[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 (21–30)
Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30Sergei Rachmaninov
Composed by Rachmaninoff in 1909, the Piano Concerto No.
3 is renowned for the extreme technical difficulty and musical demands it places on the performer.
Its duration is about 40 minutes.
Although it is a concerto, the piano plays almost continuously, and the sheer number of notes requires considerable stamina.
Yet it is not merely difficult; it is also a celebrated masterpiece, among the most popular of all piano concertos.
In the first movement’s cadenza, there are two versions; while they do not differ in difficulty, the so‑called “big cadenza” strikes me as the most grand and passionate among cadenzas found in concertos.
Comparing the different cadenzas chosen by performers may be one of this work’s great pleasures.
The first movement develops a single theme in various forms; the second moves from a poignant introduction toward increasing brightness; and the third brims with lively, folk-like Russian character.
In each, one can sense Rachmaninoff’s characteristic beauty, sonorous weight, and monumental architecture—a true masterpiece.
Etude ‘Railway’ Op.27bCharles Valentin Alkan
Charles-Valentin Alkan, one of the leading composers of French Romanticism.
His Étude “Le Chemin de fer” (The Iron Road) Op.
27b is considered one of his most difficult works.
The key feature of this piece is, above all, its dramatic shifts in tempo.
Right from the opening, rapid passages evoking a steam locomotive burst in.
Written largely in sixteenth notes, it keeps the right hand relentlessly busy and demands exceptional finger speed.
It’s a straightforwardly high-difficulty piece, so if you’re confident in your fingerwork, be sure to check it out.
Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 “Appassionata”Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Sonata No.
23 in F minor, “Appassionata,” Third Movement.
This intense, endlessly passionate piece is a work by Germany’s musical titan, Ludwig van Beethoven.
It’s a piece in which you can almost hear Beethoven’s suffering and sorrow as he lost his hearing.
True to its title, “Appassionata,” it captivates with a fervent, magnificent melody.
While it is highly difficult to play, it’s a piece I strongly encourage advanced players to take on.
As you reach an advanced level, you may find you can breeze through many scores, but when it comes to piano sonatas and concerto-level works, the difficulty spikes so dramatically that even professional pianists may not be able to master them despite daily practice.
At this level, even among pianists, simply being able to play it is considered remarkable.
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.
Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka, Op. 214Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II’s 1858 masterpiece, Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka, Op.
214.
It’s characterized by a light, spirited style and is often used at elementary school sports days in Japan.
While it’s not a piece that showcases a wide array of complex techniques, the speed of its passages is unquestionably at an advanced level.
Though it’s a relatively minor work, it has strong performance impact, so I believe it’s perfectly suitable as a piece for recitals or competitions.
Be sure to check it out.
60 Grand Etudes No. 24 “Bravura (Heroically)”Jean-Amédée Méreaux
This work pursues the pinnacle of dazzling, powerful piano performance.
It is a piece from the album “60 Grand Studies,” renowned as a large-scale composition that demands heroic playing.
Published in 1855, the piece unfolds at an Allegro maestoso tempo and requires advanced technique from the performer, including passages where both hands cross simultaneously, rapid scales, and wide leaps.
It was adopted as teaching material at the Paris Conservatory, and its artistic value was highly praised by the music critic Antoine Marmontel, who stated that it holds importance on par with Clementi’s “Gradus ad Parnassum.” Highly recommended for pianists with strong technical skills or those seeking a new challenge in piano performance.
60 Etudes, No. 60: Allegro assaiJean-Amédée Méreaux
One of the emblematic musical works of 19th-century France is the final piece of the album “60 Great Etudes.” Highlights of this piece include the rapid-fire octave repetitions in the left hand and the dizzying moments created by hand crossings.
It exploits the full range of the keyboard, truly the pinnacle of virtuosity.
Premiered in 1855, the work is also known for astonishing the pianists of its time.
Marked by a brisk tempo and powerful rhythms, it has a percussive impact, as if one were playing a set of drums.
Its dazzling passages offer ample opportunities for virtuoso pianists to showcase their skills, captivating audiences throughout.
Highly recommended for pianists with advanced technique and for classical music enthusiasts seeking a challenging etude.
Study No. 7 for Player PianoConlon Nancarrow
This Etude No.
7 for Player Piano is a work composed by Conlon Nancarrow, a contemporary music composer from Mexico.
It’s extremely obscure, so many of you may be hearing it for the first time.
Initially, performances were limited to a rapid-fire delivery that gradually increased in speed, but over time it was arranged into even more difficult renditions.
The most challenging aspect of this piece is undoubtedly its rhythm.
The rhythmic subdivisions are so intricate that it is said to be impossible for a human to perform—hence the use of a player piano.
Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev, a composer who epitomizes the 20th century in Russia.
He was a composer with a gift for creating everything from unconventional, boundary-pushing works to classical, formally traditional pieces, and he also boasted exceptional skill at the piano.
Among his works, one piece renowned for its overwhelming difficulty is the Piano Concerto No.
2 in G minor.
It demands extraordinarily ferocious leaps and immense stamina, and it’s said that even professional pianists cannot play it with ease without a significant amount of practice.
Eight Concert Etudes, Op. 40 No. 8: FinaleNikolay Kapustin
A masterful piano piece that brilliantly fuses classical music and jazz, composed in 1984.
Its up-tempo character, woven from swing rhythms and classical structures, demands overwhelming technical prowess.
Explosive presto passages are layered with intricately crafted jazz harmonies in an exquisite balance.
With a kaleidoscope of colors, meticulous expressiveness, and fingertip control so precise it scarcely seems the work of a single performer, this piece poses a challenge that can make even virtuoso pianists gasp.
It is a work that distills Nikolai Kapustin’s musicality to the fullest—truly the pinnacle of piano literature.
Highly recommended for advanced piano enthusiasts and musicians who value traditional forms while seeking innovative expression.