Chopin: Preludes 8, 16 and 24...Impossible??

[Gambit]

When i see those scores, i begin to have headaches...And you?

[nad]

erm... i was actually planning on learning no 16..  
i dont get a headache when looking at the score, they're certainly not impossible. I have seen really frightning scores...
If you're planning on learning them, don't listen to Argerich's recordings of it first lol otherwise you might get a bit demotivated  

[bernhard]

Number 8 is definitely possible. It is grade 8 or just above it. There are several preludes that are more difficult than no. 8 (no. 5, no.12, no.18, no.19). It is far esaier to play than it looks on the page (or sounds).

No. 16 and no. 24 are another matter altogether, These are very advanced preludes that scare even top pianists.

Best of luck!
Benhard.

[comme_le_vent]

No. 16 and no. 24 are another matter altogether, These are very advanced preludes that scare even top pianists.

ummm can you explain why??  

[comme_le_vent]

why do they scare pros?
they dont seem very hard to me

[Gambit]

why do they scare pros?
they dont seem very hard to me

Well, post your recordings and we will see

[bernhard]

ummm can you explain why??  

No 16:

I agree.

You look at the score, and it looks a bit like a Czerny exercise. You sight read through the first few bars, and it definitely feels manageable (even with all those flats). Surely it may need a bit of practice, but why should such an innocent looking piece scare the pros?

Ok, here are a few reasons:

1.      Try bars 18 –25. The only way to do these at speed is to be in a state of controlled panic.

2.      The rhythm is terribly hard to control: The RH is running like crazy stressing every main beat. Now look at the LH. Do you see the rest on every second and fourth beat? That is calculated to create the characteristic demonic quality of the rhythm, and yet it is these very same rests that make the rhythm very difficult to control.

3.      Now look again at bars 18-25 where the left hand goes in octaves making the whole thing even more impossible.

4.      Try the last five bars (beginning on bar 42). That sequence on both hands with wide leaping intervals has drawn many a grown-up to cry like a baby out of sheer frustration.

Give it a try (at the proper tempo).

No. 24:

Again, a cursory look at the score may lure one into a sense of unjustified confidence.

1.      Consider the LH. It must pound away relentless from f, to ff, to fff without mercy (there is a p on bar 46, but does not last for long). And look at  the wide skips. This is not only demanding technically, but physically exhausting. How long can you keep this going, without cramping and collapsing well before the end?

2.      Now have a look at the RH runs. You need total finger co-ordination, and superb technique to negotiate the awkward positions.

3.      Then of course the whole thing goes octaves (bar 50) and then thirds (bars 55 – 56) on the RH.

4.      And by the time you are falling apart (bar 57 onwards) you have the climax of the piece, where you have to maintain and increase the emotional power all the way up to the last three Ds. Someone called them “thudding blocks of granite”.

Interestingly enough, if you play it too fast it is not at all effective. My favourite recording of it is Jorge Bolet’s (who plays it surprisingly slowly and yet extremely effectively).

Go ahead, give it a go!

Good luck, (you will need it )
Bernhard

[nad]

Any tips for a practise approach on no 16?
Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.