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Wonderful work! I think the importance of community orchestras and theater companies are greatly underestimated in this country in this day and age. We tend to forget that many of our favorite composers (Chopin, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Grieg, and their lesser-known contemporaries) wrote for a talented and dedicated community of amateur musicians.

When I hear recordings like this, I often feel like I'm being transported back in time. This is what the 19th century was all about - a talented and dedicated musical middle class exploring the greatness of their own culture. They didn't fetishize perfection the way we do. They chased the sublime, and I fear we've lost some of that these days.

There's some great music here, and a lot of hope and promise for the future of what we all do and love. And I thank you for that.

The piano was a 7-foot Steinway, quite small for playing with an orchestra in a large hall, and I was challenged by trying to get a clear and precise sound out of it. I ended up foregoing the pedal almost entirely. In the end, I was happy with the result.

......Further, the left hand (in the 19th century) was rolled when there was a chord. Pull up Horowitz' film of this piece, if you don't believe me.

Once again, paraphrasing Kreisler, this is what the non-precise, non-note perfect playing of the 19th century sounded like, EXACTLY!

The setting of this particular performance is a 19th century setting.

Simply because it is performed by a community orchestra???? I'm obviously missing something here.

What's to miss? The rise of amateur music making defined the 19th century musical landscape. Advances in piano manufacturing, the publishing industry, the parlor as concert venue - all of these things brought music to amateur performers who, as JJ noted, were usually of the upper class, although the middle classes began to gain access as well as the century progressed.

Also note that I chose my words carefully. The *setting* is a more 19th century invention. I said nothing about the style of performance. As Jeffrey said, he's playing with period articulation and phrasing, which is a decidedly late-20th century attitude.

For once I am not the only one sticking my neck out here, and it feels good. Kreisler is spot on in his commentary.

What we have been all taught in music school is the myth of musical performance perfection. And, that is exactly what it is, a myth.

As I have said ad nauseum, when the music of the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries was originally played and taught, it didn't sound anything like it does today. And, as Joseph Horowitz has been preaching for most of his adult life, that includes orchestral music.

The first thing that strikes your ear about this particular performance is the raw/organic sound of the strings. You can actually visualize them bowing, some together, and some not.

Was it that way with the tiny orchestras of Mozart, Hadyn, and early Beethoven? You betchum believe it was.

Conversely, when you listen to the strings in the Giulini led orchestra which accompanies Horowitz on his film, it sounds like it came out of a machine it is so perfect. Is it Mozart? No, it ain't.

With this performance, because it isn't a 9 foot grand, there is relationship between the soloist's instrument and the orchestra. When you listen to the recordings of Lenny Bernstein playing Mozart with his band, it sounds like Mahler, not Mozart.

Hey, don't believe me, believe your moderator. He knows what he is talking about, and while you are at it, explore Joe Horowitz' website for further knowledge on this subject.

Perhaps the composers of the 18th and 19th centuries would be "thrilled" to know that their compositions could sound as good as we are capable of making them sound today. But we will never know, will we??

Jeffrey, I gave your performance a second listen and really there is some injustice going on here against you.

Despite your performance being quite good, and YOU being the MEMBER, an irrelevant matter is hijacking your thread.

I am in the process of polishing this piece up along with the C Minor Concerto, so I am very familiar with it. And, for the record, it is considered to be DMA repertoire at most music schools. It is a very difficult work to master.

Therefore, one has to really focus on giving each section its own individual character, and an important part of that is to build and taper each phrase.

Once the OP has done that, then he will have a great piece of music, as opposed to a very good one, which is what he has now.

Jeffrey, I gave your performance a second listen and really there is some injustice going on here against you.

Despite your performance being quite good, and YOU being the MEMBER, an irrelevant matter is hijacking your thread.