Is this the hardest piano piece ever written?

17 April 2018, 15:57

Liszt: Grandes Etudes De Paganini, S.141, No.3 In G-Sharp Minor "La Campanella" (Live F...

04:56

Daniil Trifonov makes Liszt’s epically difficult piece look utterly effortless.

What's the hardest piano piece ever written? 

Liszt’s Campanella. At least, that's what many musicians believe. 

The piece was written by Liszt in 1851 and actually comes from a larger piece – the Grandes études de Paganini and is famous for being one of the most difficult pieces ever written for piano. (But no one seems to have told Daniil Trifonov.) 

Read more: these are the world's best pianists > 

The nickname Campanella means 'little bell' – because the melody of the piece comes from Paganini's Second Violin Concerto, which features a handbell. 

The piece's technical difficulties include enormous jumps for the right hand played at a fast tempo. 

Trifonov plays this piece, along with other great pieces for piano by Liszt on his new album, Transcendental – available now from Amazon and iTunes.