some people here say that the hardest piece is non existant. . .i say that it depends on the virtuosity of the player.

i agree with some of you on this thread..with the exception of those who stated impromptu op.66 in c sharp minor...ne ways..Xenakis` Herma is on the same level as Ravel`s Gaspard de la nuit...they are both very hard...i also agree with the guy who stated Busoni`s trascription of the Chaconne(excuse my spelling if incorrect)..this one pianist who gave me a master class, Awadagin Pratt, played that piece quite well...for piano concertos..id have to say the famous rach 3..busonis concerto..etc..also..i forgot the man`s name but he arranged all of Chopins etudes and made them about twice as hard..for ex. on all the runs on no.12 op.10(revolutionary, he made them octaves..and you were to play the piece about 7/8 of the original 160 M.M. speed..not exactly easy ey?

`the man`s name` is Leopold Godowsky. Those etudes ARE hard!

i deserve a smack in the face...i knew it was him but the name was in the back of my head..sorry about that and thank you

Try "Kitten on the Keys", "Coaxing the Piano" or "My Pet", all by Zez Confrey.

ive actually never heard those pieces...i`ll check them out

Alex, you might look at http://www.perfessorbill.com/sources.htm for sources of sheet music.

Godowsky`s variations on Chopins op10 + op25 etudes are ridiculous. If anyone has heard good recordings of these etudes (Pollini I think is my favorite overall) and followed the music, they will know how technically challenging these are by themselves.

I don`t know of any REAL recordings of these etudes. I don`t think they are really performable. There is sheet music around on the net if you can be bothered to look.

Horowitz also made some great encores. The 1953 live recording of Liszt`s Hungarian Rhapsody #2 sounds very intense. If you find a transcript to that it should be very challenging. Maybe also his variations on a theme from Carmen - Bizet

If you track down the Hofmann recordings of some of chopin`s Scherzo`s they are played at a very fast tempo.

La Campanella is I think the hardest of the Liszt etudes.

Scarbo is hard, but not in the same league as some of the pieces mentioned.

As for the moonlight sonata. hahaha

Hungarian Rhaspody #11 By Franz Liszt is VERY hard.

La Campanella is also very hard.

Toccatta and fuge in D minor is also a hard song but it is for organ.

The Rach 3 is a hard song but is not the hardest.

The hardest song by far is Opus Clavicembalisticum.

Opus Clavicembalisticum is a four hour song by Kaikhosru Sorabji for piano.

A biography of Sorabji can be found at http://www.music.mcgill.ca/~sorabji/sor_bio.html

You can buy the sheet music for Opus Clavicembalisticum at amazon.com

The sheet music is about seven inches thick though.

Faries Air and Death Waltz is the HARDEST

It can be found here

http://www.whitetreeaz.com/gibber/faeries_aire_and_death_waltz.jpg

Toccata and Fugue in D minor isn`t a hard piece on the organ...is it? My friend plays it on the organ and she hasn`t had YEARS of experience. Correct me if I`m wrong.

a hard Bach piece is his Chaconne(Busoni transcription

Mephisto Waltz no. 1 by Liszt has to be up there - seldom do you have a 33 page piece of music played in under 7 minutes, almost entirely furioso and fff - Bumblebee (the rachmaninoff adaptation) is challenging, but only from a speed point of view - it`s fairly trivial once you`ve learned it - although is a good party piece, to blitz out... I`d rate a lot of the glissando in some of the hungarian rhapsodies as harder than it in themselves.

yes the memphisto waltzes are hard but not exactly the hardest pieces in the piano repertoire...i find some of Liszt`s trancendental studies harder...like the A minor and no. 5 as well..but u should really check out his sonata in b minor...in my opinion thats the best piano solo piece he ever wrote..and its incredibly hard..aside the topic of liszt...yea i think sorabji and balakirev`s islamey is on the hard side wounldnt u say?

The 3rd movement of beethovens moonlight sonata is very hard but Certainly playable. i would say that the Piano Sonata No.29 in Bb, Op.106 `Hammerklavier` is the hardest. its not particularly hard to play its just so long! Ive only been playing 8 years tho!