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I'll get back with other comments in a bit but I had to nip this one right away - Ralph, I'm afraid you may need to listen again.....the prior roar of the small block LS2 has been substituted for the wail of the water cooled 3.4 flat six.

89. chopinoholic (Paul de Koning) - Nocturne Opus 27 no.2 D flat major

Wow, that was beautiful. Great job. Looks incredibly difficult!

90. Whizbang (Chris) - Pastime Rag #2

That was fun to listen to. Well done. I liked the clapping effects too ;0

91. Bach to the Future - "Norse Song", Album of the Youth

The "wall" piano sounds great Nice job on the Schumann piece.

I am only 3 years into learning piano, and, am self taught. So, I lack a lot of the knowledge about music that other in this forum might possess. Generally, I am somewhat of a holistic listener, developing my impressions from the overall performance. I am not as attentive to the fine details as I am to the overall impression. So, I did not remember any things you could improve upon.

I do appreciate your desire to hear and consider specific feedback. I am that way myself. So, I returned to your piece and tried to pay more attention to details. I liked it as much the second time as I did the first.

The only matter that I think could be improved is your control of the rate of change in dynamics. The crescendos at 2:42 minutes, and again at 4:09 minutes both seemed to have minor changes in the rate at which the sound level changed. Instead of smoothly progressing upwards, the crescendos advanced in jumps instead of smoothly. I was distracted by the jumps and think other listeners might also be distracted by them.

Nothing said here changes the fact that I enjoyed hearing you play. You did well!

On a different matter, I notice that you used a different forum identity(Claudemir) to pose this question than the identity you used to submit your piece(Pianist685). If that is correct, please check the forum rules to see the limitations on persons having multiple identities on this forum. I think it might be prohibited, in which case you may need to make corrections to your identity.

You're in denial! Fiberglass is in your blood (and, now, your playing too!)

Hi Claudemir, you did not ask me, but your request for feedback made me check your submission out... I have only had a little free time to actually listen to the recital since it got posted so I have only cherry picked a few.

My impressions:

Pros: Very, very clean and a very crystal melody. I cannot stress how impressed I am when people can nail each note solidly! You also come across as a calm performer. Really musical!

Cons: Something you start with in your waltz that is shared with ragtime is a bass-chord alternation (or in this case, bass-chord-chord alternation).

In a dance, you really want the downbeat to resonate so that you provide the pulse and keep the music moving forward, but, as in ragtime, your chords are often kind of clustered in a block and this makes it really easy for them to overpower single notes or octaves in the bass. Instead of going OOM-pa-pa, you end up going OOM-CHUNK-CHUNK. This may have just been starting nerves, coz you kinda ease out as the piece goes forward. This is the main thing I think I can contribute, since this also is such a strong element of the music I work with.

I enjoyed your performance a lot.

Richard, I very much appreciate your listening to the MM and your comments. I notice in the Impromptu and Fantasy that Schubert liberally uses the staccato and I am wondering if it means something a bit different. Semi-detached, no pedal, then pedal? I will be working on these pieces at piano camp next week and will investigate the meaning.

I played Staendchen as a duet - another great Schubert piece. I enjoyed your performance.

12. Pianist685 (Constantin) - Adagio from Sonata Pathetique, Op. 13
A very moving performance of the ultimate masterpiece. Every note perfect. Bravo!!!

14. Alan Chandler (akc42) - Pathetique Sonata Op 13 2nd Movement (Adagio Cantabile)
Wow, a double Pathetique day! Wonderful! Funny thing: While I was listening to your Youtube performance, the phone rang, and I answered and took the phone to my wife and helped her with it. When I came back to the computer, Pathetique was still playing, and I thought - this guy is no beginner, he sounds like a pro, it's perfect. Then I realized - Youtube had gone on to the next video, by Lundi. Still, yours is good. Well done.

17. cmb13 - Craig - Consolation 3 in Db - Lento Placido
Very nice, Craig, I enjoyed listening to it. I must say - pieces like this intimidate me with 4 against 6, and both hands playing simultaneously in different worlds. You hung in there and executed - and made some beautiful music. Well done.

23. J Soo - Prelude in G Minor (Op. 28 No. 5)
Oh, how I envy you being able to play this piece. I love it - the passion, the drama. You brought it all out so well. Wonderful playing!

25. Jerzyk19 - O Mio Babbino Caro
Wonderful! To me, Puccini's great aria's are deeply moving, powerful, memorable. I love piano arrangements of them. Well played, I really liked it.

26. Ael M. (aelmabalod) - Arabesque no. 1
Well done. I love this piece with all those flowing arpeggios. The crickets don't hurt, really. I imagine their chirpings as being micro-applause.

28. CASINITALY (Cheryl) - Waltz Am Posth. N. 19 (B 150)
Well done, Cheryl, very flowing and lyrical. I loved it!

33. Ralph L. - Ballad Pour Adeline
Love that tune! Isn't it fun to play with a backing track? I do it a lot. That's a good track you created, and you are in perfect sync with it throughout. Well done.

34. dynamobt/Marilyn - Op 26 Theme and Var I
Majestic, stately, makes me want to stand up. Glad you did not let the surgery stop you from tackling this piece. Well done.

36. Tubbie0075 - Mozart Sonata K331, 1st Movement
Wow, that was terrific playing, high energy to the end. Bravo!

Ed

19. Peyton - Message From Space- Music For a Moon Landing

Playing ragtime? No, making music is where it is at. You have got some serious CarlosCC "letting the piano be beautiful" moments there and I really liked your piece.

I finally found some free time to listen and comment on the recital submissions.
I've always been meaning to comment even for past recitals, but I somehow never found time.
I'll try and go through all the submissions this time

01. Teddy J. - Ballade no. 1 in G minor, op. 23 (Excerpt)
Good effort for such a short time at the piano! And since you asked for constructive criticism, I'll offer some.
If you plan to keep working on the Ballade, I would suggest that you slow waaay down. Practice it at one-third or one-fourth of the tempo of your recording.
Also, I generally find that it helps to practice any piece at the tempo of the most challenging section instead of varying the tempo. For example, you play the easy parts quite fast, but the harder parts slowly and haltingly. As you keep playing in this manner, the easy parts will become more and more fluent, but the harder sections tend to stay where they are as you'll keep slowing down to play them. So if you keep the tempo more steady, you'll be able to gradually and uniformly play faster, and it'll sound a lot more coherent.
I would also more strongly suggest that you take up easier pieces in parallel. You could easily have learned 4-5 less challenging pieces and made them sound really good in the time it took you to learn this, since you obviously have a good knack for the piano.
I hope that you will keep at it

02. SMA55 (Shepherd) - Romance
That was great! Very nicely played. The audio and video were also very crisp and professional. The voicing of the melody line was very elegant.
I really like the sound of your piano. Very rich and full tone. Perfect for music from the romantic era.
I agree with you, the lyrical and less showy pieces by Liszt are really nice. Although I wouldn't say no to listening to some of his etudes and rhapsodies
I haven't learned any Liszt pieces as of yet. I was thinking of either this one (S.169 right?) or one of the Consolations.

03. UnderConstruction - Grande Valse Brillante Op18
I think it takes a lot of bravery to attempt this piece unless one is very talented or has a lot of experience. I think this is the most challenging Chopin Waltz after Op. 42 Waltz.
You pulled it off well. Especially the A section which sounds very energetic and lively. As you noted, there are a few mashed notes, and I could also notice tempo unevenness around the ornaments, but I guess as you keep practicing, they will eventually get ironed out.
However, for the experience of 3.5 years, this is definitely a commendable performance! Even after being at it for over 10 years totally, I still don't feel ready to attempt this one

04. wouter79 - Les Rozeaux (The Reeds), Treizieme Ordre, No.2
I haven't had much exposure to Francois Couperin. The only Couperin piece I'm somewhat familiar with is Les Barricades Mysterieuses.
I liked this piece. The ornaments were nicely done. I like the sound of your piano as well. Very clean recording. Nicely done!
I did get the feel at times that this piece might sound better at a faster tempo, but I guess that would have made the ornamentation very challenging. Hmmm...

05. BSharp(C)yclist (Dan) - High Heels
That was soothing, relaxing music. Nicely done! The soft part at 3:50 was really nice! Although I don't find the link between the music and "high heels".
I find that I've been listening to a lot of Einaudi these days, and also, I've just started learning Divenire, my first Einaudi piece. Perhaps I'll submit it for the next ABF

06. Jason Lenthe - Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 846
I think the prelude part is played quite often by many beginners, but the fugue, not that much.
The sound of your piano and the audio quality of the recording were very nice. Apart from aesthetics, was there any particular reason for opening up the piano ?
I really enjoyed your performance of the fugue. The voices were nicely brought out, and it was very evenly executed. Those ornaments must have been quite challenging to pull off.
Regarding the prelude, I observed that there was quite a bit of pedal. I was wondering about your reason to use the pedal in the prelude, since you seem have the technique required to play the prelude well without using any pedal. Perhaps it was for the resonance that the sustain creates? Nonetheless, the effect was interesting, but I might have liked it more without the pedal.
Overall very enjoyable

07. Ted (Ted Jones) - Improvisation (concluding 6 minutes of 60)
I liked it! And although you say it is free improvisation, it doesn't feel completely random. I think I most enjoyed the slower part of it, the section around 2:55.
I also used to do a lot of improvisation, a few years ago, when I had more free time. I used to record my playing and then listen to it, and gather the sections that sounded really nice and then try and piece together a composition from it. Sadly, I don't have that kind of time nowadays, where I'm lucky if I get an hour of playing in.

08. thepianoplayer416 - Bach Partita 1 - Minuet 1 in Bb (BWV825)
That sounds hard to play. I couldn't really detect much unevenness in the tempo, but then again, this is not a piece I'm very familiar with.
I liked it, although I did think that the ending was a bit abrupt. It might have sounded better if you started slowing down for the last measure earlier and also if the last chord was sustained longer. Maybe the audio was cut too quickly?

09. MarieJ - La Nascita Delle Cose Segrete
I think almost all Einaudi pieces have a relaxing quality to them.
I liked this piece. I didn't notice many rough parts to your performance. It sounded very even and natural. Although I did notice in some places, the accompaniment could have been softer when compared to the melody.
Overall it was very nice to listen to. I should put this music on loop in the background as I go about my work

10. jazztpt - Saying Goodbye
That was very nice! I liked the jazzy feel to it. I couldn't really make out which bits were "composed" and which bits were "improvised". Overall very impressively done!
I've dabbled a bit with jazz, but could never really manage to play anything I would care to listen to again. Perhaps in time...

I will try to comment as much as I can, but 100 entries is a lot...

01. Teddy J. - Ballade no. 1 in G minor, op. 23 (Excerpt)
This piece is well known and very difficult to play convincingly. I admire your courage, but I also think that if you stay with the piano for many years you will have to rework this a lot when your ears and skills develope. I would second the advice of slowing down because if you practice a piece a lot without tackling the problem parts early, your ears will get used to the result and it will not necessarily get better even with more practice. Taking a break from the piece can also open your ears again. But you seem to have plenty of potential for learning to play so I hope you do spread out to more music and also music that is a little less demanding.

02. SMA55 (Shepherd) - Romance
I really loved both your playing and the sound quality of your piano and the recording. Simply wonderful! I have no more words...

03. UnderConstruction - Grande Valse Brillante Op18
Some things may be a little bit under construction, but definitely a great rendition musically in it's present form already. There was no boring moment (even if I am not into these walzes normally). A great recording indeed, reminded me a bit of the many historical recordings I have, where "neatness" is not the main attraction.

Ralphiano - you're right about the forum rules, but I think you're confused about Claudemir. He's in Brazil, and Pianist685 is in Germany (and mods can do more checking than that, so I did ) I believe Claudemir is a new member who submitted to the recital without having participated in the forums before (that's why it was his first post).

CasinItaly is right, Claudemir and I are two completely different persons, and each of us has only one account on PW. I do not know Claudemir and as far as I can see, he did definitely not use my identity to submit his piece. He just replied to my post, so his post #1 got the mark "Re: Pianist685" in the head line. Nevertheless, thanks, Ralphiano, for being attentive, I do appreciate.

Thank you for your kind remark, I really appriciate it, because I guess you know that it'is important on the early stages of one's own development as a musicion to recieve some positive feedback. So thank you for that.

And I might add that It actually took me about 90 hours to learn this one....so I guess, it's not talent but mere ability to put time and efforts into learning.

05. BSharp(C)yclist (Dan) - High Heels I just can't stop listening to this one....Like it so much, it's so meditative. Oh, yeah, no wonder it's by one of my favourate composers of the modern age Ludovico Einaudi...
BSharp(C)yclist (Dan), you played it with such vast dynamics and subtleties that I can say it's a great work. Nicely done

Thanks for listening, I appreciate your perceptive input. That is exactly how I too formed my written compositions decades ago. You are right, the process is not random, just deterministic but unpredictable, very like mathematical chaos or, to use analogy, much closer to an biological organism than to a cathedral. I don't find recording improvisation takes more than one or two hours a week, an awful lot less time than trying to write compositions out, that's for sure ! The total of my recorded output over a decade, some 380 sessions, seems enormous when viewed as a whole, but it has never impinged on my family, work or daily life. I do not operate using inspiration or emotional stimulus, as these occur far too seldom to be of any use. I just enjoy creating abstract sound, onto which listeners can impose any emotional or intellectual images or associations they wish, in my case after the event.

21. Sam S - Pocket Size Sonata 2 - Moderato (and Mellow) I loved this. It's great that the two of you play together and I think you both play very well. I enjoyed this performance very much. Thanks for sharing.

22. Sandalholme - Song without Words Op102 No4 I liked your performance of this very much. Good luck at the Charity recital in June.

23. J Soo - Prelude in G Minor (Op. 28 No. 5) Excellent performance! Loved it in all ways. Regarding you comments about the tempo, I don't think you are too far off. Rachmaninoff himself specifically states "not too fast" on the score (or something like that). Some recordings I hear are too fast and bombastic. I think I like Andre Previn's recording of this the best. Have you heard it? At 2:39, on the notes that hold and ring out, he sounds as if he is playing with three hands. I've yet to figure out how he does it. Maybe you can and let me know? I loved your performance. Thanks for sharing.

24. Monica K. - Game of Thrones (Main Title) Excellent! I thought you played this very well. I don't think I would have been able to pick out any of your trouble spots if you did not mention them. Actually, I did not hear any of them with the exception for a minor issue around 3:29? Regardless, this was wonderful!

25. Jerzyk19 - O Mio Babbino Caro I loved everything about this performance. It was lovely. Thank you!

26. Ael M. (aelmabalod) - Arabesque no. 1 Nice job! Sounds like you have the two-against-threes mastered. Keep up the great work.

27. Piano2138 - Aria When Thou Art Near BWV 508 Very nicely played. I loved everything about your performance. Thanks for sharing.

28. CASINITALY (Cheryl) - Waltz Am Posth. N. 19 (B 150) Beautiful! I like your phrasing and touch. I thought you played this very well.

29. Balezin Dmitriy - Mia and Sebastian theme song from "La La land" Wonderful! I thought you play this very well.

30. zsolpyW - Don't Stop Me Now Love the interpretation and the sound of the upright!

31. Riddler (Ed) - Blue In Green Nice job on this! Especially for playing from a lead sheet. I enjoyed your performance very much.

32. Alyssa S - It's Quiet Uptown (From Hamilton) Nicely done. Nice arrangement. Just lovely!

33. Ralph L. - Ballad Pour Adeline Love this piece. Love the way you played it, the arrangement and the accompaniament as well.

34. dynamobt/Marilyn - Op 26 Theme and Var I Here's to a speedy recovery Marilyn! I thought you played this beautifully! I don't think it drags at all.

35. Piano_primo_1 - Winter Light Wonderful! I have never heard this work before. Loved the way you played this.

That can be arranged. Send me a PM and we'll work something out. Thanks for listening and pleased you like it.

Thanks for listening, glad you like it.



The main trick for an adult is to get rid of the huge, obstructive mass of inhibition inculcated through years of conventional musical education, with its magisterium of rules, "shoulds" and "ought tos". Most of the improvisation tutorials on the internet are next to useless because they concern themselves with telling people which notes to play, when the whole process is not about "what" but about "how". Spontaneous personal creation at the instrument doesn't lend itself to the serial, step-by-step learning methods we have had all our lives at school and afterwards. It isn't a matter of spending a certain amount of time on something and reaching a conclusion, as in learning to play a piece. It is an ongoing, lifelong occupation, which amounts to nothing less than a mapping of the total conscious and unconscious mind, psyche, soul, or whatever the fashionable word for it is, onto abstract sound. To add to the difficulty, most fluent improvisers, instead of stating simply what they do, seek to preserve their own mystique and enigma by implying the existence of abilities they do not possess.

In other words, the difficulties are perhaps less musical than is commonly supposed. It is possible to come to enjoy fluent personal improvisation with a very modest set of measurable musical abilities. The drive to create comes from a different part of the brain than all those things.

Thanks Monica! I'm not sorry I waited so long, but I'm glad to have finally learned the piece, completing a circle in a way.


So many notes, and so many leaps ... took me a lot longer than I expected to work it up; I had to get kind of obsessed with it for a good while.




Thanks very much to you all!

Funny thing is, I'm less of a fan of the piece after learning to play it than I was before. Generally it's the opposite. I did learn some things about the middle section and do enjoy that more than before (and it was always my favorite part of the piece), but the outer sections don't really develop the themes in an interesting way (and the recurrence of the bridge section is a straight repeat). Unless I'm missing something, which is quite possible.

I will check out the Previn, thanks for that. Some performances (old and new alike) are just crazy fast. The score I have is marked with some insanely fast metronome indication, and I don't know if that is Rachmoninoff's or the editor's. I think of the recurring 16th-note motif as representing a snare drum, which is why I'd like to play it a little faster. If I figure out what Previn is doing I will certainly share.

85. PikaPianist - Prelude Op. 6, No.1

This was great. I watch a lot of your videos on YouTube. I'll have to watch all 50 of them.

86. Allysia (PianoTV) - Variations on Land of the Silver Birch

That was an unfamiliar tune to me, but it sounded great. Thanks for sharing something new! I enjoy your videos as well.

87. Ken. - Boo Boo's Birthday

Very nice. Has a nice jazzy sound to it. Who is Boo Boo? The bear?

88. briangmoore - Menuet, French Suite #2, Bach

Nice job on the Bach piece. Looks like a challenging piece.