Ridiculously Virtuoso Piano Works

[pjme]

OK- I do see what your point is, ofcourse.  Hyper-virtuosity can be ....mesmerizing. But when does it become "ridiculous"?

Belgian pianist Jan Michielsen played Synaphai a couple of weeks ago ( with the Brussels PhO/Tabachnik).  To hear ( and see) it live is amazing - Jolivet's concerto has the same effect on me ( albeit in a more conventionally "barbaric/orgiastic", less sophisticated way).
P.

[greg]

"ridiculous"
Hyper-virtuosity
Synaphai

yes 

[Popov]

Synaphai has to be one of the most awesome works for piano and orchestra everrrrr[...]rrr. Xenakis FTW!

I'm not a big fan of virtuosistic romantic music though Alkan's is definitely enjoyable to play, but I'm fond of 20th century works that push you to your boundaries. I find them extremely fun to play even if you suck (that's me slaughtering The Shrovetide Fair :9)

[abidoful]

I guess the Boulez sonatas- especially the 2nd- are quite tricky----sometimes even ridiculous in their demands (though the player may not be so amused )

[Philoctetes]

I guess the Boulez sonatas- especially the 2nd- are quite tricky----sometimes even ridiculous in their demands (though the player may not be so amused )

If we want ridiculous demands, then I think Satie might take the cake there.

[Saul]

Only if you had them 50 fingers you can pull this off...

[some guy]

Yea  but sounds primative(sic), like all Xenakis.

Wait a tick. Berio's Rounds sounds primitive, like all Xenakis?

[abidoful]

Only if you had them 50 fingers you can pull this off...

Cute---I like those slurs at the end of it

[snyprrr]

I've been listening a lot to Xenakis's Mists (1980). It borders on ridiculous, but I'll agree that it's now well within the reach of the cream of the crop. Aki Takahashi, however, seems to have 10 times the ability of everyone else, and truly transforms these mere piano notes into true 'mists' and 'clouds'. It sounds more like a Xenakian living organism, than a human pianist playing notes. Perhaps many pieces can be made to sound ridiculous depending on who's playing?

[Cato]

The Busoni Piano Concerto - 75 minutes plus a men's chorus!   0:)

[Wanderer]

The Busoni Piano Concerto - 75 minutes plus a men's chorus!   0:)

And a truly wicked Tarantella scherzo. 

[cliftwood]

There's been a lot of virtuoso works mentioned, but I'd suggest that to play Beethoven's Hammerklavier sonata competently is a feat that only a superior pianist can accomplish.

In addition to its technical requirements, which are considerable, the demands to play this masterpiece musically , as Beethoven conceived it, is as tough to pull off as any of the exotic compositions mentioned.