Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Recital #58 --- General Discussion Room

I wanted to cry when you mentioned Argerich at first, but agree 200% with your last sentence. Comparing is bad always, but this one is deadly.

I think you tempo on #3 is fine, little "indecisive" couple of times, but we can call it character. Brave choice to submit it. You have so many beautiful and competent recordings, but nooooo you have to go for the hard one.

Actually I think that everyone has pieces that are simply not written for them. For no good reason. And secondly, I'm sure if you put it aside and get back to it 6 months later, your brain will surprise you with new coordination.

Thanks! Can you explain how you enjoy the piece very much, but apparently you don't like Rachmaninoff? How about my other recording of him from the previous recital rach op33 no3

Thanks Ms! I worked hard to get these melodic lines out so it's good to hear that it works for you.

1. Wouter- Beautifully played. Well recorded too. I do not believe I have ever listened to this piece before. There are lots of intreaging parts but I especially love the bass notes and the way they echo the melody. Boy, lots of work went into learning this one. Well done.

#16. EdmondRhapsody - Castle in the Sky

I am listening to the recital randomly, letting it kind of wash over me. Then this!

I am a huuuuuuuuuuuge fan of Haisashi, and this song in particular. He doesn't get enough love in the US, that's for certain. My son and I are working on a cello/piano duet of this very song (although the sheet I have calls it Carrying You). We are both big Studio Ghibli fans, my son especially. So much so that he was inspired by Miyazaki to make movies when he grows up (he's 11). Who knows, maybe he will. He's probably watched every Ghibli movie five times, and many of them over ten times.

In any event, I just wanted to thank you for sharing a love of this beautiful music. I'd be interested in a pdf of the sheet music or a link to the source, whatever is the right way to do that.

Such a fantastic piece of music, and well played.

Noice! I've deliberately avoided looking at the submissions, in order to be surprised by the choice of compositions while I'm listening later. I look forward to having that 'Oh man he/she's playing THAT piece! Woohoo!" reaction.


Thanks for commenting, SwissMS! Those arpeggios are so satisfying to play.

I am proud of the Hasche-Mann recording while recognising many of its flaws. It represents the absolute best I could achieve when I recorded it and I would do much worse now.

I think the two pieces together represent ABF recital intentions. Together they describe well where I am at right now.

And you should be proud. I hope I didn't sound like I was belittling your effort and overall great quality of the performance. It's quite opposite, I felt like you were too hard on yourself and was hoping to sound lighter than I did. (my last resort - blame my clumsy writing on the fact that English is not my first language)

Thank you so much! It's one of my favourites - simple and beautiful :-)

Thanks so much for the kind words! It was certainly a challenge to get the whole piece together, and I'm glad I finally did it. I wish I had the space for a grand, but apartment living in a city makes it a challenge both with sound constraints from neighbors and space constraints in a tiny place! I think the next place I move to will be better suited for it.

So many beautiful pieces! I will get around to providing more comments, but here's my first round:

01. wouter79 - Etudes Tableaux Op.33 no.5- Moderato - Loved this start to the recital. I really enjoy all the color in this piece! You do a really nice job of bringing out the deep ominous feelings. All of the Rachmaninoff etudes are quite challenging. I'd be interested in hearing how you studied the veloce middle section.
02. Calavera - Roses of May - The harmonies starting around 3:05 are really amazing. This was a joy to listen to. I started playing FFIX (on Switch!) not too long ago and decided to pick up the piano collections book, but this arrangement is definitely more complicated than the piano collections arrangement; I definitely need to take a look into it!
09. Peyton - Rue de Cascades (Improvisation) - Fun! It definitely sounds like you have a lot of experience improvising in this style. I enjoyed hearing so many different textures over the consistent harmonic structure, and I got tricked by the ending!
11. Ido - k330, 2nd movement - Andante catabile - Please play more Mozart! This is extremely delicate music and you pull it off quite well.

36. gmweek - La Fille Aux Cheveux - What the heck is this? I was listening to this and was so disquieted that I literally jumped out of my seat!

OK, here's what happened: starting around 10 seconds in I could swear I could hear/feel something clearly clawing/gnawing at the back/bottom of my chair, and as I don't have any pets or children with sharp teeth, it scared the bejeezus out of me.

It turns out there's some ambient noise in the recording, but whether it's due to the mic or my ears, it created a completely uncanny sensation of something happening right behind/below me, I could literally feel it as well as hear it.

This has nothing to do with the song or playing, which are both beautiful, but man that freaked me out. Did anyone else experience this?

I knew this recital was going to be a blast. I listened to all the pieces. There's a wide variety of genres. Some pieces I liked but didn't have much to say about, so forgive me if my commentary was a bit laconic/dull/nonexistent.

01. wouter79 - Etudes Tableaux Op.33 no.5- Moderato
I really liked it. Very good dynamics and tone production, very sensitive interpretation. The obvious issue with the performance is the faster part which starts at 2:25. I suggest isolating the fast passages and bringing them gradually to the level of the rest. You don’t have to do this with this piece, you can turn them into little etudes or work on other pieces which have similar challenges and then go back to this piece with a fresh perception.
Having said that, it’s really a great performance and I enjoyed it!

02. Calavera - Roses of May
I LOVE it! Really enjoyed listening to this. Excellent performance.

03. Gombessa - Frozen 2 - Show Yourself
Great playing and dynamics. Great piano tone.
I think there are sections where the timing is a bit off, but I’m not familiar with the original song. Toward the end the bass becomes a bit too heavy imho. Still, beautiful playing of this complex arrangement.

04. MarieJ - The Family
Great sensitive playing!

05. KevinM - Hasche-Mann and Bittendes Kind from Kinderszenen Op 15.3 15.4
Hasche-Mann is really challenging, congrats for pulling this off. I think playing the 16th notes staccato would add much to the crispness of the sound and enhance the performance.
Bittendes Kind - great performance!

06. Greta99 - Elizabeth
Great playing, flawless!
Interesting piece. While a relatively modern piece, I felt heavy baroque influences in certain sections.

07. Peterws - A Pensive Place
I really really liked it. You keep changing things around throughout the piece, while maintaining the overall character of it. That bluesy twist - naughty...
Really superb! I enjoyed every second of it!
Keep sharing these gems with us.

08. barbaram - Lyric Pieces Op 12 No 5 Folk Melody
Very romantic playing. Lovely.

09. Peyton - Rue de Cascades (Improvisation)
I felt the performance really made the effect of being in nature, under a waterfall, with the water spinning and whirling. I actually felt a bit dizzy afterwards. This is a very high level of improvisation, it doesn’t even sound improvised. This is great!

10. Sma55 (Shepherd Abrams) - Thanksgiving
Very even, clean and sensitive playing. Great performance.

12. JJHLH - Prelude in E flat minor, Op. 16, No. 4
Very lyrical playing!

13. BSharp(C)yclist (Dan) - You And I
Beautiful piece, I really liked it. Great playing!

14. Ruth CM - Waltz in A Flat Major, Op. 69 No. 1
I really like this waltz, great performance! I really like your playing in general, so whenever I see your name in the list I know it’s going to be good.

15. Serge88 - Theme from New York, New York
Really cheerful playing, the piano sounds great.

16. EdmondRhapsody - Castle in the Sky
I really enjoyed listening to this, several times. Great performance!

17. PianogrlNW (Ellen) - Farewell to Stromness
Really liked it. Great playing full of expression.

18. thepianoplayer416 - Contrapunctus 1 (The Art of Fugue)
Good control over the counterpoint. I admit the organ sound started causing some ear fatigue towards the end.

19. Ted Jones - Improvisation - concluding few minutes of sixty
I like how you take a music fragment and do variations on it on the fly. At times I wished the improvisation would stay longer on a certain theme so that my brain will have time to grasp what’s going on and have something familiar to cling to.

20. Riddler (Ed) - Stella by Starlight
Very nice! Great playing.

21. sandalholme - Suite in G Minor
Oh, this is great. Sounds like professional baroque playing.

22. Snejana - Medley of Scherzo and Waltz
Great playing, very cheerful.

24. pianistamy - Bluebird
Great control and very precise playing. It feels like every note came out exactly how you wanted it to sound. I liked it very much! Interesting piece.

25. PikaPianist - Piano Sonata No. 20 in G major, 2nd mvmt
Really great, I liked it a lot. You totally captured the style.

26. SwissMS/Doris - Saraband in D Minor
Great performance, I enjoyed it. Note that at the beginning, there is a bit of rushing in the dotted rhythm (the 8th note after the dotted quarter arrives too soon). As soon as the LH starts playing 8th notes, this rushing disappears, so maybe try to count them in your head when they are not there (I used to have the same issue, that’s why I’m noticing it).

27. facdo - SWW in A major, Op.19 No.4
You are such a solid pianist, I always enjoy your recordings and this one is no exception, Great job.

28. sinophilia - Memphis Blues
What a beautiful piece, your performance really made me want to learn it.

29. WTM - Impromptu in A-flat Major, op. 142, No. 2 (D. 935)
Great performance!

30. dumka1 - Sonata in E Minor, Hob XVI:34, 3rd movement
I think you’ve managed to capture the classical style, very crisp and fast, it sounds great. Great job!

31. Jason Lenthe - Prelude in C Minor (WTC Book 1)
This performance made me realize how hard this piece is. For the short time you’ve been working on it you got to a good level. I think the main challenge will be to make the main part more controlled and more interesting, because this piece is very repetitive in its nature and the player needs to create a sense of development, through changes in dynamics, tempo, and general character.

32. jotur/Cathy Turner - Chrysanthemum
This is great, put a smile on my face. So much fun.

33. joangolfing - Sonata No. 4
Sounds good, it reminded of the famous Petzold minuets.

34. Peter Hontaru - Kinderszenen 1
Great playing, especially given your short experience.

35. Tim Adrianson - Thoreau, from Concord Sonata
Saved your performance to last, because I wanted to listen carefully. Unfortunately, it’s already late here and your wide dynamic range made me dial the volume down and up throughout the piece. But even in low volumes, the resonance you get out of that piano is apparent. This level of playing is really up there at the very top.

36. gmweek - La Fille Aux Cheveux
I think the playing is very good but the pedal overshadows it.

37. Keselo - Early French Song
You know how much I like your playing:) You’ve really managed to emphasize the melancholic nature of this piece.

38. Kevin1116 - Ballade No. 1 in G minor Op. 23
Honestly, whoever manages to play this piece cleanly will blow my mind. You’ve done more than that. I can’t believe you squeezed such a performance out of a basic digital keyboard. I really like the choice of tempo, everyone is playing it so fast that so many details go unnoticed. Awesome, really enjoyed it.

40. JoBert - Treasures from the Sea
Great playing! Sounds very even and smooth to me...

42. Ganddalf - Playtime from Summerland suite
I really liked it, fun to listen to.

43. Mosotti - Of Foreign Lands and Peoples
Very good performance!

44. InitK (Natasha) - Toccata
Great playing! Great sense of timing and rubato. I can’t put my finger on it but it does sound familiar. It sounds a bit latin. I kinda wish you had also uploaded a piano-only version but I guess the strings do contribute to the character of the piece.

45. Hawgdriver (Leon) - A Warm Place
I didn’t think the recording quality was poor at all. I liked it very much.

46. mel_lem (Melanie) - Sonatina in A minor
Great playing! I felt a little more reverb effect would enhance the sound here.

48. QuasiUnaFantasia - La Fille aux cheveux de lin
In five weeks you’ve managed to do a fabulous job. When you finish working on it, please upload it again (in a piano bar or any other form) - because it will be perfect.
I enjoyed it very much.

49. MrPozor - Aria in D Minor, BWV 515
Great playing and dynamics.

50. ShiroKuro - Ascent
Beautifully played!

51. Pathbreaker - Brahms Walzer Opus 39 No. 1
Really great, playing full of confidence. I enjoyed it.

53. lvojnovic - Sonata in D major, 1. movement
Really good, I like the tempo choice and evenness in your playing.

54. Sam S - Aria from Goldberg Variations
Great Sam. Yes, the ornaments take it to another level of hand coordination. I think many of them can be removed. But you did do a good job with them. I also liked the finger legato which created a very singing tone.

55. Purrblast - Little Prelude in C minor (BWV 934)
Very solid performance, even, clear, singing tone. At times I felt like the detached notes in the LH needed some variation.

56. piyamo - The sick doll, Op.68 No. 7
Very sensitive playing! Please try to experiment more with the recording method, I think it didn’t reflect your sound very well.

35. Tim Adrianson - Thoreau, from Concord Sonata
What a splendid start to listening to this recital. Thoreau is one of my favourite Ives pieces and you bring to it a clarity of execution I do not hear in the several professional recordings I have. I feel absolutely no connection with the many American associations of Ives, how could I ? I have lived my life in a land remote from those things. Yet his music speaks to me vividly, therefore it possesses abstraction and universality. Like Finnegans Wake it speaks on many levels. That’s the sort of art I like. Thanks for contributing it.

This has been a fantastic recital, not just quality but the variety.

I do go for the classical myself, at some point I will branch out. Having said that I really enjoyed both Roses of May by 2. Calavera and Frozen 2 Show Yourself by 3. Gombessa. They were good choices and well played.

Thanks for introducing me to music I wouldn’t listen out for myself.

Kevin1116 - Ballade No. 1 in G minor Op. 23

More than anything, I want to congratulate you on your accomplishment. Anyone who is hanging out with us ruffians (as opposed to those snooty Pianist's Corner types) and develops the ability to perform a passable performance of the Ballade deserves special recognition (in my book). I don't know your story or your background, but I do know that it's hard as heck for anyone to do what you did. My hat is off to you (and also to all those snooty P-Corner types who also do this). The passion that arises from hearing the Ballade and saying to oneself 'I want to play that', and then executing and being disciplined about that passion--these are among our most noble qualities as humans, so I think we should celebrate them. Bravo.

Here are my thoughts based on notes I took during my listen.

Well articulated. If you consider the piano as a 'voice-brain conduit' more than just a musical device, something that communicates human emotion (the 'voice') and expresses human *things* through musical language, my comment is along the lines of 'what you say is compelling, you have made your presence known and now you have my full attention'. For me personally, Chopin is the best 'voice-brain machine' composer--his pieces (for me) most allow that kind of human articulation and expression. Compared to a Bach--flawless music but it exists in a more ethereal realm. Anyways, your articulation stands out, that's my initial thought and I notice it throughout the piece.

This performance is unusually clean--seems very crisp and non-pedaled compared to much Chopin I hear. I appreciate the precision and ... clean-ness ... of it, but I'm one of those weird types that sometimes likes it when all the piano strings are muddy and sonorous. What you play, I like it. It seems like it would be hard to do. I do notice the silence between phrases, and I might sometimes expect to hear the auditory equivalent of a white canvas covered in a thin coat of background paint...if that makes sense. Anyone else get that impression? Very pure playing.

My only suggestion is to continue to hone the PCF section--it needs more presto and more con fuoco. It's a good performance, but part of the joy of the Ballade is that reckless rush of a fiery PCF. Of course, I'm spoiled by listening to these world-class performers who blaze through that section, and it's unrealistic to expect us mere mortals to play like a Horowitz or what have you...then again, it's the Ballade. It's not a lifetime achievement for nothing. You play it a thousand times better than I could ever hope to play it.

In conclusion, BRAVO! An impressive feat and one that should bring your pride for the rest of your life. It was very well done.

Thanks very much hawgdriver. Glad to know there are other Joe Hisaishi fans here. I will PM you the sheet music.

Recital index updated - I added Beethoven 250th and Recital #58.

Sam

32. jotur/Cathy Turner - Chrysanthemum
It seems to me that you have a deep understanding of the underlying spirit of Joplin. He creates a type of serene, lyrical ecstasy which is all his own and mostly absent from James Scott and much contemporary ragtime, although David Thomas Roberts and Brian Keenan are exceptions. The "faster, louder, sillier" syndrome, popular in some quarters, is refreshingly absent from your ragtime playing. I look forward to hearing more from you.

I didn't know I was playing variations on anything, must have been unconscious. Your observation is acute, and recently my music is indeed becoming a kaleidoscopic vortex of ideas. I myself achieve an odd sort of stasis, a detached serenity from the effect but I understand it isn't for everyone. Thanks for listening.

07. Peterws - A Pensive Place
Your playing is always among the first I listen to and I was not disappointed. You say a lot with simple means, and perhaps that is a rarer attribute than its converse. Always enjoyable.

Bach didn't specify the instrumentation for the piece. I heard it performed with a piano and an organ. I made a piano version on the DP 2 weeks earlier but decided to try something different. At home, people prefer the relaxing sound of the piano which is understandable. When performed with a pipe organ in church, people would be awed by the sound coming from the pipes.

I don't have access to a baby grand at home and it doesn't do justice to record an imitation piano sound out of a DP. The problem was getting a sustained sound for the long notes. Normally I would make a piano recording at the local conservatory which is closed due to C-19.