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Recorded 13 November, 2013;
Estonia 190, Zoom H4, "Normalized" on Audacity.

Brahms: Intermezzo, Op 118, No 2

Regards,

Great work, Bruce! I wouldn't mind hearing the pre-normalized version, though. This sounds a little bass-heavy to me.

Thanks Bruce, I enjoyed it! I too wonder what the pre-normalized version sounds like.

Nothing beats hearing it live on your Estonia however.

1) I have played this piece since 1975.

2) The reason everyone teaches this piece is to convey the concept of tempo rubato.

3) As previously stated, the premier theoretician Robert Ottman spent have of his Harmonic Analysis course using this piece.

Why?: Because, among other things, the composer inverts melodies and also switches them to the left hand. That is why when you listen to the Glenn Gould recording, you hear these various compositional elements.

So, why, in God's green earth would you pick this piece to "Normalize?"

It sounds mechanical, dull, and very few, if any of the compositional nuances of this great piece can be heard.

One mo time. And, listen to it sing! And, once again (I DO NOT PLAY IT THIS WAY!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JwKDzPlYQs

Mr. Podesta - I realize the is an obsession for you but please you have to stop.

1) "normalize" is what Bruce applied to the recording software and has nothing to do with his performance.

2) You show complete disrespect to the OP and frankly to the rest of the members when you post another recording on a personal recording thread implying that one should "play it this way".

Again, please stop doing this.

For the uninformed, in Audacity, "normalize"

Use the Normalize effect to set the maximum amplitude of a track, equalize the amplitudes of the left and right channels of a stereo track and optionally remove any DC Offset from the track.

You may not like my performance, that's your taste, but your rant about "normalize" is totally out of place because you don't know what the term means in the context in which it was used. It's simply a function that optimizes the volume in each channel and balances the two channels in a recording. Without using the effect, volume levels on many host sites are often too low to be sufficiently heard.

Is that right? Everyone? I'm sorry, but you have no clue.

Nice job, Bruce. It sounds as if you put a lot of work into this. I would like to hear you take a little time (stretch things) in different spots. I'm not talking about rubato, but stretching the line. Think and breathe as a singer would. I think this has the potential to be very, very good. I wish I could work with you on it.

Good job.

Very nicely done, Bruce. Authentic and convincing. I listened twice, in fact, and enjoyed it both times! Thank you for sharing. This is one of my favorite Brahms pieces to listen to!

--Andy

Very nice Bruce. Thanks for sharing; I enjoyed listening to you.

Anne

Great job, Bruce. What is it that draws so many of us to this piece? I was inspired by Pogo's recording of it some time ago, and have been working on it for months with only minor success. The middle section is most problematic: How to maintain that purity of tone in the right hand while keeping those left hand triplets subdued. You did it beautifully. Thanks for sharing.

Hi, BruceD -- first time I've heard you play! IMO, a beautiful presentation -- I thought you did an especially nice job of shaping the singing line, and providing exquisite voicing of the considerable harmonic subtleties throughout. You projected a very natural, unmannered sadness as the "song" unfolded, and there were no inconsistencies in the flow. Actually, I do recommend listening to the Gould recording that Louis Podesta provided, just to get a taste of possible alternative voicings and movement, particularly in the left hand. Both Gould and Horowitz were especially good at projecting shapes and lines typically left unexplored; and, while I prefer your interpretation of this piece to Gould's, I find his conception quite refreshing to listen to, not willfully eccentric.

Thanks for sharing this!

I finally got a chance to listen to this. Thank you for sharing, Bruce. It was very nice to listen to, and like Tim said, I have the same preference.


The only comment I have actually has nothing to do with your playing. Something in the recording makes it sound just a little muffled (very minor). I think, as a result, some of the tones die a little too quickly, but clearly that's not how you played it. Unfortunately, I'm not enough of a sound expert to offer a guess as to what may have caused that. The noise removal feature, maybe?

Bruce thank you for sharing. Very well played. You have really put some considerable effort into this piece.

As for the normalize thing, it is no secret that I strictly object it being used on classical music. Never in fact.
Especially this piece is built on contrasting dynamic levels and fine nuances. With normalize almost all of this is lost.
So please if possible post a not normalized natural recording.
It is the industry standard for single track classical music recording.

On a last note, your playing would sound better if the piano was tuned.

I enjoyed listening to your performance and had it not been normalized I would have been able to give more feedback.

Hakki--

I am curious. Are you perhaps confusing "normalization" with "compression"? It is my understanding that compression can kill dynamics when used improperly, while normalization does not.

--Andy

1) I was giving you the benefit of the doubt because other posts requested an un-normalized version.

2) There are dozens of Carl Friedberg, Adelina de Lara and Etelka Freund recordings which illustrate the essence of the elasticity and the voicing of Brahms piano music. And, all of these people were personally coached by Brahms! For them, it was not a matter of "taste."

3) Hey, Pogo, no guts no glory.

There's always Skype.

Dear Lord, are you still talking about this "pupils of Brahms" poppycock? Give it a rest, for everyone's sake! Music is free to be interpreted as one wishes - nobody cares for your rhetoric anymore.



I enjoyed your perfomance, Bruce. Thanks for sharing.

Do you even read what you are writing? Your philosophy, as is mine, was that of the 19th century, i.e. Brahms, Chopin, and Schumann.

That is why, unlike today's interpretation, they translated the composed piece along with the performance work.