Aram Khachaturian’s Toccata is surely one of the most effective showpieces for the advancing pianist. Although it looks and sounds very difficult it is actually much more approachable than you might think, with patterns that are always highly pianistic and often surprisingly simple to memorise. There is plenty of scope for narrative and imagery in this piece, the pedal bringing textures together to create a soundscape that is at times savage and barbaric, then scintillating and brooding.
In this excerpt from his video walk-throughs for the piece, Graham Fitch demonstrates an approach to learning bar 74 which looks daunting due to numerous accidentals:
Sign in to view if you have purchased access to this content or see purchase options below.
Purchase options
This content is available as a separate, once-off purchase or as part of a subscription. Click "Buy" to purchase it or on "Subscribe" to get access to this content in addition to our growing library of over 300 articles for as little as £13.99 per month or £119.99 per year.
Graham Fitch, based in London, maintains an international career not only as a pianist, but also as a teacher, adjudicator, examiner, lecturer, writer and commentator on piano playing and musical subjects.
