10 Mar '08 12:07>
Originally posted by Mark AdkinsI agree with you; Debussy is extremely hard to play well, and he wrote some technically very demanding pieces, like the fireworks-prelude you mentioned before. His 12 Etudes aren't easy, either. They may seem easier than some pieces by other composers like Liszt at first, but as you try to play better, it becomes increasingly harder. The subtleties and various colours the pieces ask for need the highest listening skills and finger and wrist activity possible, which a lot of professional pianists don't even possess.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=L5YasjMqoY0
Here's a video of Debussy's "Gardens in the Rain" (Estampes No. 3) as played by a professional pianist, Gerhard Oppitz. He does not play it especially well, and stumbles over it in several places, but he has the tempo about right (a little rushed, but at least not too slow) and does OK much of the time. Unfortu ...[text shortened]... at all known for difficult piano pieces: are you saying that this is not an advanced work?