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| 20 | | | Performer's name: | ralph L. | | From: | Calgary | | Experience: | Almost 2 years | | Direct music link: | click to download | | Video link: | https://youtu.be/XZ6Y91WdyuI | | Title of piece: | Hallelujah | | Duration: | 02:16 | | Source of music: | Further tweaked from a version in Britain's got talent show. Used keyboard to create backing in the 2nd half, then played piano on top of it. | | Instrument used: | FP-30 and yamaha e353 | | Technical feedback wanted: | Yes |
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| 21 | | | Performer's name: | Handyman | | From: | Hershey, PA USA | | Direct music link: | click to download | | Title of piece: | The Way We Were | | Composer: | Marvin Hamlisch (music ); Alan & Marilyn Bergman (lyrics) | | Duration: | 03:08 | | Source of music: | Sheet music - Alfred Greatest Hits | | Instrument used: | Yamaha Clavinova CVP-301 | | Recording method: | DP to Audacity on laptop via Behringer Audio Interface | | Technical feedback wanted: | Yes | | Additional info: | "If we had the chance to do it all again
Tell me would we, could we?"
This is a common question most of us ask ourselves from time to time, but in this case it's taken from the lyrics of the bridge of this gorgeous title song from the popular 1973 movie "The Way We Were", a romantic drama of a caliber they just don't seem to make anymore.
In my arrangement of the simple version of the song found in one of the Alfred "Greatest Hits" songbooks I quote this part of the lyrics at the beginning (as an intro) and at the end (as a coda) to highlight it and sort of wrap the body of the song in it. The song itself is a masterpiece in the very best tradition of the bittersweet romantic ballads that came out of American movies over many years and decades. It is an amazingly beautiful piece of music from a great songwriting team - one of my all-time favorite songs.
The movie was one of the best of it's era and starred Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford. They were both in their prime as entertainers at that time and were running on high octane talent (this was long before they foolishly went far astray into the wild and wacky world of dubious political commentary). She sang the title song at the beginning of the movie and I strongly recommend that you search for this on YouTube. It's a wonderful vocal performance (as so very much of her singing is) and it's accompanied by some great still shots of her in all of her unique attractiveness thru her career.
Here are the song's complete lyrics:
Memories light the corners of my mind
Misty water-colored memories of the way we were.
Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another for the way we were.
Can it be that it was all so simple then
Or has time rewritten every line?
If we had the chance to do it all again
Tell me would we, could we?
Memories may be beautiful and yet
What's to painful to remember
We simply choose to forget.
So it's the laughter we will remember
Whenever we remember
The way we were
The way we were.
Hope you enjoy!
Lunch was a scrumptious Philly cheese steak sub with fried onions and marinara sauce at the local Italian Bistro, with pepperoni rolls and a tall, frosty root beer on the side. |
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| 22 | | | Performer's name: | Balezin Dmitry | | From: | Russia | | Experience: | 1 Year and 10 months | | Direct music link: | click to download | | Video link: | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15D7qsRwMMY | | Title of piece: | Primavera | | Composer: | Ludovico Einaudi | | Duration: | 04:04 | | Source of music: | Sheet music. | | Instrument used: | Casio CDP-130 | | Recording method: | Recorded to LINE IN of my Ritmix RR-980...then changed gain in Audacity and trimmed scilence | | Technical feedback wanted: | Yes | | Additional info: | Well. the piece isn't so difficult to play (hitting the right notes) but it's all about subtleties...needs a lot of dynamics control. So, I still have planty things to work on |
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| 23 | | | Performer's name: | akc42 (Alan Chandler) | | Experience: | Just over a year after 56 year gap - to Grade 3 as a child | | Direct music link: | click to download | | Title of piece: | Invention No 13 | | Composer: | J.S. Bach | | Duration: | 01:33 | | Source of music: | Henle | | Instrument used: | Kawai CA67 | | Recording method: | Piano internal recorder then Audacity | | Technical feedback wanted: | Yes | | Additional info: | A learnt new invention after I got to really appreciate Bach with invention No 8 (last recital)
Attempting to get expressiveness in the playing balanced with the evenness that should be with Bach. One or two minor glitches. I love playing this piece with the "Church Organ" sounds of the CA67, but this is a piano recital... |
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| 24 | | | Performer's name: | snejana | | From: | Boston, MA | | Experience: | 4 and a half years (self taught) | | Direct music link: | click to download | | Title of piece: | Bagatelle | | Composer: | Anton Diabelli | | Duration: | 00:54 | | Source of music: | The Young Pianist's Library: From Bach to Bartok, Book 1A | | Instrument used: | Casio PX-700 Digital Piano | | Recording method: | GarageBand on Mac | | Technical feedback wanted: | Yes | | Additional info: | This is my third recital for which I decided to record a piece by a Baroque composer. My favorite composer from the era is Bach (that is unlikely to shock anyone :)), but it is hard to find pieces of Bach on my level. I originally intended to learn Bach's Prelude in C major (which is actually far above my current level), and I made it only 3/4 in with the final sections being too challenging at this time. But then I found this Bagatelle by Diabelli from a book a had for a couple of years, but mostly forgotten as I was working on the easier pieces. The only bagatelle I knew of is Beethoven's Fur Elise, and I figured this would be a good candidate. I REALLY enjoyed learning it! Unlike the previous recital, where my choice of contemporary music sounded more difficult than it was due to heavy use of patterns, this bagatelle is the opposite. It might not sound hard at all, but its interweaving melodies in both hands can be quite a dare. I took a liberty to make tiny adjustments by changing the tempo from fast to very mellow; by deviating from suggestions of where the phrases have to be repeated, and modifying the suggested dynamics. I hope this will not offend Diabelli's fans! This is my favorite piece from what I have learned to play so far! |
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| 25 | | | Performer's name: | barbaram | | From: | Ireland | | Experience: | Back at it 5 years as an adult, hard to believe! | | Direct music link: | click to download | | Title of piece: | French Movie Waltz | | Composer: | Catherine Rollin | | Duration: | 01:38 | | Source of music: | Sheet music | | Instrument used: | Kawai CS8 | | Recording method: | Audacity | | Technical feedback wanted: | Yes | | Additional info: | This is a fun piece from Catherine Rollin's "Dancing on the Keys 2" collection. The whole collection is pretty nice - pieces in various dance styles at an early intermediate level. |
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| 26 | | | Performer's name: | Kalos Piano | | From: | Italy | | Experience: | 3 and a half | | Direct music link: | click to download | | Video link: | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPRrwtHG1lk | | Home page link: | https://soundcloud.com/kalos-piano | | Title of piece: | Minuet in B...lues | | Composer: | Paolo Calio | | Duration: | 01:49 | | Source of music: | my own composition | | Instrument used: | Roland FP30 plus Pianoteq D4 Blues | | Recording method: | built-in keyboard midi recorder plus Pianoteq | | Technical feedback wanted: | Yes | | Additional info: | I wanted to write a piece in the style of the minuets by Petzold/Bach, but bluesy. Here's the result. And yeah, I baiscally chose the key of B just for the sake of the title  |
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| 27 | | | Performer's name: | BSharp(C)yclist (Dan) | | From: | California | | Experience: | 3 years | | Direct music link: | click to download | | Video link: | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZjxFTzKeUc | | Home page link: | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtA0GATaWUp9IFOd6_qktBw | | Title of piece: | Fluttering Leaves (Op. 46, No. 11) | | Composer: | Stephen Heller | | Duration: | 01:21 | | Source of music: | RCM 6 Etude | | Instrument used: | Yamaha AvantGrand N2 | | Recording method: | Same as usual. Audio out from the AvantGrand N2 into microphone of Sony FDR-AX33 HandyCam, producing an MP4 file. The audio file is then extracted and noised removed using Audacity. It's then added back into the video file using ffmpeg. | | Technical feedback wanted: | Yes | | Additional info: | I went back and forth on what to submit. I had submitted this first, then had a descent audio recording of Fur Elise, but changed back to this. I did record a video of Fur Elise last night (night before deadline), but I've decided to stick with this. It's a nice little etude, hasn't been submitted before, and will hopefully expand the ever growing list of different recital pieces at PianoWorld. The etude is short, so it will only consume a minute of your time, thanks for listening Besides, anyone can go to my YouTube channel to see the video I did last night. And it needs works anyway, haha.
I'll most likely do this piece for my RCM exam, which I'll take sometime next year. When recording this piece, I blended the sound with Pianoteq Model B Gentle setting. Let me know if it sounds weird. I often blend sounds for something different at times.
Heller wrote some really nice pieces. I hope to explore more of his work. I found the below thread on PianoStreet helpful in learning more about Heller.
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,10505.0.html |
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| 28 | | | Performer's name: | JoBert | | From: | Germany | | Avatar: |  | | Experience: | Since childhood | | Direct music link: | click to download | | Video link: | https://youtu.be/JsoD4MY8lWA | | Home page link: | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJcDLkLZ0uqWMVNKxPGOvpA | | Title of piece: | Moments Musicaux No. 2 (Opus 94, D 780) | | Composer: | Franz Schubert | | Duration: | 06:37 | | Source of music: | Henle edition sheet music | | Instrument used: | Kawai Novus NV10 with Pianist Mode "Rich" | | Recording method: | Built-in recording, converted to MP3 with Audacity | | Technical feedback wanted: | Yes | | Additional info: | The main challenge in this piece, at least for me, is to play the big chords smooth and steady, without ghost notes or uneven chords. This is made especially difficult when playing the prescribed p and pp. I'm still far from getting those done to my satisfaction. Nonetheless, even with these warts and irregularities, I thought it was ready for recital time.
Hope you like it!
(EDIT: Well, it seems that I did something right, because when I uploaded the piece to YouTube, I got a copyright complaint, that I was using copyrighted music from someone else.  I've disputed the claim, of course, and the dispute as already been settled, so everything is fine.) |
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| 29 | | | Performer's name: | Piano2138 | | Experience: | 2 years 9 months | | Direct music link: | click to download | | Title of piece: | Feelin' Good | | Composer: | Christopher Norton | | Duration: | 00:51 | | Source of music: | RCM Celebration Series Level 2 - Piano Etudes | | Instrument used: | Yamaha CLP-585 | | Recording method: | Piano to MIDI, rendered with Garritan CFX, normalized & converted to MP3 with Audacity | | Technical feedback wanted: | Yes | | Additional info: | I love Christopher Norton's music. His pieces are fresh, educational and for all levels. For sure I will learn other pieces composed by him. Thanks for listening! |
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| 30 | | | Performer's name: | Sideshow | | From: | Belgium | | Experience: | 12 years (10 year lessons) | | Direct music link: | click to download | | Title of piece: | Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 | | Composer: | Chopin | | Duration: | 04:56 | | Source of music: | Sheet music | | Instrument used: | Feurich 179 grand | | Recording method: | I used an olympus recording device. It's OK but it lacks a bit in the high tones I think, the tone could be more clear, but I guess you can not expect a professional recording device for 150 euro :-) | | Technical feedback wanted: | Yes | | Additional info: | Preparing this piece along with 3 others for my demo exam in november 2018 and my yearly exam in june 2019. (both are public exams, so yeah, nerves...)
Playing the left hand elegant and correct, was a challenge for me in this piece.
If I would play the piece like this on my exam, I would be OK with it, but I hope it still 'grows' a bit. |
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| 31 | | | Performer's name: | Moo | | Experience: | 14 years of lessons | | Direct music link: | click to download | | Video link: | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5js5J0lhbJM | | Title of piece: | Venetian Gondola Song | | Composer: | Mendelssohn | | Duration: | 02:12 | | Technical feedback wanted: | Yes | | Additional info: | I did not have any pieces ready for a recital. I have quickly recorded an old piece I've learnt.
There are four Venetian Gondola Songs that Mendelssohn wrote in Songs without Words. This one op 19/6 is his first and it is quite famous.
The piece is difficult as you have to project the melody in the right hand whilst playing accompaniment also in the right hand. This is a common feature in Mendelssohn so I think learning other pieces has helped. You also have to keep the accompaniment quiet.
I played this in mid 2015 in my last piano exam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNNN5GYAaIc
I recorded it again in Jan 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&ar=1&video_id=X9Lq57wfvfE
I have not worked on it since but I have put the links if you are interested in the comparison. |
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| 32 | | | Performer's name: | SwissMS/Doris | | From: | Costa del Sol Spain | | Experience: | ~10 years | | Direct music link: | click to download | | Video link: | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT1V4Fjt5HA&feature=youtu.be | | Title of piece: | Sonata in F Minor "Allegro" op.2 #1 | | Composer: | Beethoven | | Duration: | 03:56 | | Source of music: | Sheet Music | | Instrument used: | Bosendorfer 214VC | | Recording method: | Zoom H4 | | Technical feedback wanted: | Yes | | Additional info: | This recording was made in a live "mock exam" in preparation for my ABRSM 8. This was my second piece after the technical tests (Scales, arpeggios, etc) and the Bach Gigue. So, it is definitely a recording under stress! An unfamiliar teacher was busily making notes as I played. It is one take, and has a few warts, but overall, I was pleased with how I played. May the real exam go as well! |
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| 33 | | | Performer's name: | Keselo | | From: | Netherlands | | Experience: | Nearly 2 years | | Direct music link: | click to download | | Video link: | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOSHjbA71f8 | | Title of piece: | The Sick Doll & The Doll's Funeral | | Composer: | Tchaikovsky | | Duration: | 06:47 | | Source of music: | Sheet music published by Peters. | | Instrument used: | Steinbeck 130 Upright | | Recording method: | Two microphones connected to a Scarlett 2i4 audio interface, audio captured through Audacity. | | Technical feedback wanted: | Yes | | Additional info: | Normally, I wouldn't submit two pieces, but I've done so now because I feel like these two pieces just must be played together. I adore both pieces, especially when played super slowly as I've done. The Funeral March especially, you normally don't hear played as slow. Perhaps there's a reason for it, and you'll be bored to bits listening to it. |
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| 34 | | | Performer's name: | Tyrone Slothrop | | From: | Washington, DC | | Avatar: |  | | Experience: | 8.5 months | | Direct music link: | click to download | | Home page link: | https://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Tyrone_Slothrop | | Title of piece: | The Sick Doll, Op. 39 No. 7 | | Composer: | Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | | Duration: | 01:45 | | Source of music: | sheet music | | Instrument used: | Roland FP-30 digital keyboard and Pianoteq STAGE/Steingraber E-272 software | | Recording method: | MP3 audio export file from Pianoteq STAGE | | Technical feedback wanted: | Yes | | Additional info: | I learned this piece back-to-back with my Tchaikovsky piece submitted for last month's Slavic Recital: https://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthre...ital-october-15th-2018.html#Post2772574. I found The Sick Doll was considerably easier to learn and play than Morning Prayer, probably because of Morning Prayer's SATB form and constant harmony - just seemed like a lot of which to keep track. By contrast, The Sick Doll didn't have any any features that present difficulty and is also played at a pretty easy-going tempo. I did find The Sick Doll to be good practice for learning to bringing out the soprano melody and work on my dynamics in general. This said, now it's back to non-Slavic composers for me. I have in my possession a nice edition of Tchaikovsky's Op. 39 now, so maybe I will come back to it at some point in the future and work on some of the other Op. 39 pieces.
And a message to the poor doll's mom- your doll is in a better place now! |
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| 35 | | | Performer's name: | Qwerty53 | | From: | By the Salish Sea | | Experience: | 18 months (six months with my current wonderful teacher); plus some lessons more than fifty years ago | | Direct music link: | click to download | | Title of piece: | Invierno | | Composer: | Astor Piazzolla | | Duration: | 04:51 | | Source of music: | Learned from sheet music, played from memory. | | Instrument used: | "Mister Upright," a lightly used Yamaha YUS5 that followed me home 4 months ago. | | Recording method: | Zoom H1, Audacity | | Technical feedback wanted: | Yes | | Additional info: | First time submission to an ABF Recital. I really appreciate everyone who shares their music. This piece still needs work, and the piano needs tuning, but it is what I can do today. I feel so lucky that my fantastic teacher, knowing I love Astor Piazzolla's music, encouraged me 3 months ago to believe I could learn this wonderful piece.
Invierno (Winter) is part of the suite called Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, premiered by Piazzolla and his quintet in Buenos Aires in May 1970. Lately the suite is often programmed with Vivaldi's Four Seasons, frequently using an arrangement by Leonid Desyatnikov (commissioned by Gidon Kremer for Kremerata Baltica) that -- much more than Piazzolla's original -- incorporated quotations from Vivaldi into Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. Although I prefer it without these rather literal quotations, I recognize that improvisation and the contributions of individual performers are part of what makes Piazzolla's music exciting. I am not there yet -- my recital submission is straight from the sheet music -- but this is a big step in my musical adventure! |
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| 36 | | | Performer's name: | Ganddalf | | From: | Norway | | Direct music link: | click to download | | Title of piece: | Cadiz from Suite Espanola | | Composer: | Isaac Albeniz | | Duration: | 03:52 | | Source of music: | Sheet music plus | | Instrument used: | Yanaha AvantGrand N1 | | Recording method: | Zoom H1 | | Technical feedback wanted: | Yes | | Additional info: | I'm growing increasingly fond of Spanish music and continue finding new gems almost every week. Some time ago I listened to the Suite Espanola and decided to start studying at least a couple of the movements. "Cadiz" didn't sound so difficult, so I started with this one. It turned out to be considerably more tricky than I first thought, and I'm afraid that my performance suffers from technical shortcomings. The piece is extremely transparent, so every flaw becomes evident to the listener. I hope that you forgive me this and that I have been able to express at least a fraction of the beauty of this music. |
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| 37 | | | Performer's name: | jotur/Cathy Turner | | From: | Santa Fe, NM | | Experience: | Couple of years of lessons in my early teens, 35 years off, playing for dancing and senior living since 1995. | | Direct music link: | click to download | | Title of piece: | Veterans Day Medley | | Composer: | Various | | Duration: | 05:43 | | Source of music: | Mostly by ear | | Instrument used: | Casio PX-160 | | Recording method: | Audacity | | Technical feedback wanted: | No | | Additional info: | I present here the hymns and marches of the armed forces of the United States, in the order in which they were founded, with a couple of extra tunes thrown in at the end.
U.S. Army, founded June 14, 1775. The Caissons Go Rolling Along - Brigadier General Edmund L Gruber
U.S. Navy, founded October 13, 1775. Anchors Aweigh - Charles A. Zimmerman
U.S. Marines, founded November 10, 1775. The Marines' Hymn. Music: Jacques Offenbach. Lyrics: Thomas Holcomb
U.S. Coast Guard, founded August 4, 1790. Semper Paratus. Captain Francis Saltus van Boskerck
U.S. Air Force, founded as the Army Air Force July 2, 1926, as an independent entity September 18, 1947. Wild Blue Yonder. Robert Crawford
+ 2 more tunes
Most of these have gone thru various changes in their lyrics over time so the composers/lyricists are not the complete list.
I call this my Lawrence Welk set because his orchestra used to play this medley and have the members of each service who were in the audience stand up during their hymn/march. Brought the house down. Still does in senior venues. I get a little misty myself.
These are very simple versions which I tried to keep in fairly singable keys with some kind of transition between them. |
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| 38 | | | Performer's name: | Piano_primo_1 | | From: | South Pgh PA USA | | Experience: | 9 | | Direct music link: | click to download | | Video link: | https://youtu.be/tHug-f5QZbo | | Home page link: | https://wp.me/p5jsTm-2d | | Title of piece: | Prelude Op 28 No. 4 in E minor | | Composer: | Frederick Chopin | | Duration: | 02:36 | | Source of music: | Sheet | | Instrument used: | PX 100 thru Pianoteq | | Recording method: | direct to laptop pianoteq | | Technical feedback wanted: | Yes | | Additional info: | Although this may sound naive to the master of music and piano,
this beautiful piece is by far the hardest piece
I have attempted to play.
The reason I found this difficult was because of the necessary pedaling [ soft and sustain] and the dynamics. -Which I realize are a fair to poor here.
The soft pedal and sustain are essential to keep it from sounding muddy and the dynamics are also hard to imitate well from hearing while playing the piece.
The ebb and flow of the emotion it creates/evokes is dramatic and of a grand , sad passing of life [event?].
I did my best at this; and it took quite a while ,
maybe 30 recordings because of the subtle chord-note-
changes . One has to read the score unless he has a super- memory.
The tempo was hard to maintain steadily, which
you will hear in this rendition.
I [in error] increased the tempo slightly during the
piece.
But nevertheless, I am satisfied because this really was more of a challenge than I anticipated and imagined.
The satisfaction I assume comes from the fact that I tackled the difficulty that originally I had thought would be an easy piece, and that satisfaction is proportional. |
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| 39 | | | Performer's name: | Richard (zrtf90) | | Experience: | More than it sounds, less than it feels. | | Direct music link: | click to download | | Title of piece: | Lento con gran espressione | | Composer: | Chopin | | Duration: | 04:50 | | Technical feedback wanted: | Yes | | Additional info: | Chopin: Lento con gran espressione (Nocturne No. 20, Op. posth.)
I've been participating in the Study Thread for this piece and responded only recently to the suggestion of submitting it to this recital (just shy of three weeks ago as I write).
This is not a difficult piece as Chopin Nocturnes go and it's very easy to memorise. None of the difficulties are such that they can't be overcome with slow and careful practise.
The biggest challenge for me here was deciding on the version to use. I've never learned a piece before that has so many published versions yet so few the same. I haven't even stayed with one version in its entirety but patched together extracts from various published editions. There were up to fourteen sheets for this at one time on my piano rack, many parts excised by coloured pencil and others double outlined as firm. It's only having memorised extracts individually that I've joined them together, and only since it was suggested in the thread that it be submitted, so I don't actually have a complete copy on paper just yet of the final version I'm playing.
The trills are among the most critical I've had to deal with as I feel they're vital to the character and the performance and of this piece. While the runs in the coda look like hard, they're actually just regular scale runs with flexible timing and the focus on different end notes. Not difficult for someone who regularly works on scales (as opposed to playing them often).
There's a central section that in all the recordings I've listened to are taken at twice the pace that's written, largely based, I think, on the scherzando passage in his 2nd Piano Concerto - but it's only from recording myself early on that I realised why I needed to follow suit - the pace lags just when it needs to pick up. The judicious use of the otherwise unoccupied RH helps maintain the rhythmic energy in this section.
There is, on top of all this, the fact that Chopin's own autograph is marked as being in cut time, takes the middle section in 3/4 time for the RH and 4/4 time in the LH, only later joining both staves in 3/4 before taking the reprise in common time (though marked a tempo primo) while in another manuscript the piece begins in common time but reprises in cut time!
I chose a gentle pace to afford more leeway in the 'gran espressione' and I think it's better than rushing anywhere. Once I'm more used to the piece I'll be able to adjust the tone to suit.
Many thanks to Craig for the idea of starting this piece and the participants in the thread who've contributed ideas. It's been a joy to research, to work on and to share the effort with others. I've not been able to enter recent recitals because of unexpected issues in the face of impending retirement. I expected a quiet year and it's not turned out that way. This piece has kept me at the piano instead of taking days off from indolence.
My gratitude, as ever, goes to the team who provide this wonderful opportunity to motivate our practise. |
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