We love the classics because they’re timeless.
Summer is a great time for fun and relaxation. Why not revisit the classics?
Maybe it’s time that I picked up Hanon again!
And redo my nails. If you’ve ever tried to play Liszt with long nails, it’s like you’ve got rulers taped to the ends of your fingers.
In Malaysia, Em and I got our nails done at a nice spa. I didn’t particularly know what to expect.
The lady starts cutting the skin around my nails with these tiny, surgical-like scissors. I thought, “Okay. It will make my nails look cleaner.”
Then my nails start bleeding and it hurts, so I ask her to stop.
“Are you scared?” she says.
I think about it. “Yes,” I say. If you’re drawing blood, you are venturing into surgery territory, and I’m pretty sure you don’t have an MD—I spent too many hours training my fingers to let you play Operation on them.
Anyways, I inspect my nails when she’s done and she didn’t paint the sides of my nails. I ask why, and she says it looks nicer if you have small nails. Why did you cut the sides of my finger then (which made the nail wider)? I make her paint the sides.
Now my cuticles are uneven, but no one is touching them anymore. Some of the skin is still ripped.
Have you ever gotten your nails done?
Nonetheless, we love fast, impressive pieces, and these favour short nails.
My friend Matthew and I put together 8 fast, impressive classical piano pieces.
These are great for performances or advanced/long-term projects!
Etude in F Major, Op. 72, No. 6 – Moritz Moszkowski
Flight of the Bumblebee – Nikilai Rimsky-Korsakov
I haven’t played this one but your technique would have to be en pointe. It puts me on edge because it actually sounds like buzzing bees.
Sheet Music
Rhapsody in C Major, Op. 11, No. 3 – Ernö Dohnányi
If I were to point out a Hungarian piece characteristic of the era, it might be this one. It’s loud, fast, and keeps going forever.
Toccata in E-flat minor – Aram Khachaturian
La Campanella – Franz Liszt
This piece was based on a theme by Paganini on the violin and it’s absolutely enchanting. I started this a few years ago and it has always been on the backburner—you really have to sit down and work on those intricate patterns; I can reach a bit more than an octave and I still wish I had bigger hands.
Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat Minor, Op. 31 – Federic Chopin
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 – Franz Liszt
Fantaisie Impromptu – Federic Chopin
Did you know that Chopin never published this piece? He instructed that his unpublished pieces should never see the light of day but someone lifted the veil anyways. This does sound a lot like Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.
Here are the community’s favourite advanced pieces of all time.
Leave a comment belowWant more of this?
Get exclusive music tips and fresh stories in your email inbox by signing up below. It's Free!