What are some examples of the hardest classical music to memorise out there? And indeed, why memorise?
Some performers like to memorise works, others will need the music right there in front of them. Of course, the decision of whether or not to try and memorise a work before performance depends on two factors: the preferences of he performer, and the nature of the work itself. We asked three performers to nominate the work that they've found hardest to commit to memory.
Hardest music to remember
Here are nominations for the hardest classical music to memorise, from pianist Llŷr Williams, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston and violinist Chloë Hanslip.
Llŷr Williams Pianist
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 31
When I play Beethoven’s Sonata No. 31, Op. 110, I have part of the score hidden inside the piano. The first fugue in the last movement is particularly hard to remember. Whereas the fugue in, say, the Hammerklavier Sonata is more athletic and muscular and goes into the muscular memory fairly easily, in Op. 110, the writing is more mellifluous.
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If you take a wrong turn it’s almost impossible to know where you are. It might also be psychological, as shortly before I was once due to play it, Mitsuko Uchida told me how she had gone all to pot in the fugue in a concert – I then found myself doing likewise.
More hardest classical music to memorise
Jennifer Johnston Mezzo-soprano
Puccini: Gianni Schicchi
All Wagner roles can be difficult to learn, partly because the German isn’t completely modern and so the syntax is different to how you would speak German today, but also because you never repeat anything. However, even harder is the role of La Ciesca in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi.
It’s an ensemble piece with constant interjections, the rapidity of the text can be bewildering at times and, because there are so many people on stage, you might not always be standing next to the person you think you’re going to hear before you sing. When I sang it recently, the first few rehearsals of it were just terrifying.
Chloë Hanslip Violinist
Philip Glass: Violin Concerto
It’s quite hard to pinpoint one example of the hardest classical music to memorise, but I remember that when I first learnt Philip Glass’s Violin Concerto, it took a great amount of practice to get it into my muscle memory. With his Minimalist style, it is very intricate and there are very subtle changes, particularly in the last movement.
Aside from repeated practice, the way to learn a piece such as this is to study the score so that as well as your own notes, you also know what’s going on in the orchestra that might be able to guide you. Also, it’s good to continually go through it in your head and play it on your arm when you don’t have the violin with you.
