La Campanella translates to ‘little bell’. One of Liszt's most famous works, it’s deserving of its fame. The way it achieves its bell-like sound is through fluttery, jumps or trills. Starting off with an octave, the melody is made of many large, quick, jumps in the right hand. To be able to play it properly, including the left hand, the pianist must rely on their peripheral vision due to the distance between the right and the left hand being so wide and variable. Therefore to be able to play La Campanella with speed requires the ability to basically play it with your eyes closed. Not only that, you can’t just throw your hand into the jump, as the tinkling melody can only be achieved with light and slightly increasing crescendos and diminuendos, something my students struggle to do even with their eyes open. While there’s no doubt that La Campanella is one of the hardest piano songs of all time, the debate in the classical community is always who’s rendition is the best.

In my opinion, that’s Evgeney Kissins: While his rendition has a few mistakes, it’s one of the fastest most virtuosic versions of the composition. His musicality is truly phenomenal throughout his performance. It’s a recording all performers look at and attempt to copy or at least draw influence, when they begin learning the song. There are no musical errors, it's one of those rare recordings that enchants you all the way through.
Also, I don’t think enough people realize how physically demanding piano can be. Just watch how much he sweats the end lol.

Other famous recordings to watch:

(I would watch one to compare with Kissin, you’ll see the difference immediately)

• Lang Lang (I personally dislike the way he over-dramatizes his music, but that’s just my own opinion on style)
• Yundi Li
• Daniil Trifonov
• Cziffra (his name means ‘number’ in russian, I actually haven’t heard of him before. His version is extremely fast)