Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Recital 56 --- General Discussion Room

21. Jerzyk19 - Invierno Porteno
Powerful performance - you play with real authority and conviction! Well done!!

[23. PianogrlNW - Milonga Surena
Interesting piece of music, played very well.

24. PikaPianist - Albumblatt in E major Op. 59, No. 5
Wow, beautiful, expressive playing, and I am awed at the finger gymnastics too! Superb!

27. dumka1 - "April" (Snowdrop) from "The Seasons"
Excellent playing, very musical.

28. joangolfing - Prelude Op. 28, No.6
Confession: What I love most about these recitals is listening to all the Chopin. Very well done.

30. Mosotti - Theme From Love Story
Superb arrangement, played to perfection! Great job!

32. Piano_primo_1 - Chopin Prelude Op 28 No. 20 in C minor
Ah, one of my all-time favorites, played with appropriate solemnity and deep feeling. Well done!

Ed

18. ShiroKuro - Monday (for Monica) ShiroKuro, both your comments and your playing were very special. ‘Monday’ is not Einaudi’s easiest piece (as I realised some time ago) but it remains one my favourites. It sounded just right on your beautiful new-to-you C2.

17. Chrispy - The Watchmen Opus 12 Nr. 3 The Nordic Recital’s loss is our gain - you certainly have reason to be happy wth this. I didn’t notice warts or fumbles - very well played!

16. Riddler (Ed) - A Time for Love It never ceases to amaze me what can come from the bare bones of a lead sheet. Ed, that was a true delight.

15. Greta99 - Feuille d'Automne I haven’t heard this sweet, gentle composition before. It is lovely, and you played it with the delicate touch it deserves.

14. ThomasPiano - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town Bright, cheerful, spirited - just right for holiday season. Very well done!

13. Jason Lenthe - The Entertainer Not the ‘same old’ version that I’d come to expect; I loved the verve and variety of your interpretation. Terrific!

12. peterws - Jus' Wonderin' Just. The. Best! I loved it, loved your performance, and loved following your score on the video. Now please get back to topping up that pipeline, we’re waiting for more!

11. Claudemir Medeiros - River Flows in You That was a very appealing performance - a great sound, and a confident touch.

10. KevinM - Songs Without Words - Lieder ohne Worte 19.2 A truly lyrical piece, ranging from delicate to powerful; you played it beautifully. Thank you!

09. ralph L. - wish upon a star I hadn’t heard this composition before. It had a gentle dreamy feeling - appropriate, I guess, for a ‘wish upon a star’. Nicely done!

08. Peyton - Metamorphosis 4 Fabulous, Peyton! The combination of dramatic performance, powerful piano and video just blew me away.

01. earlofmar - Sinfonia No 8

Very nice, the voices are quite clear too!

02. SMA55 (Shepherd) - Impromptu in A Flat Minor Op 90 No 4

I'd love to do this piece as well! I think you've pulled it off quite nicely! You can clearly hear the melody between all those waves of notes! What did you think was the biggest challenge practicing this piece?

06. Ted Jones - Improvisation - concluding 6 minutes of 60

Nice! It almost sounds like harps playing! Like a wild dream!

12. peterws - Jus' Wonderin'

Nice, I didn't know this piece. Very strong combination of rhythm and a flowing melody. The way you play it has a very strong depth of tone too.

36. MarieJ - Uno

I didn't know this Ludovico yet. You play it with much attention to the atmosphere surounding it, thus creates a very strong mood too!

45. stumbler / Dave - Scarlatti Sonata in EMaj K531 (to do)

Awesome find too! The romantic approach fits quite well for this piece I think!

47. Pathbreaker - Sonata Op 7, 3rd mov

Great playing! The rhythm of this piece makes it very forward moving too!

48. Sam S - Piano Sonata opus 26, 3rd movement

Very strong use of those silences! You inspire me to try and play Beethoven! I've never played him before. Sounds like a very strong performance.

3. Gary- Nicely done. It moves along smoothly and you are playing it very well.

4. Dan- well played. Hey I wish my cell phone could record sound that well.

5. JJHLH- A nice listen. When I first heard this in the movie Donnie Darko I too had to learn it. It's just a heartfelt piece.

01. earlofmar - Sinfonia No 8
Lovely Bach to start us off, I really like the way you brought out each of the voices

02. SMA55 (Shepherd) - Impromptu in A Flat Minor Op 90 No 4
Great flow and energy, you really create the mood with this

03. Gary001 - Trallerliedchen opus 68 no 3
You’ve done a lovely job with this pretty piece

04. BSharp(C)yclist (Dan) - Prelude in E Minor (Op. 28, No. 4)
Big mood, love it

05. JJHLH - Mad World
Really nice, well done

06. Ted Jones - Improvisation - concluding 6 minutes of 60
Incredible, I can’t imagine being able to sit at the piano and improvise like this. Thanks for sharing this with us

07. JoBert - Abschied (from Waldszenen, Opus 82)
Terrific, beautiful playing

08. Peyton - Metamorphosis 4
I enjoyed the intensity of this, though it has quite an unsettling, agitating effect on me I find

09. ralph L. - wish upon a star
This is very sweet, I liked it a lot

10. KevinM - Songs Without Words - Lieder ohne Worte 19.2
Really lovely, I know the feeling of not being able to make the piece sound as it does in my head, but try not to let that get in the way of appreciating what you achieve!

11. Claudemir Medeiros - River Flows in You
Lovely piece, and you have played it really nicely

12. peterws - Jus' Wonderin'
Super stuff, thanks for sharing your composition with us.

13. Jason Lenthe - The Entertainer
I love when the tempo picks up for your bouncy repeat, it really made me perk up and pay attention!

14. ThomasPiano - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
Too soon, too soon
Seriously though, that was a nice fun romp to get us into the holiday spirit

15. Greta99 - Feuille d'Automne
Lovely! I’ve played a couple of easy Rebikov pieces as quick studies, but haven’t encountered any of his later intermediate/advanced pieces. I enjoyed your performance very much.

16. Riddler (Ed) - A Time for Love
Gorgeous!

17. Chrispy - The Watchmen Opus 12 Nr. 3
The Nordic Recital’s loss was the ABF Quarterly’s gain!

19. Sandalholme - La lugubre gondole II
This takes a while to really get going, but when it does, it really has an impact. Well done

48. Sam S - Piano Sonata opus 26

The major part in the middle was rather unexpected, but it makes sense. While mourning the hero's death, people are also celebrating his life and his deeds. Very well done!

47. Pathbreaker - Sonata Op 7

I liked this movement and your interpretation very much and found the tempo appropriate.

46. EdmondRhapsody - Waltz in A minor

Your grace notes and ornamentations are not what I'm used to, but I liked it, it gives your interpretation a very personal note. Beutiful singing melody in the right hand. Very nice!

45. Dave - Scarlatti Sonata in EMaj K531

I'm glad you submitted this beautiful sonata, even if you don't think it is ready. I found it quite an earworm. Nice dynamics, delicate touch. It would be great to hear it again in the Scarlatti recital!

44. Qwerty53 - Little Song

Such a gem! So tender and lyrical. One can easily imagine it being sung. You played it very well.


43. lvojnovic - Variations on a theme of Paganini

Well done! I'm sure if you return to this piece in one year, you'll be able to play it much faster.

42. QuasiUnaFantasia - Prelude no. 2

It was not obvious for me, that it is a work in progress. Your performance is very convincing, so reflective, a little melancholic maybe. I enjoyed it very much.

41. Purrblast - Little Prelude in D minor

I love Bach! He is not easy to play but very rewarding once everything comes together. You did a very good job with this prelude!

40. Suni - Les plaintes d'une poupee

Very nice! I especially liked the middle part. Very good progress for only one year.

I’m enjoying listening to all of the recital submissions. Here are some comments on a few so far:

01. earlofmar - Sinfonia No 8
Bach is just plain tough! But you did a good job.

03. Gary001 - Trallerliedchen opus 68 no 3
Very nicely and evenly played.

07. JoBert - Abschied (from Waldszenen, Opus 82)
Beautiful, JoBert! I enjoyed this piece and your rendition of it.

15. Greta99 - Feuille d'Automne
I’m impressed. You have a really nice touch and a wonderful sense of timing. Great job with this little piece.

16. Riddler (Ed) - A Time for Love
Very nice as always, Ed!

20. zsolpyW - Por Una Cabeza
Nice job!

23. PianogrlNW - Milonga Surena
Beautiful! I think you did a wonderful job with that challenging syncopated Latin rhythm. And your Schimmel sounds gorgeous, too, by the way.

26. Snejana - Sailboats in the Bay
I know you were beating yourself up over this piece, but don’t. Your hard work shows. But you’ve asked for help with this piece, so I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that everything sounds great. I do hear the problem that you’re having, and I would describe it as unevenness in your playing. But it’s fixable. First of all, you said that you’re having problems with the triplets. But I looked at the score, and the reality is that there are no triplets in this piece. In the right hand in each measure, you’re seeing two groupings of three eighth notes, each preceded by an eighth note rest. You should count each measure as “one and two and three and four and”, with the rests falling on counts/beats one and three. (The left hand is playing the melody, also falling on beats one and three.) But if your problem isn’t just a matter of counting the measures correctly but is also due to a lack of coordination between the right and left hands, there are many technical exercises that can help remedy this. And any decent piano teacher could point you in the right direction. If you really want to improve your playing, I strongly recommend that you find a teacher. I know that there are some who say teachers aren’t essential. And there ARE occasional cases where musicians have excelled without the use of one. But they are the exception. For most of us, a teacher can see and hear what we ourselves don’t. So, back to you: Don’t beat yourself up. Instead redirect that energy toward identifying and isolating the problem. Good work!

36. MarieJ - Uno

I think that was fantastic Marie. I've not heard the original but your playing was captivating and I enjoyed listening to that.

37. Lazarus - Morning Prayer (Op 31, No 1)

Well done for getting this far. Revisiting as you say is exactly the right thing to do.

38. Hyena - K545 Second Movement

Yes, you've played this slower than usual. You have given it proper musicality. I think it sounds lovely at this speed and the feel you have given it.

39. Mateusz 'Mati' Papiernik - Keyboard Sonata in D minor, K. 213 (L. 108)

Wonderful, just wonderful. I loved it.

40. Suni - Les plaintes d'une poupee ( Doll's complaint)

Nicely played, and well done for getting your first recording.

41. Purrblast - Little Prelude in D minor (BWV935)

Within a second or two, I immediately recognised this is Bach. You have captured the Bach sound just so, and handle the detail really well.

42. QuasiUnaFantasia - Prelude no. 2

What an interesting piece. Getting the timing right must have been so hard. Well done for getting that done. I like the overall feel you've given it as well.

07. JoBert - Abschied (from Waldszenen, Opus 82) You made that piece really sing - beautifully done!

06. Ted Jones - Improvisation - concluding 6 minutes of 60 Only positive responses from me! I would like to have continued listening; your improvisations bring to mind rich abstract paintings. Great stuff!

05. JJHLH - Mad World Eight months and you can play this piece with such expression? It has been a favourite of mine since I first heard it years ago, your gentle touch did it justice. Keep up the good work!

As a first-time participant in the recital, I must say I'm particularly impressed by the overall quality of the performances that have been submitted. Many thanks to everyone who made this recital possible, and to Monica K!

I wish I had something more meaningful to say about each performance. On the other hand, there's no harm in pointing out that something good is, in fact, good. So, without further ado, here's my two (Iranian) cents about a few performances:


02. SMA55 (Shepherd) - Impromptu in A Flat Minor Op 90 No 4
Technically impressive and beautifully played.

04. BSharp(C)yclist (Dan) - Prelude in E Minor (Op. 28, No. 4)
I really enjoyed this nice, sensitive performance.

05. JJHLH - Mad World
I've always been partial to this version of Mad World, and you've played it in the soft, gentle and sorrowful way I expected. Well done!

08. Peyton - Metamorphosis 4
Amazing performance! My favourite part starts at 3:00.

09. ralph L. - wish upon a star
It's a shame it doesn't sound more seamless! A good and enjoyable performance nonetheless, which got me interested in the original song. I found the version sung by Cecilia Cheung, and I like how your rendition makes the theme sound more gentle and child-like in a way that fits the title.

10. KevinM - Songs Without Words - Lieder ohne Worte 19.2
I sympathize with your frustration, as I've hit that kind of ceiling with more pieces than I care to admit. In my case, I have often given up on said pieces since I didn’t enjoy them enough to practise as hard as I thought I needed to. At least you seem to have liked this piece enough to improve and give this performance, which is definitely recital-worthy. If I played the piece at a live recital as well as you did, I doubt I’d have any regrets.

12. peterws - Jus' Wonderin'
Very relaxing composition! Nice work.

14. ThomasPiano - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
I might be wrong, but I could almost hear you grinning while you were playing this. I know I did. Quite a fun performance to listen to.

18. ShiroKuro - Monday (for Monica)
Very moving performance! The part at 2:45 sounds particularly expressive.

20. zsolpyW - Por Una Cabeza
Tango is a genre I'd never see myself playing but definitely enjoy listening to. Great performance!

21. Jerzyk19 - Invierno Porteno
Another tango piece! I like the bittersweet mood.

23. PianogrlNW - Milonga Surena
Very impressive playing, and the rubato parts sound great.

30. Mosotti - Theme From Love Story
Now this takes me back. I first heard this theme as a child when it was covered by a French R&B singer. Your beautiful performance therefore sounds pretty nostalgic to me.

32. Piano_primo_1 - Chopin Prelude Op 28 No. 20 in C minor
I love the crescendo at 1:30. Very nice, adequately sorrowful playing.

36. MarieJ - Uno
Sweet melancholy... I'm not familiar with this piece, but to me it sounds like you give each part the right amount of energy and expressiveness. Thanks for sharing this.

40. Suni - Les plaintes d'une poupee ( Doll's complaint)
As pretty and delicate as a doll.

42. QuasiUnaFantasia - Prelude no. 2
It might be a work in progress, but it's already quite nice to hear!

44. Qwerty53 - Little Song
I love the peaceful sound of this. IMHO you've pulled off the teneramente directive quite competently.

45. stumbler / Dave - Scarlatti Sonata in EMaj K531
Your playing sounds so light and pretty. Great performance.


Also, thank you Qwerty53, MarieJ, Piano_primo_1 and KevinM for your kind, encouraging words about my performance. I look forward to submitting other performances of video game music which, hopefully, non-gamers can enjoy too.

Thank you to all who’ve listened to my recording and especially to piano_primo_1, Sam S, KevinM, Peyton, Ted, Qwerty53, peterws, John305, stumbler, hyena, PianogrlNW, bSharpCyclist, Ralph L, barbaram, and Calavera who took the time out to comment upon it.

To answer a question:

I would say the most difficult part about this piece is to play the cascading arpeggios smoothly and evenly. When the piece is brought up to speed, there is the tendency to come down too hard on each successive arpeggiated grouping as your repositioned fingers land on it, causing unintended accents that impede the smooth flow. That took me a few weeks to iron out.

04. BSharp(C)yclist (Dan) - Prelude in E Minor (Op. 28, No. 4) One of my favourites, and very nicely played. I’m amazed at the recording capabilities of a cell phone!

03. Gary001 - Trallerliedchen opus 68 no 3 Revisiting a piece is often very rewarding, and in your case it paid off - that was short but very sweet.

02. SMA55 (Shepherd) - Impromptu in A Flat Minor Op 90 No 4 Shepherd, most of us lesser mortals would never spot the blunders you mention. Congratulations on so many counts, including the delicacy of the arpeggios, playing the whole piece from memory, and the wonderful sound you extract from your Steinway.

01. earlofmar - Sinfonia No 8 That was a very successful performance of a challenging piece. It must have been well received in your AMEB exam.


Well, I’ve finished working backwards through this marvellous concert. Thank you again, Sam, for running the Recitals (and for keeping the invaluable Index up-to-date). And thank you to those who listened to my effort and offered feedback: your comments do wonders for my motivation!

33. AssociateX (Liz) - Rachmaninov- Prelude Op. 23 # 5 (G min)
Liz, wow, that is a horrendously difficult piece, but one that I love with a passion. I identify with your obsession totally! I enjoyed listening to it. Good work!

35. Calavera - Main theme
Well done. You play with precision and excellent expression.

36. MarieJ - Uno
Well done, Marie. Sad and truly beautiful!

38. Hyena - K545 Second Movement
Wonderful performance! It seems to me that your technique is perfect for Mozart. And yes, there is a certain nostalgic quality to this piece, I think.

41. Purrblast - Little Prelude in D minor (BWV935)
Well done! Your ability to execute two independent lines at a brisk tempo is quite impressive. I enjoyed listening.

Ed

Thanks all for the lovely praise



I don't think it's just you. And, I think it's a good observation that I blame partly myself for and partly my "recording" technique which is to use Pianoteq to play back a midi file rather than straight from the piano. It looks like I'm inadvertently half pedalling which sounds fine on my piano, but doesn't translate well to Pianoteq. So thanks, it gives me something to work on!

Thanks to barbaram, MarieJ, hyena, stumbler, Qwerty53, KevinM and piano_primo_1 for listening to and commenting on my improvisation. As the reactions are overwhelmingly positive I shall continue to post small extracts of it in the ABF recitals.

Many thanks to all who have commented on the Liszt.
Sam S: Glad you thought it was well played, I too am not a fan of Liszt or Wagner, but this piece speaks to me.
Piano primo 1: yes, I think it is more meaningful when one's life, to some extent anyway, echoes the feeling of the piece.
Qwerty 53: glad it connected with you. The second version, published as I , is more well known. For me, the first version, though it repeats itself somewhat, is the more powerful.
Marie J: many thanks. I'm glad it spoke to you.
Kevin M: many thanks also. Late Liszt is indeed discordant and a new genre for me.
Peterws: I have most Pianoteq instruments but the Steingraeber is the one I play almost exclusively. Very happy that you liked the sound. I can understand your not taking to it, thanks for your honesty, it is a piece that is better played than listened to.
Barbaram: thank you, it is a piece that has great power and also almost silent grief.

39.Mateusz- Absolutely Lovely!! You play it with command and feeling. What else can you ask for?

36. MarieJ- I have not heard this one before. It is certainly recognizable as Einaudi but has an almost Classical era feel to it. Perhaps it is just the feel you bring to it. I also like that it is short and to the point. Really well played.

32. Piano primo-1- Nicely done. Not sure how I feel about the strings at the end. But you obviously had fun and that's all that matters.

31. Gandalf- Very refreshing to hear some Haydn. Well played.

29. timmyab- I have these in my repetoire. What I like about your playing is how you make them sound so easy to play. And they are not. Seriously, you play these like a master. Just beautifully done.

31 Ganddalf

Sounds less romantic to me ; perhaps more to do with an earlier era, but with those flowery embellishments, it sounded great. Fingers got a good work out!

32 piano primo 1

Decent rendition of one of Chopin's depressive works, but, with those strings, you lightened it up a lot, for which I salute you!

33 Associate X

Rachmaninov. The very word strikes terror into my heart, ever since I tried to play the theme from "Brief Encounter" some yaers ago. It did my head in.
You're obviously made of sterner stuff; this piece is very nearly there. The end is near!! Keep going; well done!

34 facdo

That was lovely music on your little Kawai. Excellent sound, hardly surpassed by anything I've heard from an acoustic; one might conjecture how this was achieved . . .and your performance? You won't need to piece that soon.

35 Calavera

It's good that you can like tunes like you do, and get such pleasure just from the piano keyboard/. I do too; always have. Just like to hear certain notes, vertain harmonies. You have a good sound, and your music was expressive.

So many submissions of such a high standard from a variety of skill levels. I'm going to add some comments on a few semi-randomly. Although not really any technical feedback as it's hard for me to critique playing that's above my skill level.

02. SMA55 (Shepherd) - Impromptu in A Flat Minor Op 90 No 4

Not a piece I'm familiar with and beyond my skill level, so all I'll say is, you made for a tough act to follow.

05. JJHLH - Mad World

I always liked this piece, perhaps more so after hearing it in Donnie Darko. Learned it for the guitar a while back but now you have me wanting to learn this on the piano. You played this nicely.

09. ralph L. - wish upon a star

Quite an interesting piece, it feels like it'd be right at home in an asian RPG.

What happened at 1:58? I assume it's two separate attempts joined? It's a bit jarring but the piece was well played that it's easy enough to ignore it

11. Claudemir Medeiros - River Flows in You

Very nicely played.You had a great consistency with the faster runs of notes throughout.

18. ShiroKuro - Monday (for Monica)

I've grown to like Lodovich Einaudi after listening to so many of Monica's recital submissions over the years. It was a little emotional to listen to this knowing we'll not be treated to any more. Beautifully played.

23. PianogrlNW - Milonga Surena

I've listened to this a couple of times now and I'm still not sure if I like the piece or not, but your playing of it was great. The pause around the 3:02 minute mark felt just the right amount to leave you in suspense, but not overly long.

36. MarieJ - Uno

I almost fell asleep listening to this. i don't mean that in a bad way, it's such a relaxing piece and you played it so well

48. Sam S - Piano Sonata opus 26, 3rd movement

I don't think I've ever heard this piece before. Surprising amount of note variation in this one.

I do hope everyone is proud of their submissions, there's some talent in these forums and not a single submission that wasn't worth listening to