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Thanks, Tim for your constructive and helpful feedback! I think I underestimated the time it would take to perfect this piece. To me, it turned out to be a lot harder than it looked when I first chose to play it. I’m not sure if that’s true of the other Scarlatti’s? I appreciate your help and plan to return soon with more practice!

Thank you Tim and Simon for your insightful comments, and to everyone who listened to my piece. I enjoyed all the submittals in this recital and heard some sonatas that were new for me. The Cat Fugue is now on my bucket list.

Thank you Sam - that is a good idea.

Too bad we didn't get to hear you tackle this masterpiece. I love the piece, obviously, and would really like to hear your version of it when you think you're ready.

Sam, I have never been clear about the "technical feedback" line item. I did notice that Diane had indicated "no" on that, but if one says that, does it mean we just don't want to get feedback on our recording methods, sound quality, equipment, or whatever?

I would suggest adding another question: "critical feedback--yes/no?" A "no" to that would make it perfectly clear that the person submitting only wants others to listen and does not want to receive comments, constructive or otherwise, about their performance. I don't think remarks in the Additional Info section would help that much.

For what it's worth, I was going to write comments on all the performances I listened to and found interesting. I don't think I'll be doing that now, given that some contributors may take offense, even if none is intended.

Cheers, and thanks again for all your hard work!
Simon

I think the technical feedback question is ambiguous, Diane. "Technical" to me implies something completely different from performance critique. I do believe it's something that can be corrected and I've made a proposal as to how that could be done.

FWIW, I thought your performance was rather interesting. Maybe we could call you a strict constructionist? In any event, you were true to the score and, while I would have enjoyed a tad more rhythmic elasticity in places, I really liked the steady tempo and even touch that gave the performance a kind of meditative quality. I listened twice (that's my test), and enjoyed it both times, so I give you a hearty thumbs up.

I took a listen and I think you're right. It is a bit too fast.

This performance by Kempff is to me a perfect tempo (and a perfect performance):

If anyone has something to say about my performances, please feel free! Good or bad. That's why I posted them here. BTW, I really liked SiFi's K380, stately, precise and wonderful to listen to. I played my version as what I imagined would be a expressionistic encore. I let loose a little more than I would have if I were playing for a teacher. My technical skill didn't keep up. I think I went too far in the second part and also missed a few key notes. Tim again hit the nail on the head with his comments about K391. I was going for playfulness and humor. Some folks think parts of that sonata sound like bird calls, and I imagined Scarlatti playing with those sounds when he wrote it. K322 sounds to me that it was written to imitate a guitar. So I had that in mind when I played it.

I enjoyed listening to everyone's submissions. Thanks.

Kudos to everyone brave enough to submit. I was playing K32 for my teacher from before the recital was announced but I did not feel confident enough to post my best.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to my submission and for your kind comments. Will work on the rhythmic flexibility. I’m sure there is a whole lot of music in that piece that I missed so I’ll explore that as I can. I agree with you that the technical feedback question is ambiguous and you proposed a sensible solution that probably could be easily implemented.

Tim, thank you very much for your response and clarification. I accept your apology.

Another great recital! I want to thank to all participants. I’ve listened to all submissions, to many of them more than once. I’ve discovered quite a few gems that are now on my "to do" list.

Sam, many thanks for organizing this and providing technical support and encouragement!

Tim and Simon, I was really moved by your comments, they are among nicest compliments that I’ve ever received concerning my piano playing. I thank you for that.

Tim, I always learn a lot both from your comments and additional info you provide to your pieces. Simon, this applies to your comments as well. I hope, you both will continue to share your vast knowledge.

Diane, I really liked your submission. I would love to listen to more of your renditions in the recitals to come!

Thank you all for the wonderful recital. Even though I was familiar with some of Scarlatti's sonatas before, I feel that my understanding and appreciation of Scarlatti's music has grown a great deal thanks to this recital. A focused themed recital like this really gives you a great insight into a composer's style.

I'm still a little disappointed that I didn't manage to prepare two contrasting sonatas (and had to go with an older recording), but I'll keep working on K43 and hopefully will submit it to one of the regular recitals.

Tim, thank you for your comments on my K466. I actually love this poignant piece, it never goes on too long for me. I do admit that my tempo could have been a little faster to create a greater sense of motion. This recording was made when I had just learned this sonata and I still found it difficult at the time to increase the tempo without making mistakes. Now, that I'm revisiting it, I think I'll also start playing it more freely and hopefully will be adding more variety to it, as you suggested (although I'm always a bit hesitant to experiment too much with baroque pieces).
I absolutely enjoyed all of your recordings, it's always a treat to hear your nearly professional (or just professional? I can't tell) performances. The cat fugue just blew away.

A few more comments (some are just pure impressions):

JJHLH--nice, clear, sensitive playing. It's really impressive given you have been playing piano for only over a year. Wow.


Ellen--Great performance. I loved the motion, phrasing, and tasteful rubato.

rwsavory--Thanks for your submissions. I'll only comment on K 380--this is the one I'm most familiar with, since my daughter played it a couple of years ago. It was interesting to hear different interpretations at this recital. I appreciated your unusual take on it and I loved the ornaments, but the overall flow was a little lacking for me.


Kevin 116--really enjoyed it! Great character and beautiful, clean ornaments.

Associate X: I loved the energy of your rendition of K159 (and, like Tim, was a bit confused by the slowing down in the second part). As for our beloved sonata K466, I liked your tempo (definitely better than mine) and I found your ornaments very elegant. For me it had a little too much rubato, but I tend to be cautious with baroque pieces, so I might be too conservative here. My favorite performance of this piece is not by Shishkin but by Horowitz. Shishkin takes too many liberties with the rhythm, to my taste.

Facdo--an incredibly clean and elegant performance. Amazing for only a few years of piano learning.

Snejana-- very interesting, sounded almost Romantic to me.

Mosotti--very nice, I liked the balance between the hands. Again, unbelievable you're playing like this after less than 3 years.

winterflower--Two very interesting sonatas I'd never heard before, thanks for submitting them. In addition to the rhythm issues that Tim mentioned, I would also recommend working on phrasing a little more. You did try to create some contrast between phrases, but within specific phrases I didn't always hear enough of a flow, and high notes sometimes stuck out too much. What Tim said about "deciding how the piece moves" can also be taken to the level of a particular phrase/shorter segment. But this is just my very amateur opinion.

Greta--just lovely! So clean and musical. I completely agree with Tim's and SiFi's assessment.

Pika--gorgeous playing, as always.

Cfhostod--very enjoyable.

SiFi--As I mentioned, I heard several renditions of K280 before, including by my own daughter, and I must say that your performance is exactly how I always thought this piece should be played; you create enough contrasts and play the piece with lyricism, without overly romanticizing it, but still preserve a sense of courtly grandeur. K87--beautiful and pensive. K159--yes, it was fast, but it worked for me. I liked both versions of the tempo presented at this recital.

Jordan--Very interesting and emotional performance, but I agree with Tim that the tempo and rhythm experimentation seemed a bit excessive. But I'm not an expert, so this is just my impression.

Thank you all again!

Sorry, SiFi, I meant K380, not 280, of course.

Greta,

Thank you very much for your kind comment. I very much enjoyed listening to your submissions - sensitive and exquisitely beautiful interpretations.

Finished listen to a bunch. All are very impressive .
Especailly:
Greta99 - purely beautiful . amazing . perfect .

I ran across this article (semi-paywall, you get two free ones), 'all Scarlatti sonatas, ranked'

It's funny at times and I thought this group would enjoy it.

The author of the article would be very pleased with JJ's selections!

Oops--here it is

https://van-us.atavist.com/scarlatti-ranked