Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Impressive but not difficult piano pieces?

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My mental picture of a troll in PW is ....

When the really really musically uneducated ask me to play, I sometimes do play the fur elise if I'm in no mood to play anything else and they are almost always highly impressed.

I'm not saying "Elise" isn't a wonderful piece...it is. I'm also not saying that only one who is musically uneducated can appreciate it, but it's soooo played by soooo many I have a hard time believing many would find playing it an impressive feat.

I think you have the tendency of giving the musically uneducated too much credit.

My experience of the 'musically uneducated' is that if you play something that involves changing hand positions rapidly and a bit of finger dexterity, they'll be impressed. And that includes Fur Elise and (even more so, because of the octaves) Rondo alla turca. But not something like a straightforward Chopin Nocturne or one of his slow waltzes, no matter how expressive it sounds: they don't appreciate tonal or phrasing niceties.

Better to give them K545 instead, if all else fails .

I normally play only for my own satisfaction and alone, but if I have an audience (usually when I'm on holiday, and playing on a strange piano), I know exactly how to impress them....

Chopin's Cmi Prelude is big, short, and not hard to play or memorize.

Also Wm Gillock's book of preludes are all early to mid intermediate, and sound much harder than they are.

Aaron -

Everyone here is going to have their own idea of what is "easy" and "impressive."

When you are asked to perform for family and friends, simply play whatever you know or are working on at the time. The "Scarf Dance," for example, is an upbeat, appealing piece that people enjoy hearing. The "Gymnopedie" and "Gnossienne" are also very accessible. Most folks aren't too picky. They simply want to hear you play something - anything - for a couple of minutes. Play whatever you can perform well. Believe me - they'll be impressed !!

Excellent replies by all. The only thing I might add is, if you are looking for more contemporary piece, Bela Bartok's Mikrokosmos. It has 6 different books containing increasingly difficult pieces. Also, Debussy's Claire du Lune or some of Prokofiev's Visions Fugitives. One or more of them could add diversity to your repratoire. Lastly, Mozart's Sonata in F maj., second movement, Adagio, is a beautiful piece that's not too difficult and JS Bach's French Suite No. 1 in Dmin, has some potential as well.

Well, I am too.
Call me musically uneducated.

BTW, good breakdown there. We could call it the Liberace effect (even without lifting your hands in the air and smiling at the audience).

P.S. I didn't notice anyone yet asking......

Why are you asking about 'impressive'? Why not just things that almost everyone will just really like?



(purposely naive question)

Because like all the rest of us here, he'd like to be perceived as being better than he really is !!

Yes, This is very true!

That was the best post of the day!

I'm surprised nobody recommended anything by Burgmueller yet. Although his Opus 100 is most familiar, there are also attractive pieces in Op. 105 and Op. 109 that are only a bit more challenging.

A few more suggestions come to mind for a striving intermediate player who wants to 'impress' with something that sounds more difficult than it is. Among the many 19th century composers who faded into obscurity are Auguste Durand (his Waltz Op. 83 has immediate appeal) and Hugo Reinhold, who wrote an attractive Impromptu in C-sharp minor.

Of the suitable compositions by Chopin, an offbeat choice would be his Polonaise Militaire. The tune is widely recognized, and I don't think it presents much difficulty at all provided one can reach an octave comfortably.

maybe that's a different military polonaise. The one I heard last night looked pretty hard to me!

I don't think there's more than one (unless it's by a different Chopin -- Kate, maybe? )

Anyway, your observation might confirm that the piece sounds more difficult than it is!

Hi Aaron,

Why not please your Mum by at least having a bash at the first page of Grieg’s Wedding Day at Troldhaugen Opus 65, no. 6.

Here’s the first page, if you’d like to give it a stab.

Unfortunately, it gets somewhat more difficult after the first page. I think the OP is looking for something a tad easier that still sounds impressive.

My grandma heard me play a Chopin waltz, then my cousin play Richard Clayderman. Guess who she thought played better?? (No offense to my grandma...RIP )