I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to get your fingers around the really fast bits in Liebestraum no.3 (especially the chordy one). Or is it just a case of play them really slowly and you'll get there in the end?

Thanks,

Sarah

I didn't thing there were any really fast sections in that Liebestraum. There are a couple of mini cadenzas and leading up to them are marked agitato, stringendo and affretando but you don't have to play especially fast ... just a little bit quicker. It is the feeling of agitation and hurrying that is more important than the actual speed.

All the concert pianists play these sections fast because they are scared of taking them slower ... in case the listeners (or worse the critics) assume that is the fastest they can manage.

Those are the bits I meant. Fair enough, you don't have to play them really fast, but if you don't go pretty fast (meaning very very fast for me), they'll go on for ever

All the concert pianists play these sections fast because they are scared of taking them slower ... in case the listeners (or worse the critics) assume that is the fastest they can manage.



There seems to be a lot of that! I'm currently realising just how nice Bach is taken a little slower!

These parts are tricky, and i've heard them being played at various speeds. Are there any fingerings given, because the different editions i've seen are never excactly the same, and no matter which ones you decide on you have some awkward little jumps to make, which you need to get as smoothly as possible. I learned the two other Liebestraume before this, and the first is one of my favourite pieces, possibly the hardest of them, so i am working on the third right now as well. Getting it right slowly with seperate hands is the way i'd go, and a great many others, but these parts were harder than i thought they'd be.

I *think* I have the fingering sorted for the first cadenza bit. The fingering suggested in the book seemed to work pretty well, so I just stuck with that, its just the getting it about 10 times faster. I haven't really started on the second one yet though, so couldn't really comment on that one yet.

You are a smart girl and a capable pianist! So you already know the answer: Sloooooow, accurate practice. Lots!