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Thanks, blackjack! To know that my music touched someone deeply is the ultimate compliment!



Thanks, barabaram! Ah the red dot! I hope in person I can channel more emotion to the piece!



Thanks, Sam. I love the Beckstein tone. Yours is beautiful as well. This piece is special to me, and I am glad that came through.



Thank you so much for compliments. My trills are getting better, but I am still working on them!



Thanks, outo. I have had another month with the piece and it feels more secure now. The chords in the beginning have 1/8 note rests between them, so I think they are supposed to sound a bit halting. I actually probably held them longer than Chopin had intended. I struggled over getting a good balance in this section. I would like them played legato too!



Thanks for you feedback! At the lento tempo, phrasing was one of my challenges. I am working on it!



Thanks! You will be playing it yourself in a few years!



Thanks Cheryl! You have seen my journey since I joined the ABF in 2011, and your feedback means a lot to me! I am glad that you can see the improvement.



They were special family members, and are greatly missed. However, I have many happy memories!



Thank you very much for your comments. It is nice to hear that my teacher's hard work is paying off.



Thank you so much, Jytte. It means a lot that my music touched you. Losing our canine friends is so hard. I am sorry to here of your loss.



Thanks Moonsh1ne! I am glad the feeling survive the red dot!



Thanks BillM! Often memories of our family members, two legged or four legged, are good inspiration.



I am glad that you enjoyed it! This nocturne has some unusual things about it, and two versions out there. The opening chords have 1/8 note rests between them, to give a halting effect. The 3/4 section is very flexible, often played dry, sometimes jazzy, or, dreamy. However, I did have some very obvious ghost notes in the left hand, which are probably what you caught. Darn 5th finger! Hopefully by my recital I will have it fixed. Thanks for the feedback!



Thanks! I appreciate your feedback, because to me it still sounds like it has a long way to go!



Thanks for reviewing! You will be playing this piece before you know it!



Thank you so much, Cathy! This piece was a challenge. And I will have fun at the recital in - eek!- two weeks!

johan d - I am sure you will be playing your list of favourites in a few years!



Wow! Thank you Carlos! Coming from someone as talented as you, it means a lot. I am also glad that I was able to meet you at last year's EPP!

02. MarieJ - Dietro Casa

I like your tempo and pacing. The balance of left and right hand sounds good. If there is one thing to pick on, it would be your articulation is too non-legato bordering on staccato, which is probably not the intention. You captured the mood of this piece well. Good job!

06. CarlosCC - Le Onde I have grown to like Einaudi since his music started popping up at the Recitals. I always like your playing and your excellent recordings so this is a win-win for me. Loved it! It is great to hear a fellow self-learner play with such emotion and skill.

08. barbaram - Radio Ballet This piece is new to me and I’m glad you submitted this wonderful recording to the Recital. I like you playing style – powerful yet subdued. Nicely done – didn’t expect the somewhat abrupt ending but it is cool.

09. Monica K. - Tomorrow's Song Your selections are always perfectly suited for solo piano. This is a fine rendition of a lovely piece.

10. Newbert - Perhaps Love I am a huge John Denver fan and have several of his songs in my repertoire. I don’t know how I missed this one but it is terrific. Very nice job of bringing out the strong melody with your right hand octaves.

11. Anita Potter - Tambourin Spirited and lively performance. Quite an accomplishment after only 6 months.

12. Copper - Somewhere Out There An outstanding choice – one of my favorite tunes. Normally I’m not a big fan of synthetic strings but on your recording they sound good and serve to high light the melody.

05. SwissMS/Doris - Nocturne in C# Minor

I really like the melodic shape of the RH phrases. Good dynamics and drama for the RH. I feel you did a good job in conveying the mood of this. On the picky side, I am hearing a lot of tension, fairly labored trills, and a bit loud arpeggiated LH. I think you also may try to relax more and go for more rubato especially with forte to mp passages. On the whole it is really coming together nicely.

13. Pianogrlnw - Spanish Dance - Oriental An enjoyable listen. Your piano has a lovely tone, especially in the lower registers.

14. dynamobt/Marilyn - Sonatine menuet 2nd movement Your hard work on this piece is paying off. A fine performance of a challenging piece.

15. noobpianist90 - Prelude in D Minor BWV 926 Your fingering at the 1:00 minute mark is a thing of beauty. Enjoyed your video and your performance.

06. CarlosCC - Le Onde

Very smooth, very polished playing. Excellent pedaling. Nice tempo. I would only ask for a bit less compressed playing where the quiet moments need to be softer. Nice LH / RH balance. A pleasure to listen to.

Thank you SwissMS, barbaram, Sam S, AZ_Astro, outo, PianoglrNW, MarieJ, casinitaly, Tom Christian, ElaineAllegro, jotur, BillM, Medden, Jytte, Cat_W and CarlosCC for listening and commenting my submission.
I hope I've not forgotten anyone.

I'm still working on the Allemande with my teacher, but unfortunately I will not play it at the live recital because... I will not participate at all.
Problem is that my second piece is not ready, and I'm not sure I can polish it in four weeks (now three). There is no backup plan, also.
This year, since both my children stopped piano lessons, I've no duet to play with them, and I don't want to go through the hassle of the recital with only one piece.

I decided ten or so days ago, and last week I informed the teacher.
I think she overrated my ability to have a piece performance ready in less than 4 months, considering that I'm not a fast learner (and it takes ages to me to polish pieces!).
Lesson learnt, for both of us!

07. verqueue - Ballade F minor op. 52

I enjoyed listening to this thoroughly. I am amazed at the control you have with what sounds like a very small vertical. You are playing to the limits of this instrument and there is so much more you could do with the bass which the piano is preventing you. At one point I thought you were about to break the poor thing, but somehow it survived. I will try to watch the YouTube video link later when I have a chance to actually see the playing! Thanks for the treat!

Bit short of time lately, sorry for the waiting!

45 Dru morgan

Your choice of material gives away your age! This is darned good for the length of time you been playing. You`ll soon notice improvements along the journey. Have mucho fun!

44 Yamaha G2 + . . .Mike

The playing was quite dramatic with some great runs. Very good indeed.

43 Shirley Christian

Great sounding h`chord with a suitable piece of music. Nice nice! Hows that for tech feedback?

42 Sam S

I like most Bach, and this really sings on your ole Bechstein. Some intricate LH there. Lovely stuff.

41 Tom Christian

Very Tudor sounding. Like a medieval dance . . .An excellent listen,

40 Jotur Xathy

Joplin`s up and running. Well, there are no harsh edges on this, and it sounded right nice. Another piece I`d like to do, but (shrug) no time!

Only 39 to go! Might be finished before the next recital . . .

I haven't started commenting yet. But I'll give my feedback soon. To all of you.

Thanks for your feedback. Under the glare of the red dot, I was not as relaxed as I would like to be. The trills are a continual work in progress. Hopefully they will get better every year. I have another month into this piece, and hopefully by live recital time it will be a little more polished! I appreciate your suggestions!

This is seriously difficult music, so you're doing really great. I am sure you've be just fine in another month. I'm very inspired by your motivation and hard work. Perhaps I'm even more critical of your playing than most, since where you are is what I aspire.

17. Riddler (Ed) - Maria Ed – I’ve always been a fan of your work both in the Recitals and the Piano Bar. Your Maria is outstanding although I would have added a repeat or two as it was over far too soon. I love the clean sound of your solo piano work. Terrific

18. Jazztpt (Russ) - For Sam You appear to be as talented a photographer as you are pianist. Loved the pictures and the composition. Like Riddler above you guys set the standard for contemporary piano work in the Recitals and Piano Bars.

19. Moonsh1ne - Von Fremden Landern Und Menschen - Kinderszenen Op 15 No 1 You play with quiet restraint and bring out the simple beauty of this piece. Very nicely done!

20. Richard (zrtf90) - Sonata in F# Minor, Op. 25/5, first and second movements You, sir, are a real pianist. Very Impressive!!

Thanks to PianogrlNW, Tom Christian, casinitaly, Jytte, Elaineallegro, SwissMS, MarieJ, johan d, stumbler, barbaram, peterws for your comments.

Yup, ragtime has been/is a journey for me. I have, in some pieces, used 6ths instead of octaves - but I decided for the challenge here And I do think my left hand is my strong point many times. But as Whizbang indicates, ragtime is *hard* - many more subtleties than one might at first suppose (like any other genre, really) so it's a good thing I like experimenting!

johan d - I haven't played them, but several people here have played pieces from Martha Mier Jazz, blues, and ragtime (someone will know the real title of that book) and they are really fun without being the all-out arrangements of Joplin. Might be worth looking in to a little down the line.

Thanks so much again, all. I have a few more to listen to, but I'll get there!

Hi,
here is my next batch of comments:

13. Pianogrlnw - Spanish Dance - Oriental
Beautiful dance! Well done! :-)

14. dynamobt/Marilyn - Sonatine menuet 2nd movement
Never heard a piano piece from Ravel before! Great performance! Good luck for the recital!

15. noobpianist90 - Prelude in D Minor BWV 926
Oh, that piece brings a lot of memories back to me! I played it short after I returned to the piano as an adult. And the ornaments were killing me! I also spent a lot of time with the fast phrase in the end. I had to practice it in a dotted way in two versions which is great to approach a uniform and fast sequence. I use this technique nearly all the time. I can try to explain this in more detail if you want.
But coming back to your performance: I really liked it! Keep up the good work!

16. wouter79 - Swipesy Cake Walk
Wow! :-) That's great, wouter! What a punchy performance! I listened to it several times!

17. Riddler (Ed) - Maria
I only knew this as a song before! Thank you for this great performance!

18. Jazztpt (Russ) - For Sam
Such a fine piece for Sam! Well done: the composition and the performance! :-)

19. Moonsh1ne - Von Fremden Landern Und Menschen - Kinderszenen Op 15 No 1
Great! Schumann is one of my favorite composers! Thank you! I'm curious which piece will be the next one on your list.

20. Richard (zrtf90) - Sonata in F# Minor, Op. 25/5, first and second movements
Thank you for introducing me to these beautiful Clementi sonatas. I only knew about the sonatinas before!
Great performance! :-)

21. (Was)TrueBeginner - Letting Go
Nice composition from you! Keep up the good work! :-)

22. PikaPianist - L'Heure Exquise (original transcription)
Fantastic transcription and performance!

23. Greener / Jeff Green - 5th Symphony, SCHERZO (Partial)
You are on a good way. Continue the hard work! I'm looking forward to the whole movement. :-)

24. Peyton - The Climb
One could really feel the freezing temperature through your composition. Really nice way to keep up the memory to this sad lost!

Thank you Marie.


Thanks SwissMS.


Thank you torquenale.

39. PaleBlueDot, Von fremden Laendern und Menschen - I too find the tempo markings for some of Schumann's works far exceed my level of ability. I still like the tempo of your playing, it has charm. You bring out the melody nicely. Lovely piece.

38. chopinoholic (Paul de Koning), Prelude op.28 no.15 D flat major - This is one of my favorite preludes. Very mature playing, it compares well to professional recordings of this piece.

37. BillM, A Time for Love/Bridge Over Troubled Waters - I haven't seen your presence for a while and wondered if you were OK. Great performance.

36. WimPiano, Op. 68 Album for the Young No. 16 - Erster Verlust - Not all of Schumann's works speak to me, but this is one that does. Very well done.

35. earlofmar, Sonatina in G, Op 36, No 2 - I think you are close to being able to play this to your satisfaction.

34. ElaineAllegro, From Holberg's Time, Opus 40 (I, II, V) - This piece is familiar and loved. I really enjoyed this.

33. 8 Octaves, Good Humored, op. 194, no. 4 - Well done, great phrasing.

32. Isabella, Beethoven Sonatina in G - You really captured the feel of this piece. It cheered me up listening.

31. peterws, Schumann 82 1 Eintritt - great playing, lots of subtlety.

30. Ganddalf, Rondo a-minor K.511 - this is far from boring. Lovely playing.

blackjack - you picked some really great pieces and players - great role models and wonderful playing. It is such a treat to have such wonderful music.

my wonderful sister..lady Payne is sending me her zoom recorder.. so last recording with a cell phone! Yay;)

This is wonderful news. A Zoom recorder is not a "make do" solution. You are going to be amazed at the results. It's a perfect complement to your already-great playing.