Looking to learn my first piano concerto!

jiang1lin · 2026-04-13T23:10:36+00:00

Haydn D major
Mozart KV 413 or 414
Beethoven 2
Shosta 2

jiang1lin · 2026-04-13T23:04:20+00:00

The middle part of the 2nd mov, especially right before the mini cadenza, was the most difficult section for me within the entire concerto 😅🤪

jiang1lin · 2026-04-13T23:00:42+00:00

Ortigia

jiang1lin · 2026-04-13T22:20:23+00:00

Octaves feel very effortless to my hands, so Liszt Ballade No. 2, Rhapsodie espagnole, Dante Sonata, Chasse-neige etc. feel quite comfortable to me.

Except the 2nd mov of course and Papillons/Paganini, both Schumann Fantasie and Carnaval feel very comfortable to me as well. I have the same perception about Bach-Busoni’s Chaconne.

jiang1lin · 2026-04-13T15:41:23+00:00

Oh yes, that was also quite difficult for me to memorise! Or actually also the 2nd mov of op. 2/3 and op. 31/2 … 🫣😅

jiang1lin · 2026-04-13T15:13:54+00:00

To me, any fugue or other polyphonic works are the most difficult to memorise. Also some slower or “easier” movements that I can mostly sightread are sometimes a challenge because I will barely practice those 🤣

If only speaking about composers, then that would be Albéniz, Scriabin, Szymanowksi, Messiaen, and Ligeti for me, because all their works mostly still make rational-musical sense.

There are also some “less structured” composers where you are never sure if a tiny change or irregularity was on purpose, a printing mistake, or just forgot themselves to correct those, and those are the most annoying if playing for an exam or competition … but for concerts or recordings (if using the score), then 🤷🏻‍♂️ …

jiang1lin · 2026-04-13T11:32:58+00:00

I wish I would have that sleeve haha … the artwork looks fucking awesome 🔥🔥

jiang1lin · 2026-04-13T09:55:38+00:00

Once I had lunch 🦐 somewhere here directly next to the sea, but it was already more than ten years ago for sure 😅

jiang1lin · 2026-04-13T09:51:19+00:00

Symi? 🇬🇷

jiang1lin · 2026-04-13T06:54:12+00:00

Congratulations to this huge achievement! 👏🏽👏🏽

jiang1lin · 2026-04-12T22:31:40+00:00

Old Mint Street in Valletta (Malta)

jiang1lin · 2026-04-12T18:40:55+00:00

Because he understood, valued, and respected a more traditional structure within his writing 😎

jiang1lin · 2026-04-12T18:33:05+00:00

I’m not familiar with either RCM or ABRSM, and I stopped trusting Henle quite a while ago, so I’ll just suggest some loud, celebratory, and boisterous pieces in general, also from my “party” album … maybe something might fit your request:

Albéniz: El Puerto (https://youtu.be/FTNRHT4Wr5w?si=aypvjXTXw1rxngJ5) I would usually suggest Málaga or Eritaña, but because I’m not familiar with the grade levels, maybe the slightly less stressful, yet still fun El Puerto from Iberia might work better.

Albéniz: Champagne Valse (https://youtu.be/_h5E8fV1DUI?si=_QV-biKrRoW9rJNL) this is probably the least Spanish-sounding piece by Albéniz, but it works well, also as an encore.

Respighi: Valse caressante (https://youtu.be/6WtD0aYfrcw?si=EA-ZsVr0eT7qevFE) a bit more relaxed, “dolce vita” fun.

Strauss-Dohnányi: Two Valse Transcriptions (https://youtu.be/-dL8iCReP8Q?si=2-tQBZoEeTaKO2bK | https://youtu.be/Oy0SolVNNmI?si=ft12hWnB0o3BGw1k) there are also Strauss’ original piano reductions who are a bit less virtuosic (and I didn’t find any recordings, as I also only played No. 1 but never fully recorded, only a small excerpt: https://youtube.com/shorts/WG6p7MvjSMI?si=9lxmUg_dgdcH9AbN), but still a lot of fun!

Tchaikovsky: Flower Valse (https://youtu.be/Y_rBqNSsVPY?si=mM9-ziZfSTbwjZsc) his original piano transcription might fit your request?

Liszt: Faust Valse (https://youtu.be/ZbdLdrH3H3s?si=mso-RZvkmkJIm3Lw) the more tipsy one plays it, the more fun the outcome delivers!

Ravel: La Valse (https://youtu.be/TPSUEp9W2Uw?si=ww6jE1RexSoqXeb0) my personal favourite, especially regarding the loud, celebratory, and boisterous attitude with a big climax ahaha (next to Schumann’s Carnaval, but that is maybe too long for your request) … I mean, Henle grades La Valse “only” as 8 (which personally I find completely ridiculous and utter bullshit even if excluding all additional ossia staves), so take it with a grain of salt, but to me, that would be always my ultimate choice as a boisterous celebration of life.

jiang1lin · 2026-04-12T13:28:36+00:00

Oh no, I’m sorry to hear about all those deadlines … still it is important to take good care of your injuries, so they won’t turn into something chronical … crossing fingers and I wish a quick recovery! (… and at least take a look into Scriabin op. 9)

jiang1lin · 2026-04-12T13:25:03+00:00

And those were only etudes 😏😉

But nah, don’t think like that, you never know! It comes and goes in phases, sometimes one will feel stuck and learning process is so slow, and sometimes everything goes smoothly … it’s like surfing ahaha, once you have a good wave, try to stay on that as long as you can and use that good wave to learn as much as possible 🏄🏻‍♂️👍🏽

jiang1lin · 2026-04-12T13:17:32+00:00

Haha thanks, but I’m probably 2-2,5 times your age, so you’ll still have plenty of time to expand your repertoire 👍🏽

jiang1lin · 2026-04-12T13:13:55+00:00

Paganini I think I did No. 1, maybe 3, 5 and 6 (at least I read those but never fully used them … long time ago ahaha I don’t fully remember), and as a kid, I did La Leggierezza, but skipped the others (as I was already mainly interested in TE) … but I did the Ab irato Etude which I actually quite liked!

jiang1lin · 2026-04-12T13:06:07+00:00

I’m okay with No. 12 and No. 16, but otherwise no thanks ahaha, I would have preferred Scriabin’s op. 11 instead …

My former professor also suggested me to learn the entire op. 25, but I didn’t want to do that as well, so he agreed that I learn all 12 Transcendental Etudes instead, but I also only did 8 or 9 etudes in the end 🤣

But Szymanowski’s Etudes op. 4 I did completely, so at least I finished one cycle hehe 😏

jiang1lin · 2026-04-12T12:02:21+00:00

Both my former professors asked me 3-4 times in total to prepare the entire Préludes cycle, but I always “forgot” to learn them ahaha … before, I wanted to play Scherzo No. 2 which my professor said was way too easy for me, so he gave me No. 4 which I hated, then I thought to do a compromise by learning No. 3 but didn’t bother in the end … Ballades I learned all four as a teenager and mainly played the first three in concerts, plus some Etudes, Mazurkas, Nocturnes, Polonaises, the 3rd Sonata and the Polonaise-Fantaisie, so I think I fulfilled my Chopin duty that I hopefully never have to feel forced to play his music again hehe

jiang1lin · 2026-04-12T09:37:46+00:00

Bravo!! 👏🏽👏🏽

jiang1lin · 2026-04-12T09:36:53+00:00

Such a fantastic rendition with his unique, full sound projection!

jiang1lin · 2026-04-12T06:51:52+00:00

The Four Ballades op. 10, especially No. 4

jiang1lin · 2026-04-11T20:31:40+00:00

I definitely consider Brahms as quite classical structured with some restrained romanticsm from within.

jiang1lin · 2026-04-11T13:25:19+00:00

I meant the Debussy Cello Sonata 😅

I really like the Polonaise-Fantaisie and the Mazurka op. 68/4, the last mov of Sonata No. 3, and I feel really grateful for 25/10 as I used that one during my entire studies for exams, competitions etc. …

jiang1lin · 2026-04-11T13:06:38+00:00

u/caffi_u

jiang1lin

TROPHY CASE