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I will do the 3rd Ballade!

I might also being doing the Polonaise Op 26 No 1 if nobody else really wants it.

Jazzyprof and eggsdeee - thanks for your contributions, which are added below. akonow - can we stick to one work per person as stated in the opening post please? Looking forward to hearing your Berceuse!

UPDATED LIST:

Mazurkas (22nd Feb):
7/3 - Mati
7/4 - Mistaya
17/1 - Rustyfingers
30/2 - Gabtytu
30/4 - Schubertian
33/1 - Piano&Violin
50/1 - Schubertian
56/1 - Schubertian
56/2 - Schubertian
56/3 - Secondo
59/2 - Chardonnay
63/1 - Secondo
67/4 - Tucsonpianist
68/3 - cscl
68/4 - Bassio



Other works (1st March):
Allegro de Concert – Sotto Voce
Ballade no 1in G minor Op 23 - Tucsonpianist
Ballade no 2 in F major Op 38 – Liszt Addict
Ballade no 3 in A flat major Op 47- eggsdeee
Berceuse Op 57 - akonow
Concerto Op 11, Larghetto – Frycek
Concerto Op 21, Larghetto - Chardonnay
Impromptu in A flat Op 29 – greywullf
Impromptu in G flat Op 51 – carey
Impromptu in C sharp minor, Op 66 posth – Jazzyprof
Polish Song (which one yet to be revealed) – Elene
Polonaise in A Major Op 40 No 1 – ab-ster
Polonaise in F sharp minor, Op 44 – Horowitzian
Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat Op. 61 – davidyko
Prelude Op 28/13 plus Etudes 10/8 and 25/10 – Black36White52
Scherzo in B flat Op 31 – DameMyra

I'm thinking in terms of doing the song with the lyrics by Krasinski, but don't know what to call it, as it didn't originally come with a title. Anyway, that will get figured out. I'm much more concerned about getting through the nocturne for October!

Elene

Elene - perhaps you could call the song by a translation into English of the first line?

That will be a lovely additional facet to the ecital.

Mary, My comment is NOT meant to offend anyone but I feel I must speak my mind...once again!.

I truly belive the Chopin e-cital is a great idea but as in the past, there is a serious flaw in that you are DIScouraging members (in a beginers forum) from participating.

Sure I know you can pick from a wide array of pieces to perform but why be limited to something I may not want to perform just because someone else is performing it?.

In our main AB quarterly recitals, anyone and everyone is ENCOURAGED to participate and submit whatever they want. There are NO limitations or restrictions as this is a *beginers* forum first and foremost.

The Chopin recitals are of course a specialized type of recital which obviously focuses on the works of ...Chopin, but why the restrictions/limitations? I can only think of how many members truly enjoyed submitting performances (the SAME performances) of Einaudi, Yann Tiersenn, David Lanz etc. It would be an absolute shame if so many members could NOT submit any specific performance just because someone else already has.

All I'm trying to say is that I think it would be a great idea if the Chopin recitals would focus more on encouraging members to participate and perform the great works of Chopin as opposed to limiting them to perform pieces that are not their first or second or even third choice.

This is literally the second time I have been turned away from a Chopin recital even though I have a piece learned correctly (as written....to satisfy the stinkers) and ready to go.

Oh well, back to the land of misfit toys once again I guess. Don't worry, I know my way there!

Hi mr_super-hunky,

I think that if there were more than one performance of any given piece, comparisons between or among them would be unavoidable. Even if people don't actually address the differences in their discussions, critiques and reviews, it's inevitable that such judgments would be made.

The restriction in question prevents that from happening. In a forum in which all levels of skill are represented—beginners, returnees of varying proficiency and very accomplished amateurs—that surely encourages a wide range of members to contribute. Were it otherwise (as you propose), wouldn't most players (and especially those in early stages of advancement) instead feel intimidated, disheartened and discouraged even from participating at all?

I worry that it will sound patronizing to say that the one-performer-per-piece rule is for people's own protection, but we all lay ourselves on the line here. The potential for hurt feelings is very real, and it's so much easier to stand tall and rest assured that you did your best when you don't have to worry that someone else did it better! It's not supposed to be a competition, after all, but having more than performance of the same piece turns it into one.

I do sympathize with your frustration, and emphasize that this is just my take on the matter.

Steven

Oops! Sorry!

Sotto, you are probably correct in your assesment of why only one person can perform any given piece. I'm not sure if that is your stance on the matter or not but everyone is entitled to their own opinion even if our opinions don't agree with one another.

I STRONGLY disagree with the limitations on participation as once again this is a BEGINERS forum first and foremost. I would like to see every way possible to ENCOURAGE and PROMOTE participation, not limit or discourage it in any way. But hey, that's just me and I'm just one voice and opinion out of many.

While your scenario of members making comparisons amongst each other is probably true, it should not be a determining factor in disallowing other members to participate. If you think about it, there have been numerous submissions of the same piece in our regualr quarterly recitals without a single documented problem....ever!.

Yes, realistically if you and I submit the same piece we both will probably "size up" each others performances to ourselves but that is far as it will ever get. Nobody has EVER said something to the effect of "I performed xxx piece better than you did".

I just don't see any real justification for limiting or discouraging participation especially when there is absolutely no reason or justifiable history to do so.

I am a very realistic person and will admit when I am wrong but I just don't agree with this decision so once again I have to take my marbles and go play somewhere else whre I am welcomed and not turned away. It should'nt be this way, not in a beginers forum.

But I think the most important thing to take into account is that we're not all beginners. The ABF is explicitly for returnees, too, even though the name of the subforum doesn't reflect that (or the breadth of our diversity of skill, background and experience). Another consideration, too, is that the Chopin e-citals have been open to all PW members regardless of the area in which they post most frequently.

Personally, I would blanch if I knew that a piece I had chosen was also going to be played by someone far more skilled; I would be mortified, too, if I knew it was also going to be performed by a true beginner. I would withdraw in either case.

It genuinely surprises me that you believe that allowing such freedom of choice to those who so desire would promote and encourage participation. I feel equally certain that it would have the opposite effect. To me, the problem isn't that anyone would say "I played it better than the others," but that one might say "I played it worst of all" about him or herself.

Steven

Another potential problem that I see with allowing multiple submissions of the same piece is that a very "popular" piece may be over-represented while less known/popular pieces would likely not be submitted at all.

So why is that a problem? Well... in a themed e-cital in which the goal is to showcase a particular genre of Chopin's works, this would limit the number of different pieces presented. Imagine the nocturne e-cital with 10 versions of the 9/2 and the vast majority of nocturnes going unplayed. How interesting would that be for the listeners?

S-H, I believe I speak for all of us by saying you are not "unwelcome", nor are you being "turned away". You are simply being asked to adhere to a set of criteria. You are free to disagree with the criteria and not participate, but understand that there were thoughtful considerations behind them, none of which was to turn anyone away.

Mr. S-H,
I can understand your disappointment in not being able to showcase your Chopin prelude in the Spring 2010 e-cital. I for one would very much like to hear it, since you say you play it as written the first time through and then you add your own variations. Since you already have it finished and ready to go, perhaps you will consider submitting it to this week's ABF recital #14 or maybe the next one, 3 months hence. You see, the Chopin e-cital is a whole year away (Spring 2010) and I can't wait that long to hear your Chopin! And by that time you probably would have learnt a whole new Chopin piece anyway...

Ok, I see where this is going. first off, while I do like some, possibly even several compositions writen by Chopin, classical music is not my #1 calling even though I like a lot of it.

I see myself as an outsider trying to participate in a group of dedicated classical (Chopin) followers and viewed as possibly rocking the boat a little.

Since this is not my organized recital, nor is classical (or Chopin) my true calling, maybe I should take my strong opinions elsewhere as it probably is'nt worth the hurt feelings or possible discord among members it may cause.

For this reason I will take my one and only chopin piece I can play and submit it somewhere else.

I have attempted to participate twice now in previous Chopin recitals in which both times I have been turned away for reasons in which the Chopin group feels justified.

As I've said, everyone is entitled to their own opinions. I've stated mine and members of the Chopin group have stated theirs.

I'm not a party crasher nor do I want to hang around where I am not wanted.

I sincerely wish all of the participants in the Chopin e-cital next year all the best success with their entries and will be looking forward to hearing them.

People can agree to disagree and this may simply be one of those situations. No worries, it's all good.

I'm wondering why the "one work per person restriction"
doesn't apply to Schubertian.

Oops, my bad, too! (Just got carried away from the initial reading of the e-cital post, and skipped reading those few lines regarding the sign-up.)


If anyone wants to have the Op.25/10 (B-minor) for the e-cital, please let me know (and the forum as well). Otherwise, I'll keep subjecting my fingers to Chopin's equivalent of the 'tools of the inquisition' - maybe one of these days, all my fingers will willingly give in to the pressure and works those octaves flawlessly ... just maybe ....

Black36.White52

I'm just catching up with this thread and am so sorry Mr Super Hunky is feeling 'left out'. Thank you to Sotto and Chardonnay for explaining the reasoning behind the restriction of one work per performer for the special March 2010 ecital.

pianahman - you raise a good point. In fact our Mazurkathon is an ongoing project as Chopin wrote over fifty of them, so we do a few each spring, and people often take on more than one. Really the 'one work per performer rule' is applicable to the March anniversary concert, so I'm sorry if I didn't make that clear.

And Black36White52 - because we have a few gaps from previous e-citals I was only too glad to get them filled, and would be grateful if you can do both your Etudes. They have been on offer for ages so if someone had wanted them they could've said so before. Best wishes to your poor fingers though, lol!

I'd like to participate please.

I see no one has spoken for Opus 35 (Sonata No.2). Unfortunately, I am not quite ready to decide whether to do the first movement or the Scherzo.

I'll take requests however! Which movement would everyone most like to hear?

As far as I can tell from Mary Rose's initial posting and subsequent postings in this thread, Prelude Op. 28, No. 17 has not been spoken for yet. If this is indeed the case, please reserve it for me. With 10 months time to practice, I feel reasonably confident that I can master the intertwined chords and other complexities of this passionate piece.

I would certainly like to hear the first movement.

whippen boy: OOh, I love both of those movements. I'd be very happy to hear either. Please let me know when you have decided.

pianahman - I've put you down for 28/17. Thanks.

So, the latest programme is thus:

Mazurkas (22nd Feb):
7/3 - Mati
7/4 - Mistaya
17/1 - Rustyfingers
30/2 - Gabtytu
30/4 - Schubertian
33/1 - Piano&Violin
50/1 - Schubertian
56/1 - Schubertian
56/2 - Schubertian
56/3 - Secondo
59/2 - Chardonnay
63/1 - Secondo
67/4 - Tucsonpianist
68/3 - cscl
68/4 - Bassio



Other works (1st March):
Allegro de Concert – Sotto Voce
Ballade no 1in G minor Op 23 - Tucsonpianist
Ballade no 2 in F major Op 38 – Liszt Addict
Ballade no 3 in A flat major Op 47- eggsdeee
Berceuse Op 57 - akonow
Concerto Op 11, Larghetto – Frycek
Concerto Op 21, Larghetto - Chardonnay
Impromptu in A flat Op 29 – greywullf
Impromptu in G flat Op 51 – carey
Impromptu in C sharp minor, Op 66 posth – Jazzyprof
Polish Song (which one yet to be revealed) – Elene
Polonaise in A Major Op 40 No 1 – ab-ster
Polonaise in F sharp minor, Op 44 – Horowitzian
Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat Op. 61 – davidyko
Prelude Op 28/13 plus Etudes 10/8 and 25/10 – Black36White52
Prelude Op 28/17 - pianahman
Scherzo in B flat Op 31 – DameMyra
Sonata in B minor Op 58 - first or second movement – whippen boy