[Ultra-Advanced] Even challenging for advanced players! A curated selection of highly difficult piano pieces
The piano is an instrument that allows a single performer to play an enormous number of notes while skillfully using delicate motor skills in the fingertips and arms, interpreting the composer’s intent along with the notated instructions, and expressing the pianist’s own sensibilities.
There are many pieces that call for beautiful, nuanced expression, as well as passionate works where the keys are struck almost like a percussion instrument.
This time, we’ve selected and will introduce pieces from among the vast piano repertoire that are said to be difficult even for advanced players and professionals.
We’ve picked everything from famous works generally regarded as challenging to lesser-known pieces that may not dazzle in performance but are extraordinarily difficult.
Be sure to check them out!
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[Ultra-Advanced] Even challenging for advanced players! A curated selection of highly difficult piano pieces (11–20)
8 Concert Etudes, Op. 40 No. 1: PreludeNikolay Kapustin
A masterpiece that pushes the fusion of jazz and classical music to the limit.
From an opening as dazzling as the Rio Carnival, the piano surges ahead with ferocious momentum.
Elegant classical technique and the vitality of jazz are beautifully balanced, offering a groundbreaking expressiveness that feels as if two musical worlds are unfolding simultaneously from a single piano.
Composed in 1984, it continues to challenge world-class pianists such as Marc-André Hamelin.
While it employs transcendental virtuosity, it never loses its musicality, making it highly recommended for ambitious performers seeking to explore the piano’s possibilities.
It’s also a must-hear for inquisitive listeners eager to pioneer new frontiers in classical and jazz.
Piano Concerto No. 2, First MovementSergei Rachmaninov
It’s the first movement of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.
2.
It was featured in the drama Nodame Cantabile, so many of you may be familiar with it.
It’s a piano concerto performed with orchestra rather than solo piano, and it features Rachmaninoff’s characteristically sweet melodies and beautiful lines.
The harmonic blend with the orchestra is superb, and the sense of “spinning” the sound is particularly captivating.
While the piano part is beautiful, it is, of course, highly challenging.
Many pianists who dream of performing with an orchestra take on this concerto, but beyond technical skill, it’s difficult without an invitation or direction from a conductor and orchestra—so it’s not just about playing; the musical environment also matters.
One of the joys of a concerto is the experience of playing with a conductor, but because you can’t rely solely on your own tempo, there’s also the challenge of coordinating with others.
Totentanz, S.555 R.240Saint-Saëns=Liszt
A work in which Franz Liszt arranged for solo piano a symphonic poem by the French composer Saint-Saëns.
The original depicts skeletons dancing a sinister waltz to the violin played by Death.
Arranged in 1876, the sounds that colored the otherworldly realm portrayed by the orchestra are faithfully reproduced in the piano version as well.
The rasping of bones, the clattering as skeletons bump their bones while they dance, the cock crowing to herald the dawn…
Why not imagine the story and take on the challenge of performing it with advanced technique?
Etude Op. 10 No. 4Frederic Chopin
Chopin’s demanding piece, Etude Op.
10 No.
4.
It requires a combination of techniques and presents difficulties throughout.
Among them, the most challenging spot is probably the right hand in measures 29–30.
You have to handle the fingering while keeping the wrist supple, but because it’s hard to connect legato, the performance tends to become stiff.
Even professionals often end up sounding rigid with this etude, so be sure to check it out.
Etude Op. 10 No. 12 “Revolutionary”Frederic Chopin
From its intense opening, the storm of sound that races forward in Étude Op.
10 No.
12, “Revolutionary,” is truly worthy of its title and stands as one of Frédéric Chopin’s signature masterpieces.
The slight-framed Chopin is said to have turned his small hands into an advantage, excelling at intricate, fast pieces.
Although the rapid passages from the very beginning can feel overwhelming, it’s astonishing that even some elementary school students take on the challenge and manage to play it.
It’s a famous piece, but its difficulty is high, so anyone who can play it is a very skilled pianist.
Be confident in yourself.
Fantasy in C major, Op. 15, D 760 “Wanderer Fantasy”Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert’s Fantasy in C major, Op.
15, D.
760, is an advanced piano work in four movements.
There’s even an anecdote that Schubert himself couldn’t play it well and said, “Let the devil play a piece like this.” The left-hand arpeggios in the fourth movement, in particular, are a torment for performers.
But beyond virtuosity, the piece demands profound musicality.
Seamlessly blending Schubert’s passion and craft, it’s perfect for anyone who wants to experience the essence of piano performance.
There is also an arrangement by Franz Liszt, so comparing versions is highly recommended.
[Ultra-Advanced] Even challenging for advanced players! A curated selection of highly difficult piano pieces (21–30)
3rd movement from PetrushkaIgor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky, the great Russian composer who left numerous masterpieces characterized by primitivism, neoclassicism, and serialism.
Petrushka: Three Movements is one of Stravinsky’s representative works for piano.
It is said to have been composed at the request of the great pianist Arthur Rubinstein, who asked for “the most difficult piece ever,” and it demands highly advanced technique.
In every respect—finger agility, stamina, keyboard leaps, and expression—it can be considered a challenging work.