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One of my musical bucket-list items is to learn and perform these pieces with orchestra!
Brahms: Piano Concerto no.2 and Rachmaninoff Concerto no.4
I have played all of Rachmaninoff's other concerti with orchestra and Brahms 1 so I want to complete the sets!
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Dominic Cheli Brahms #2 is definitely one of my absolute favorite piano concerti if I had to narrow it down to three or so. In this lifetime, I won't ever be good enough to even put in on my bucket list, but maybe I'll get the chance in a future incarnation.
Looking forward to hearing you play it one day! -
Dominic Cheli
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Hi Dominic, I have been struggling with Schubert impromptu op 142 D935 #3 Bb major.
I love this piece and would like to play it decently one day. It gets progressively more difficult with each variation, I started having trouble with Var. 3 and 4 , V5 has a lot of runs with mixed scales. I wish you could give us a tutorial/lessons on this. It is such elegant music. I still do not have a quiet left hand on Variation 3, too turbulent , the left hand is hard to stay quiet when you have a small span. Right now, I am too embarrassed to go for my piano lesson on this. I would also like to master the big Mozart Fantasy K475 in c minor too. Perhaps others are interested in these well-known works too. Thank you for considering. Priscilla
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Longtime bucket-list item: I am working toward a goal of having 1 hour of memorized formal European art music to perform for friends/fans on or soon after my 60th birthday in December 2025.
I have played and studied classical piano on and off from age 11 until now--always with private teachers except for one 3-semester stint as a late-blooming university music student--but have never really advanced beyond "high intermediate" material. Technical ability comes much harder for me than musical understanding/interpretation. Meanwhile, my professional performance, composition, and producing experience has been entirely in other repertoires/genres: straight-ahead jazz, prog rock, art rock, free collective improvisation, etc.
Also, as a pro, I'm primarily a self-accompanying singer-songwriter-bandleader. Every once in a while I'll sneak a brief excerpt of a formal piece into a concert of original music & rock covers, often as a kind of aural "palate" cleanser. (I've sometimes done cheeky things like played a piano/voice version of a Nine Inch Nails song followed up by the A section of Schubert impromptu in G-flat major. My audience is small but loyal and will basically follow me anywhere I go.)
But the challenge of presenting an entire hour of "classical" selections (high classical, romantic, impressionist, and mid-20th century) appeals to me as a stretch goal. I'm working with a private teacher again now to fill up my "set list" with older and newer pieces.... We'll see.... Over a lifetime I have managed to do most of the things I set out to do, but usually well past my intended deadline, lol. So maybe this is more of a 65th birthday goal.-
Sandhya (Sandy) Asirvatham Hi, I hope you achieved your goal very soon. My dream is to presentend a full program of one hour and half of solo piano, chamber music and three piano concertos of bach. Like the great pianists of 20 century do. Don't know if this is gonna happen, but that's my dream.
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Attend the Montreux Jazz Festival. I guess the reasons are obvious. Some of the greatest live music anywhere and some of the greatest scenery anywhere. Never been to Switzerland but it’s been a long time dream.
Performance-wise, I’d love to play Rhapsody in Blue with orchestra. While I spend much more time on classical repertoire than jazz, I think jazz would be my go to if I had more natural talent in that genre.
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Chopin Ballade #4 in F minor. I spent the summer of last year studying it and preparing it for my piano lessons in the Fall. And while I was able to play it, I haven’t revived my technical prowess enough to give this amazing composition what it deserves. But I will some day!
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Tanya
Hi. I have been working on the Ballade #4 for months now! I can also play but when I record it I have all sort of issues myself. Every time I go to my lessons, my teacher raises different points! But it is such a beautiful piece. Hopefully I can play and feel reasonably satisfied one day…
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Keiko Honjo
I totally agree that it is a beautiful piece and my Chopin’s favorite. My teacher’s feedback was kind and honest. She said that pianists who master this complex composition generally practice/play 4-5 hours daily. It was a kind way of telling me that I’m not at the right level of virtuosity for truly mastering this piece at this time. I appreciated the feedback, because I’d rather play simpler compositions well than complex and difficult ones badly. The funny thing is that when I heard Maurizio Pollini play it, except for the coda, it didn’t sound that difficult.
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Tanya
My teacher has been kind and encouraging. At first he asked me why #4 and not #1, but he was patient enough to go over passage by passage. As a result I am practicing on average 3 hours a day and feeling much more comfortable with it. It does make a huge difference to have a teacher who can give pointers and motivations.
You should go back and practice this. In the end if you really love this, why not!! -
Keiko Honjo
Thanks. Good to hear. Perhaps, I should.
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Tanya This is mine too! I found it last year, but just recently started truly “practicing”. It’s most definitely beyond me right now but this is the kind of piece you come back to over and over. In the past I had studied 1st and 3rd ballades, and I want to complete all the ballades at some point. The 4th is my absolute favorite!
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Tanya This is my dream piece. I refuse to look at the music myself until I feel more ready to tackle it but I admire anyone who can play it or who feels ready to start. Brava!
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Alice Lin the four ballades is my (secret) dream too. After that accomlishment one should be able rest in peace.
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I adore Bach, and one of my favourite concerts I've ever seen was of Sergei Babayan performing the entire Book 1 of Preludes and Fugues for the Montreal Bach Festival, so one day I'd also like to give my own concerts of Book 1, memorized. I've studied around one third of them so far.
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Emma Wallace check out Irwin shung on YouTube playing all from memory
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Emma Wallace A few of us Tonebase friends on the East Coast are going to hear Chris O'Riley play Book 1 at the Kennedy Center in November. If you are in the area, we'd love for you to join us.
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My bucket list would be to perform a concert @Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego. It can all be done....just needs a ton of money. Maybe a philanthropist in San Diego would like to host the event:)
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Approaching the end of the second year of my piano journey, I’ll say Rach 2 concerto and Chopin ballade no. 1 & 3 are three of the final destination pieces. I used to listen to rach 2 and Chopin ballade no. 1 on loop before I started learning to play piano. I can never get sick of them. I was introduced to Chopin ballade no.3 by my teacher and I was hooked. Something magical about it that no other piece has.
I’m excited to discover more new pieces along the way and it’s been a fun ride. Currently I’m working on my first Chopin etude op. 25 no. 2 and I can’t wait to play more.
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25 years ago I completed and passed all of the requirements for Performing and Teaching ARCT Diplomas from the Royal Conservatory of Toronto. I originally intended to continue with music, but almost immediately, things changed, and I found myself at graduate school (alas not in music!), moving to the US and undertaking almost two decades of work in a completely different field. Once I had retired and returned to Canada, I decided to resume piano study and prepare the 60 min.+ recital required for a Licentiate Diploma in piano. Almost immediately, however, I injured my right forearm, and am now dealing with intermittent tendonitis. Nonetheless, that diploma still beckons, so my latest plan is to continue work on well chosen Licentiate level repertoire, even if I'm never able to schedule that bucket list exam!
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cdales What a worthy goal! I did the Performer's ARCT more than 30 yrs ago (I only did the math just now... wow that was a long time ago) but was heading into a non-musical field and I knew I would never be a professional musician. Now trying to regain my skills. I only learned of the Licentiate Diploma by accident while I was trying to match my current pieces to the grading system of the RCT. It's inspiring to hear that one can come back to such a goal after a "hiatus". I hope your injuries heal and you nail that exam!
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1Ken Locke You may already discovered that your brain works differently now. I am trying to re-learn a gorgeous short List E piece that was part of my original ARCT program, Samuel Barber's Nocturne, Op. 33. Obviously, I had it memorized then and must have performed it reasonably well - I passed the Performance exam. However, relearning it these days has become an exercise in abject humility. I keep expecting to "settle" back into it, and that's just not happening.
I am using my original score, but finding that the "slipperiness" of the tone rows and intervals is making it take forever! I haven't had this difficulty with Baroque, Classical and Romantic pieces I "used to play", and can only conclude that I never really understood the wherefores and whys of the Barber as I now do. It will eventually sound better than it did originally, but the process is so painful!
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My ultimate item in the bucket list is the Bach-Busoni Chaconne ... though it may never ever leave my bucket
... Recently someone mentioned the Siloti transcription in one of the livestreams and it sounds more manageable for small hands so I hope to give it a try one day.-
Priya Viseskul - Yes Priya! It is on my bucket list too...
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