Every Major Composer's Hardest Piece for Piano

you know it's a difficult piece when the sheet music starts to look like a submarine diagram

Well, then. This is a lovely one to sit down at 1 AM and soak in.

Satie’s is too funny. The mental image of someone going “oh, well this isn’t too bad” and looking at the directions is so amusing

beeyooteefool, love it also comment links (with difficulty!): 0:00 Couperin: Le Tic Toc Choc (6++) 0:30 Rameau: Suite in D (6++) 1:29 Handel: Keyboard Suite in Em (6+) 2:09 Bach: Goldberg Variations (8+) 3:03 Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata K.120 (6++) 3:39 CPE Bach: Keyboard Concerto H.427 (6++) 4:02 Haydn: Keyboard Sonata Hob XVI:52 (6++) 4:39 Clementi: Keyboard Sonata Op.26 No.2 (7+) 5:05 Mozart: Piano Concerto No.15, K.450 (7+) 5:39 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.29, Op.106 (8++) 6:12 Hummel: Piano Concerto No.2 (7++) 6:57 Schubert: Wanderer Fantasy, Op.15 (7+) 7:36 von Weber: Konzertstück, Op.79 (7++) 8:12 Glinka: Divertimento brillante on "La Sonnambula" (7) 8:41 Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No.2 (7+) 9:23 Chopin: Piano Sonata No.3 (8) 10:03 Schumann: Toccata (8+) 10:50 Wagner: Piano Sonata in A, WWV 26 (7) 11:18 Liszt: Beethoven Symphony No.9 Transcription (9) 12:28 Alkan: Concerto for Solo Piano (9) 13:22 Franck: Symphonic Variations (7+) 13:52 Smetana: By the Seashore (7) 14:23 Bruckner: Sonata in Gm (5++) 14:45 Brahms: Paganini Variations (8++) 15:21 Saint-Saëns: 6 Études, Op.52 (8+) 15:57 Balakirev: Islamey (8+) 16:47 Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (7++) 17:24 Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.2 (8) 17:58 Dvořák: Piano Concerto (8) 18:46 Massenet: Piano Concerto (7++) 19:48 Grieg: Ballade (7+) 20:15 Rimsky-Korsakov: Piano Concerto (7+) 21:16 Fauré: Ballade (7++) 21:53 Janáček: On an Overgrown Path (7+) 22:27 Elgar: Concert Allegro (7+) 23:05 Chaminade: Piano Sonata (7+) 23:36 Albéniz: Iberia (9) 24:28 Delius: Piano Concerto (8) 25:22 Debussy: Etudes (8++) 26:03 R. Strauss: Burleske (8) 26:37 Nielsen: Chaconne (7+) 27:05 Sibelius: Piano Sonata (7+) 27:36 Glazunov: Piano Concerto No.2 (7++) 28:22 Busoni: Piano Concerto (9) 29:30 Satie: Vexations (3-9) 30:21 Granados: Goyescas (8++) 31:09 Beach: Piano Concerto (8) 31:38 Joplin: The Cascades (6) 32:21 Leopold Godowsky: Passacaglia (8+) 33:02 Scriabin: Piano Sonata No.8 (8++) 33:34 Vaughan-Williams: Piano Concerto (8) 34:19 Reger: Bach Variations (8++) 35:09 Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No.3 (8++) 36:27 Schoenberg: Piano Concerto (9) 36:51 Holst: 2 Pieces for Piano (6) 37:15 Ives: Piano Sonata No.2 (9) 37:59 Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit (8++) 38:42 de Falla: Fantasia Bética (7++) 39:12 Medtner: Sonata Op.25 No.2 (8++) 39:43 Bartók: Piano Concerto No.2 (9) 40:41 Stravinsky: 3 Movements from Petrushka (8++) 41:15 Szymanowski: Piano Sonata No.3 (9) 41:59 Villa-Lobos: Rudepoêma (8++) 42:38 Berg: Piano Sonata (7+) 43:08 Price: Piano Sonata (7+) 43:48 Martinů: Piano Concerto No.3 (8) 44:23 Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No.2 (8++) 45:23 Still: Kaintuck' (7+) 45:57 Hindemith: Ludus Tonalis (8+) 46:17 Korngold: Piano Sonata No.3 (8) 46:43 Gershwin: Piano Concerto in F (7+) 47:43 Poulenc: Piano Concerto (7) 48:17 Copland: Piano Sonata (8) 48:39 Khatchaturian: Piano Concerto (8) 49:03 Kabalevsky: Piano Concerto No.2 (8+) 49:38 Shostakovich: Piano Sonata No.1 (8++) 50:07 Rózsa: Piano Concerto (8) 50:35 Carter: Night Fantasies (9) 50:59 Messiaen: Vingt Regards (9+) 51:36 Barber: Piano Concerto (8++) 52:21 Hermann: Concerto Macabre (7+) 53:02 Cage: Etudes Australes (9++) 53:26 Lutoslawski: Piano Concerto (9) 54:23 Britten: Piano Concerto (8) 55:07 Dutilleux: Piano Sonata (8+) 55:43 Ginastera: Piano Concerto No.1 (9) 56:21 Ustvolskaya: Piano Sonata No.6 (??? -- personal opinion 7-8+ range) 56:50 Xenakis: Synaphaï (10) 57:17 Ligeti: Etudes (9++) 57:51 Boulez: Piano Sonata No.2 (9+) 58:14 Berio: Piano Sonata (9) 58:40 Feldman: Triadic Memories (7+) 59:16 Stockhausen: Klavierstück X (10) 59:45 Rautavaara: Piano Concerto No.1 (8++) 1:00:38 Penderecki: Piano Concerto (8+) 1:01:26 Crumb: Makrokosmos (9+) 1:02:05 Takemitsu: riverrun (7++) 1:02:49 Gubaidulina: Piano Sonata (8) 1:03:21 Williams: Scherzo for Piano and Orchestra (8+) 1:04:08 Schnittke: Concerto for Piano and Strings (8+) 1:04:39 Birtwistle: Harrison's Clocks (9+) 1:04:59 Pärt: Lamentate (7+) 1:05:33 Reich: Piano Phase (9++) 1:06:04 Glass: Tirol Concerto (6+) 1:06:40 Kapustin: Piano Concerto No.6 (8+) 1:07:40 Corigliano: Piano Concerto (9) 1:08:23 Rzewski: The People United will Never be Defeated (9) 1:08:54 Finnissy: English Country Tunes (10) 1:09:09 Adams: Century Rolls (7++) 1:09:52 Hisaishi: Fantasia for Nausicaä (5) 1:10:53 Chen: Er Huang (8) 1:11:53 Yoshimatsu: Piano Concerto (7+) 1:12:29 Vine: Piano Concerto No.1 (8+) 1:13:11 Tan: Eight Memories in Watercolor (6+) 1:14:10 Chin: Piano Concerto (9+) 1:14:42 Adès: Traced Overhead (8+) btw, how is this scored in terms of difficulty? just wondering :3

Lovely video! I’d like to mention that maestro Maurizio Pollini, who’s featured in this and other videos of yours, has passed away today. May he find peace.

What a great way to introduce new people to many composers that aren’t talked about enough

I was wondering why Satie’s piece was ranked higher in difficulty than most other composers. Then I read the instructions 💀

Need a list of every composer's easiest piece. That's something I might be able to tackle.

when i heard the schumann toccata i was like oh these octaves are nice whos the performer and then i realize its caleb hu lol

Sokolov's clarity is absolutely astounding. Especially in Rameau - unsurpassable...

This proves that there is nothing wrong with being virtuousic, pretty much every composer wrote virtuosic stuff at some point, it definitely serves a purpose

that transition from Elliott Carter to Messaien 50:55 tho... So clean😂

For anyone wondering about Sorabji: Symphony no. 0 is considered to be his most difficult work (by scholars and editors). It couldn't have been included in the video as it hasn't been performed

Ligeti out here with absolutely zero regard for pianist’s sanity writing those etudes 😂💀

I hope this video gets a lot of views, you put a LOT of work into it and it shows.

Surely your next video will be you playing every single one of these pieces from memory all in one take

I clicked on this without realising the length thinking it was going to be a joke video where they started the piece simply and then just made it impossible after 24 bars or something lol. Very nice compilation.

Amazing job done! Thank you for this compilation!

That Scarlatti sonata is no joke. It is a NIGHTMARE to keep in tempo.

Great list and selections!