also as they are really good. I hope you will do so

[@scriabinismydog2439]

Could you do one about Ravel and Prokofieff?

[@TheRabbitpaws]

WOOOT third one to post. Sorry I was so excited to be 3rd I forgot what I was going to type.

[@Itemtotem]

I don't know you but I can see that you are beautiful

[@fjmugwump]

Who thinks this presenter is more beautiful than of the music she talks about?

[@atcihaydar]

can you do an analysis for Fazıl Say he is one of the best composers alive and he uses piano very differently :) you should see Fazıl Say - Black Earth

[@caterscarrots3407]

Hi. I was wondering if you could answer my question, maybe in another Q and A episode or possibly in the comments section. Here is my question: I am a super advanced pianist(like ARCT level piano) and I find fast Alberti bass to be difficult, way more difficult than fast octaves or arpeggios. When I learn a Mozart sonata there is almost always a movement in which the left hand is almost all Alberti bass. I often dread that movement because this means a lot of feeling the burn before I get sufficiently good at it. I am thinking of learning Beethoven's Presto Agitato because I have learned the rest of the Moonlight Sonata as well as the entire Pathetique Sonata and some fast Chopin pieces but the Alberti bass is stopping me in my tracks. There is Alberti bass across 10th intervals as well as in the right hand. But it is really the speed of the Alberti bass that is stopping me. Almost non-stop Alberti bass in an Andante of a Mozart sonata is one thing and after a while, I can do it. Almost non-stop Alberti bass at Allegro or faster though and I really feel the burn after just 1 minute of Alberti bass and I have to stop before I get injured. And it is like I am doing everything right(forearm rotation, wrist rotation, very little motion actually in the fingers) and I still feel the burn from fast Alberti bass. How can I stop this from happening so that I can play Beethoven's Presto Agitato at full tempo instead of having to slow down to Andante just to not injure myself with the Alberti bass?

[@sdka9922]

Like in any sport, the burn is coming from either 1-stretching the muscle beyond their usual limit or 2-build-up of lactic acid in the muscle (or both together); the muscle consume their sugar to produce energy and reject acid, when there is too much acid produced, it burns and the muscles stop working properly; you have to stop and wait for the acid level to reduce. Practically what this means is either that you contract the muscles unconsciously (fear of not being able to do it) which leads them to early fatigue (it could be that your movement is maybe not as good as you think it is) or that you push your muscle beyond their usual range of operations by trying to go fast on the Alberti bass. When you go slow your muscles produce acid more slowly and it can be eliminated; when increasing the speed, you overpower them. Therefore one, you are probably still too tense and lacking relaxation and two your muscles and tendons are not used to the level of effort you are putting on them (you can do other movements easily simply due to the fact that you mobilize your muscles differently). Usually there is only one solution which takes time and that is very progressively increase the speed starting from where you are comfortable and try to extend the duration before hitting the burn; after a while you get used to the new speed so you can increase again and so one. I dont know of any other way around. The muscles have to be used to the effort so they can do it efficiently and without fatigue. Also check out with a pro to see if your movement is really the right one; (PS: let your muscles rest 24hours as after a heavy training session, it takes several hours for the acid to be fully eliminated)

[@labraeye4944]

​@@sdka9922 This might seem totally random but you seems to know what you are talking about, so I thought I will go ahead and ask. I have also problems with my fingers. 20 years ago I studied piano at the conservatory, I was pretty good, played several hours a day. Then life got in the way and I didn't play the piano for at least a decade. I am on the long term travels and I don't have even access to one. Sometimes I like to tap on the table while listening to recordings with score on my laptop. Specially works of Bach. I have no problem to sight read music, even more difficult ones, in the fast tempo, but it seems my fingers lost dexterity. Specially left hand, feels like numb, tired after 2 pages tapping on the table with no real resistance. Is this only a sign of being out of shape or something more serious? Also wrists are sometimes bothering me, for example holding and rotating a carrot in my left hand while peeling with the right gives my left hand cramps. I really hope is not carpal tunnel. Is there something I can do about it without access to piano? Some kind of exercise to improve finger dexterity? "Yoga for fingers"? :) I would like to find out! Sometimes I am really scared that I won't be able to play piano again...and it's the worst feeling ever! If anybody knows of something, please let me know!

[@sdka9922]

@@labraeye4944 , of course lack of practice leads to loosing your physical abilities. It is true for piano like for any other physical activity. So it is obviously normal that after a long period of inactivity, you do not have anymore the same dexterity. Now it is difficult to give advices without knowing what the situation really is and so a wrong advice could make things worse. Having said that, it seems like some of the pain you are experiencing is actually not quite normal, so I would personally consult a medical expert to either confirm there is a true issue which may require treatment or it is indeed just benign symptoms which will go ago with some appropriate exercises. And yes there are specific exercises available for the piano player when away from the instrument, though nothing can replace true piano practice (I am sure you can find plenty of examples on the net). There are also plenty of various exercices that can reinforce your arm muscles, tendon, fingers, .... The difficulty being that chosing the right exercices and most importantly the practice (frequency, combination, intensity, ....) that would suit your case requires an expert opinion; the hand is a complicated mechanism and doing the wrong things can cause serious injury. Having been away from the piano for a long time, the most important advice is to go slow and not push beyond any sustained pain.

[@caterscarrots3407]

@@sdka9922 So, you're saying that if Andante is like the upper bound for me for comfortable Alberti bass currently, that I should increase the tempo slowly, maybe doing Alberti bass up and down the scale as I do so until I can do Alberti bass at Presto with no problems and meanwhile gradually going from the Mozart andante to faster pieces with almost non-stop Alberti bass(making sure to not do the scales and the pieces on the same day)? That that is the only way really that I can go from "Quite a workout for my left hand doing the Mozart andante" to "This Presto Agitato is easier than I thought"?

[@1333x_x]

>super advanced >has trouble playing intermediate pieces such as moonlight sonata

[@sebastianmorales5246]

Top 50 more difficult pieces, Please

[@michaelboggio2450]

Correct pronansiation of composer's names: Shopan, list, rakmaninof and bak

[@damienheemskerk]

The final three Beethoven sonata's maybe, they are fast and fugal😂

[@infrastructure5015]

Do it about Alkan!!

[@espressonoob]

where is the well tempered clavier?

[@michaelkklam]

Maybe Allysia thinks that the well tempered clavier is not hard enough.

[@espressonoob]

+T.B. Schaefer the second prelude is at a grade 9 level alone lol

[@giancarlo426]

3:37

[@danielchequer5842]

@T.B. Schaefer those are the inventions, right?

[@sdka9922]

The Bach introduction says exactly "For the profit and use of musical youth desiring instruction and for the particular delight of those who are already skilled...". The WTC was not specifically intended to be a playbook for keyboard exercices but rather an overall guide for the composition of fugues and other counterpoint based pieces. It is also a demonstration of writing in all 24 keys in the newly established major/minor system, some of which like C sharp major were never used at the time (not even by Bach himself). The pieces are difficult but not of extreme difficulty overall; most of them range around RCM 8 to 10 with a few above that but none are nearly as challenging as some of the Goldberg variations.

[@communismwithgiggles2515]

Could you imagine Wagner's symphonies on piano?

[@felixmendelssohn4301]

I think sarabande is supposed to be a spanish origin erotic dance, correct me if I am wrong.

[@victoramicci840]

holy shit, she looks like a LOTR Elf =O

[@louisvalencia5244]

I dont find tbe Goldberg variations that difficult

[@louisvalencia5244]

The Partitas are harder though

[@matanbiton272]

DO BEETHOVENS NEXT

[@Lordran__]

But Bach didn’t write for the piano 🤔

[@nothinggmuch8642]

Wait!!!!....but Bach Is easy 😊

[@najlaeel8217]

You look like Behati Prinsloo

[@SJcomposes]

lol you haven't seen the hardest piano music ever. You haven't seen my music.

[@salemryzk2724]

please adjust ur white balance

[@Valegdehog]

I thought that Debussy's pieces were the hardest

[@musicalneptunian]

Indeed. Debussy was the Tour De France of the piano; pedalling was essential all the time.

[@Octavio12341000]

Only in terms of interpretation, it's really difficult to reach the real feeling.

[@petersthomson4624]

As a language, origin in core, from older german, the pronunciation of Bach in english language, is shit. The greatest musician of all time would hate to be called BAK. If you can not pronounce his last name, call him Johann or Sebastian. I am sure he would prefer that, as I am a german.