Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Recital 45 --- General Discussion Room

Thank you everyone for this recital. As always, it was a treat to listen to all the fine submissions.

And thank you also for all the kind comments about my own submission, to those that already have commented or that will do so later.

I'm afraid I always have great difficulties putting my impressions into words for useful feedback and comments, so please do not be offended when my feedback below is often short.


01. PawelS - Moonlight Sonata Op.27 No.2 Mov.1 Nice playing, seeing that you are still relatively new to the piano. But keep working on it - the piece has a lot of potential that can yet be explored by you.

02. earlofmar - Consolation No 1 Very nice, well played. Good luck with the exam!

03. MarieJ - Leo Lovely and calm, as always. I'd say there was already a lot of "progress" in it!

04. CarlosCC - Divenire Very nice and enjoyable.

05. SwissMS/Doris - Willy Wagglestick's Walkabout A fun and cool piece, well played. Very fitting to the sound of your rental piano. I wasn't 100% sure about the rhythm in some small parts in the middle, but that may just be me not understanding the rhythm changes in the piece?

07. AZ_Astro - When Rivers Flowed on Mars Very nice and soothing, with a mysterious under tone. Well played!

08. Peyton - Music For Tunnels For me that was evocative of driving through a very long tunnel in a car, with the lights passing over and on the sides, where you lose the feeling for time and distance. Very nice!

09. Monica K. - Ships of Troy Well played with lots of feeling. A nice piece!

10. Riddler (Ed) - I Rembember Clifford A perfect piano bar piece, and very well played.

11. JustinDAggie - Rondo Alla Turca Great playing and very good speed, but still good and regular timing. Excellent!

12. J Soo - Intermezzo (from Faschingsschwank aus Wien, op. 26) A top performance of a very nice piece. The way you brought out the RH melody over the RH broken chords seemed effortless. Bravo!

13. peterws - Lost elevator The "lost" feeling sparked over to me. It kind of reminded me of long drives on the highway through grey weather, when time just passes by...

14. h8dk97 - Bach's Invention# 13 Very nice and well played. Enjoyed it!

15. Richard (zrtf90) - Intermezzo, Op. 117/1 Wonderfully played with great feeling and expression. If I may give a tiny small critique: In some places I would have liked a little less pedal.

17. xyzzyFL (Susan) - Shangri-La A very nice piece and well played. Very enjoyable.

18. Chris Beecham - Merry Farmer A staple piece for every piano pupil - well played! Look out for your speed though - you sped up noticeably over the length of the piece. If you still are interested in working on the piece, I recommend to try to get it faster. It's "merry farmer returning from work" after all.

19. Tubbie0075 - Prelude pour Louis & 5 Pieces Nice little compositions for your nephew.

20. ajames - Bach short prelude in Cmin BWV 934 Nicely played and enjoyable to listen to.

21. Piano2138 - Lost Commenting on "Lost": An interesting little piece, well played, with good expression.

22. dynamobt/Marilyn - Kreisleriana - Sehr Langsam (#4) Very nice and expressive. Great playing - I enjoyed listening to it.

23. Forrest Halford - Brahms Intermezzo, Op. 117, #2 Wonderful playing, a really great piece and an excellent performance!

24. Newbert - Daydreaming An interesting improvisation exercise. Quite enjoyable.

25. SMA55 (Shepherd Abrams) - Nocturne in Bb Minor Very nice and very well played, with great expression. I enjoyed listening.

26. kalospiano - Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) Interesting and nice Japanese tune, well played. I agree, that your choice of the piano sound did indeed sound a bit like a harpsichord and added to the slightly "exotic" feel.

27. Greener/Jeff - Db Nocturne Another very well played Nocturne. It was worth it that you returned to it. Very nice!

28. Ganddalf - "Sommerfugl" (Butterfly, Op.43 no.1) This composition really evokes the "butterfly" with its very first bars. Very nicely played. Contrary to what you wrote about it being well known, personally I didn't know it before, so wasn't influenced from other performance and could simply enjoy yours, which I did very much!

29. MaryBee - Intermezzo Op. 117 No. 1 Very well played, just as enjoyable to listen to as the other submission of the same piece.

30. CRP - Comptine d'un autre ete - L'apres midi A fun piece, well played. Enjoyed it!

31. Sam S - Sonata K380 Well played, very competently. The crisp baroque feeling worked very well.

32. SandTiger - Fading Light A nice piece and well played.

33. Kris Shendo - Jacob's Theme I haven't seen the movie but the theme that you made from it was very nice. Liked it a lot!

34. that'sRich - Night in May Very nice, both the piece and the playing. Thank you for introducing me to a new-for-me composer.

35. jazztpt - Time For Bed This is indeed a very nice lullaby, very enjoyable to listen to.

36. Moonsh1ne - Waltz in A Minor, Op. Posthumous I like this piece very much and you played it well. Only this one arpeggio still is your master, and not the other way round.

37. lyricmudra - Monday Very nice and enjoyable. Good playing!

38. carlos88 - Our Town, III. The Resting-place on the Hill This was different! Interesting to listen to. A bit sad about the not so good recording quality.

39. sinophilia - A Curious Story - Op. 15 no. 2 That was nice! To repeat a bromide: All the Kinderszenen piecew have in common that they are more difficult than they sound (and some already sound difficult). In this case, I think you still need to work on the evenness of the short sequences with several eighth-notes. Those sometimes came out unevenly and hesitantly.

40. CASINITALY (Cheryl) - Minuet in G 116 BWV A very nice little minuet, played well. Enjoyable!

41. Zoot64 - La Lutine Very nice and enjoyable. Good look with working on the speed!

42. Mike White Yamaha G3 & p-80 - Stormy Weather Great "playing by ear"! Enjoyed it a lot!

43. Piano Primo 1 - "Inspiration" -Love Theme A very soothing and, yes, "inspirational" piece. Well played!

44. UnderConstruction - Nocturne Op9 No2 Well played, with good expression and feeling. Very nice!

45. briangmoore - Scarlatti Sonata in D minor K32 I liked this short little piece. Good playing!

46. PikaPianist - Sonata in A minor (Wq49/1), 3rd mvmt Great playing and with admirable fast and steady speed! Excellent!

47. BSharp(C)yclist (Dan) - Sonatina in C (Op. 36, No. 1, II - Andante) A sweet little movement. Liked your playing! Good luck with the exam!

48. lvojnovic - BWV 939 Little prelude in C major Very nice, well played!

49. Montuno - Solitude Very nice and perfectly played for that "solitude" feeling. The Pianoteq voice you chose (and the reverb) fits very well. But that strange pulsing noise I think I heard in the background: Was that a tad bit too much simulated damper noise?

50. blackjack1777 - Waltz A Minor Op. Posthumous Nicely played, well done! In addition to that one arpeggio that still needs work (and that trips up so many learners of this piece): I'm not much of a fan of how you play the third beat in the left hand staccato. It introduces a jumpiness/skippyness that doesn't fit with the relatively slow, slightly melancholic waltz, in my opinion.

51. Patbreaker - Prelude in c minor Very nice and well played. Enjoyable to listen to.

Here are a few more...

17. xyzzyFL (Susan) - Shangri-La This was a pretty arrangement. And your very nice touch belies the amount of time you mentioned that you've been playing recently. Well done!

18. Chris Beecham - Merry Farmer Very familiar sounding piece, and you did a good job on it. I feel the tempo was a bit variable, so using a metronome while playing it may help you to hear this.

19. Tubbie0075 - Prelude pour Louis & 5 Pieces
These are all sweet little pieces, and I would think that your nephew would find them enjoyable to hear while his dad plays them.

20. ajames - Bach short prelude in Cmin BWV 934 I see from what you wrote that you are a fellow native earthling. Greetings! I enjoyed your playing. For what it's worth, I am in agreement with you concerning Bach. Learning to play his music at times makes my brain hurt. Maybe it's an earthling thing. Nice job!

21. Piano2138 - Lost For the short amount of time you've been playing, I think you're doing a great job! Keep it up!

22. dynamobt/Marilyn - Kreisleriana - Sehr Langsam (#4) First of all, I love the sound of your restored Mason & Hamlin BB--beautiful! As for the Schumann, you did a wonderful job. I enjoyed listening to it. Good luck with your learning the other movements of this piece.

I'm not sure what I could do about it. I use the Stage version of Pianoteq and I think I can't change the damper noise in that version - if that is indeed the problem.

By the way, thanks to everybody for commenting!

You can turn it up or down. I think it sounds good when it clunks and whooshes . . . .you can adjust all these easily on the front screen.

Hi CRP!
Could you clarify what do you mean?
Is it that you don't like the way Dittrich arranged this piece or is it that you're not convinced by my playing?
In the first case, I'd say that I like this arrangement very much
In the second case, please let me know how you think I could improve it, as I'm actually not sure about my performance, since I played it from the score and I had never heard it before, so I couldn't get and idea beforehand of how other people played this.

Thanks to everybody for their comments on my piece. I hope I'll have the time tomorrow to put my comments, as there's really a lot of material to listen to...

Thank you very much All for your feedback and kind words. The last six months or so have been very stressful for me but my piano practice made it a little easier to endure. The feedback from this site is one of the few things that inspire me and help moving forward. Thank you.

21. Piano2138 - Lost: Nice job! You convey both a sense of sadness and hope in “Lost”; the listener ends up concluding that the protagonist will find his or her way out of the predicament. My only advice would be to experiment with adding a little more pedal (but keep in mind that my motto in piano is “more pedal, more better!” )

22. dynamobt/Marilyn - Kreisleriana - Sehr Langsam (#4): I admire your “one take” approach to these recitals, while fully realizing I will never be capable of adopting it. Your recording is especially impressive given the obvious difficulty of the piece. I particularly enjoyed the faster section at about the 1:35 mark. Bravo!

23. Forrest Halford - Brahms Intermezzo, Op. 117, #2: Your playing sure does not sound like you were facing any fears of the Red Dot... all I heard was tranquility and firm confidence. I was especially impressed by your command of the dynamics, e.g., the crescendo around the 3:45 mark.

24. Newbert - Daydreaming: What an interesting experiment! I couldn’t tell where the full sheet music left off and your improvising began, which in my mind is evidence that you are accomplished at improvising. This is a style of music I really like: peaceful, calming, soothing.

25. SMA55 (Shepherd Abrams) - Nocturne in Bb Minor: A beautiful job on a complex piece. Your playing flowed so smoothly. Were those acoustic panels on your wall in the video? Very nice looking, in addition to being functional.

26. kalospiano - Sakura (Cherry Blossoms): I like the slower tempo you’re using; I agree it makes it sound more solemn... almost even Russian, dare I say?

27. Greener/Jeff - Db Nocturne: Kudos to you for going back and revisiting a piece that had given you difficulty before! I don’t know enough about classical music or this piece to offer any constructive advice, but I can say that I liked it.

28. Ganddalf - "Sommerfugl" (Butterfly, Op.43 no.1): Oh my gosh, that piece sounds HARD, with all those fast runs. But you seem to pull them off flawlessly, and I can easily imagine a flock of butterflies skimming about a summer meadow.

29. MaryBee - Intermezzo Op. 117 No. 1: Great job... and I know that *I* get easily intimidated by six flats in a key signature, so I’m impressed it didn’t phase you. I loved how easily the three sections flowed together under your fingers.

30. CRP - Comptine d'un autre ete - L'apres midi: Oh, I do so love this piece. And I have long thought it sounds just as nice at a slower tempo, such as you're playing. Yes, you’ve got some polishing to do, but this is a great start. I hope you continue to work it up; it's a great piece to have memorized and in your permanent repertoire.

Thank you Richard. I appreciate the time you've taken to provide your feedback. I never played a musical instrument before but quickly became obsessed once started. What my teacher told me to do was, play 8th notes tenuto and 16th legato. I also tried playing staccato trying to mimic A. Schiff (the interpretation I was inspired by) but couldn't do it consistently through out the piece. I watched an interview with Murray Perahia not long ago and he said something like - you should not indulge when playing Bach but I'm afraid this is exactly what I'm doing :-) I will go over your comments when I get home... Thanks very much.

Thank you so much, Monica! And yes, those are indeed acoustic panels. I've PM'd you with a bit more info, in case you're interested.

Thank you. The prelude wasn't part of the set of 5. The style was somewhat 'inspired' by Bach's Prelude in C. When I feel like being creative again, I'm going to write a melody on top of it for violin.




Thank you. Your interpretations are very close to my compositional intentions.




Thank you. I don't think my brother-in-law have tried them out yet. My sister said they haven't yet set up the keyboard which I gave to my brother-in-law many years ago!




Thank you. Maybe this could be my part-time 'career'? In some parts of Asia, I distinctly remember people say "ung-goo-goo".




Thank you.




Thank you. Let's see if my sister or brother-in-law comes back for more. If they do, it might just turn into a piano method book like you said.




Thank you.



Thank you.



Thank you.



Thank you. It wasn't a silly project. Just a project of silly/simple tunes :-)



Thank you.



Thank you. I have had 2 people who wrote a poem for me. They are very special. Since I'm not that creative with words, I was hoping I could make my nephew feel special (perhaps when he is older) knowing that someone actually wrote some tunes for him.

31 Sam S

Charming piece on a charming piano. You seem to have the oiano well under control; it sounds lovely and full o' character. Enjoyed this music greatly; so very melodious!

32 Sand Tiger

Good composition, and your piano sounds excellent. If i might say so, try to br more assertive on this, retaining the expression as you do. Nice work!

33 Kris Shendo

Totally enjoyable, swaying, lilting piece. It was fine work.

34 that's Rich

Totally different music; like a film score, with so much variation and atmosphere. A clever piece, and you do it justice on your piano. Which sounds excellent.

35 jazztpt

Gorgeous piece, sounds light and warm. And your Roland sounds sooo good . . .!

36 Moonshine

Super touch you have on this, and you handle the ornaments well! Very well played!

37 Lyric Mudra

Lovely thoughtful playing; one of Einaudi's best. And you piano is the business!

38 carlos 88

We're constantly being introduced to new music; This is quite dramatic and it's good to hear the page turns! You play it gairly heavily which suits the music well.

39 Sinophilia

Remember this one from a few months agao. tried to play it again and . . .couldn't! Don'r ya love it? splendid work here, these pieces are short and very sweet.

40 Casinitaly

I tried a Yamaha silent lately; very good it was too. Handy feature . . .Your tne is a finger twister; I find Bach hard going, but rewarding when you finally get there. Not far to go with this one!

It's 4.20am and this ole insomniac is gonna try for some more sleep . . . if I fail, I'll be on the piano!

22. dynamobt/Marilyn - Kreisleriana - Sehr Langsam (#4) I envy the ‘one take’ achievers. Great tone from your M&H - it was in its element with your light and dark contrasts. The perfect way to spend a snowy day!

23. Forrest Halford - Brahms Intermezzo, Op. 117, #2 Expressive and polished playing - what an absolute delight.

24. Newbert - Daydreaming You sounded more than ‘comfortable': very ‘confident’, I’d say. I enjoyed that!

25. SMA55 (Shepherd Abrams) - Nocturne in Bb Minor Bravo! Beautifully played. I’m so glad the video link was fixed, because I appreciated watching your performance, too.

26. kalospiano - Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) Great video, and the ‘plucked string’ arrangement was most appropriate. Well played!

41 Zoot 64

Wonderful! Bit slow? I don't know. Sounded great to me steadt steady and precise. Way to go, man!

42 Mike White

We're hearing good stuff here; this was really great. Emphatically played, very fluent and a big big sound out of that little beast you played . . .

43 Piano Primo

Never heard this before, but it's very nostalgic in chearacter with a few regrets to boot. the thoughts of an ole fella perhaps? (not me) nicely played!

44 Under Construction

Popular Chopin will always be a good choice, you learn so much from this. Lovely sound and playing! Excellent development.

45 briangmoore

Harder than it looks! You did well here, I've never done Scarlatti . . .it does sound fiddly in places. Nice work.

46 Pika Pianist

OHH! Great to hear such sharpness and dexterity. We can dream . . . .it's relentless! Lovely.

Insomniacs of the world unite . . . Have fun!

I have listened again to your rendition and also listened a few times to the original played on the koto. I have never heard another playing of this arrangement.
So I have two feelings. First, I believe this is a piece which needs to be played on a "plucked" instrument, the piano sound just does not fit well. This is also (IMHO) true of many baroque pieces thought for the clavi. Second, I believe the chords should be "shorter" and "less arpeggiated" (hope this makes sense, I am no musical expert) to be closer to the brushing of the strings on a koto.

But that is just my humble opinion, ie that the piano does not work well on this piece, which makes your nonetheless pleasing effort all the more impressing.

16. Jobert- What a lovely way to start my morning. Just beautiful playing.

17. Susan- You have a great feel for this. I enjoyed it.

18. Chris- Always a fun piece to listen to. Nicely done.

19.Tubbie0075- Well, I certainly would not worry that these "were hated". No one could possibly hate them…they are perfect for what you intended. I love them. (some people are just "careless" in their responses or lack thereof.)

Thank you so much to everyone who has commented on my piece - I really appreciate the feedback.

I have been having major internet connection problems and can't do any listening !!!!! I hope this will be sorted out soon so I can get to enjoy the recital.

The hits just keep on comin'...

23. Forrest Halford - Brahms Intermezzo, Op. 117, #2 Wonderful performance! You definitely have a feel for this piece--and such a nice touch with it. Bravo!

24. Newbert - Daydreaming
This was a pleasant enough exercise to listen to. I've certainly suffered through much drier exercises of my own. Best of luck to you on continuing to develop your improvisational skills.

26. kalospiano - Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) Interesting arrangement and choice of percussive piano sound for this piece. I agree with Monica K. that the arrangement does sound a bit Russian in places. Good work!

27. Greener/Jeff - Db Nocturne Good work on one of the more difficult Chopin Nocturnes! I enjoyed your playing. One technical suggestion: consider playing the left hand softer throughout, in order to better bring out the melody.

28. Ganddalf - "Sommerfugl" (Butterfly, Op.43 no.1) Wow! That sounds like a challenging piece indeed! And while not perfect, you managed to make it sound quite beautiful. Great job!

47 Bsharp(C)yclist

Excellent work for so little experiece. Text book stuff, not a finger wrong! You'll go far. Both on or off the bike!

48 Ivojnovic

More lovely work from a true beginner. Splendid tempo, trills and good authorative playing!

49 Montuno

Clear piano sound which has flavour and depth. yet anothe 12 monther! you're getting too good too quickly . . . Great all round. Distiction for you!

50 Blackjack 1777

You guys can all feel darned proud. Excellent talent, and such confidence . . .this is lovely with super expression abd trills.

51 Pathbreaker

I love Bach stuff on the piano. Sounds like it's made for it . . ..lovely touch you have, sounded real good!


Thank you all guys. Most excellent recital. Thanks to our organisers, and those who've listened to my stuff!

31. Sam S - Sonata K380: Oh my gosh, all those trills and ornamentations! I was amazed at how cleanly and well-articulated you played them. And then when I saw you recorded this in ONE TAKE, well, that was extremely impressive. You should ace that recital!

32. SandTiger - Fading Light: I love the slightly sad, and at times almost brooding, nature of this melody. Just wish it were longer!

33. Kris Shendo - Jacob's Theme: This is a catchy piece indeed... it’s got a nice old-fashioned jaunty rag-type rhythm going on. Your improvisation of it sounds highly polished; you clearly have a good ear!

34. that'sRich - Night in May: I wasn’t familiar with this composer, but I think your adjective “impressionistic” suits the music well. You do a good job of drawing the melody out over the repeating chords in the left hand.

35. jazztpt - Time For Bed: What a sweet song for your children! (Much better than my strategy of shrieking “go to bed RIGHT NOW!” at them. ) I really enjoyed your piece; every note sings love and tenderness.

36. Moonsh1ne - Waltz in A Minor, Op. Posthumous: This is such a challenging piece, and I’m impressed that you were able to pull it off so well on just two takes. You did a great job of playing all those ornamentations clearly and distinctly.

37. lyricmudra - Monday: Well, it’s YOU who are the inspiration for me, not the other way around! I haven’t had the nerve to attempt this piece given the length, difficulty, and those pesky polyrhythms. But your playing is so calm, confident, and natural. You obviously have an affinity for Einaudi’s style, and I hope this is only the first of many covers you do of his work.

38. carlos88 - Our Town, III. The Resting-place on the Hill: I didn’t know Copland had done a score for “Our Town,” so I enjoyed being introduced to this. I like how your quiet chords build up to a dramatic climax.

39. sinophilia - A Curious Story - Op. 15 no. 2: I had no idea that Schumann could sound so jaunty, almost Joplinesque. A curious piece, indeed! You did a great job of keeping all the voices clear and distinct.

21. piano21328- Short and sweet (reminds me a bit of Vincent Persicetti). Well done. You are doing fantastic for playing such a short time.

25. SMA55- Shepherd, well played! I greatly enjoyed listening. (I'm impressed at the recording quality for an i-phone).