Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Recital #66 - General Discussion Room

Here's my next lot:

02. MarieJ - Luminous
Simply beautiful. Lady P just walked by and thought I was listening to a professional recording. I can only agree with that.

07. stevedoz - Danzas argentinas Op. 2, no 2, Danza de la moza donosa
Wonderfully expressive, this is one of my favourites so far. Your playing is dynamite, as must the beautiful maiden have been!

14. facdo - Elegie Op.3 No.1
Truly exceptional. This was a very meaningful performance. The melodies sang with a beautiful limpid tone, and balanced against the rich harmonies perfectly. I am jealous of both the playing and the drool-worthy piano!

16. QuasiUnaFantasia - Fantasie in G major
Great performance, really expressive. It was calmly uplifting for me, like watching a sunrise. I had a listen to the second part and, while it is a bit of a slap in the chops, I don’t mind it. If the first part was like seeing the sun rise, perhaps at the top of a mountain, the second is birds bursting into song as I frolick back down into the valley. I love it when music evokes strong reactions though, and I don’t think your performance lost anything by skipping it.

17. Ido - Waltz Op.70 No.3
I love Chopin’s waltzes and here you really do it justice. I particularly liked how you brought out the romantic melodic lines in each hand without losing the dance quality. Lovely!

21. sandalholme - Les Folies Francaises ou les Dominos from Ordre No13
These were great, some sounding quite lyrical to me. Your ornaments were very impressive.

25. zsolpyW - Tell him
A lovely romantic rendition with sensitive dynamics. I think you were definitely successful in creating a singing line, and the long runs in the climax were impressive. Love the Freddy portrait too.

28. Rachtoven - Invention No. 8
Your playing sounds great, especially in bringing out the different voices so clearly. Overall it was well-balanced, energetic and sounded very secure. Your piano sounded really nice too.

29. kenbakermn - Letter From Home
I don’t know this song but I enjoyed your arrangement very much. I liked the interesting harmonies and there was plenty of feeling packed in.

32. Agrajag - Sonata "Pathetique" Op. 13 - I
Great work on this challenging and substantial piece. To echo what others have said, it’s really impressive to be tackling this. Well done.

34. Purrblast - October, The Seasons (Op. 37a, No. 10)
Very evocative. Everything is dying back and there is a wistful sadness. Your dynamic contrasts were very tasteful.

Couple more...

10. Peyton - Etude #2 really like this one. I was particularly impressed with the way you had the stamina to keep all the beautiful phrasing right to the end. Big thumbs up

13. peterws - Summertime Ended I have absolutely no idea how you did that, but I loved it. Just a shame Ella and Satchmo aren't available to join you.

Nice! I see some interesting submissions, but I haven’t been able to listen yet. I will be on vacation next week so I will have plenty of time to listen and comment. Meanwhile, I just want to express my gratitude for the kind comments that I received. Thank you so much! I will answer each one individually:

Josephine83, I am moved by your comment! I also love this piece, so I worked really hard on it. So I am really glad to hear that you enjoyed it, especially considering that it is one of your favorite pieces.

Pianist685, I am honored that you thought I was a professional, but I am nowhere near that skill level. In any case, this piece was quite special to me, so I wanted to make the best possible recording I could. But I felt a bit of pressure from Beethoven looking at me haha.

Peyton, oh, thank you! Yeah, I was super excited about this piano. I didn’t expect that I would play on that piano. The store owners were really generous and kind.

KenBakerMN, thank you so much! And I appreciate your feedback about the middle section. I agree that it is nice when there is an accelerando and crescendo leading to the appassionato section. That is easier to do if you start the piu animato, with the double notes in the right hand, a bit slower. But I really like that effect of fast double notes being played very softly. I wasn’t able to do that, even though I practiced that passage like crazy. In my personal piano it was a bit easier to put the right hand as a soft effect, highlighting the left hand melody. But the action in the Bösendorfer was perfectly effortless, completely different from the “cloggy” old action from my personal piano. So I struggle to play that part, because I practiced in a much heavier action. Also, the concert grand tone is incredibly clear, so it showed every imperfection in my playing. In my piano, the sound kind of gets blurred together, so it ends up hiding my mistakes a lot better haha. But yeah, I still think that piece is too technically difficult for me. I also wanted to do a bit of an accelerando in that chordal passage that leads to the appassionato section. But that part is insanely difficult and I am not able to do it cleanly in a faster tempo. I will keep playing this piece and I hope to refine my interpretation as I progress in my piano journey. Thanks again for the comment!

tyschoco, thank you! I was really happy to play on that piano, but also felt a lot of pressure to do a good performance. I agree with your criticism and the melodic shaping in the piu animato section was flawed. I had a better take, the last one I did, but I made a mistake and ended up recording it in mono, so with a single microphone. I had to discard that take and use the ones I had available, that I was not entirely happy about. But I think I am still a beginner, kind of. This piece is obviously too difficult for me, so considering my limitations I think I did a nice job.

QuentinP, thank you! The tone on that Bösendorfer is amazing and I was really lucky to be able to play on it. I still think I am not skilled enough to bring out the real potential of that instrument, but I really tried my best.

6 Pianist 685

Well done. Hugely enjoyable blast from the past (might not be, but sounded so!) it had a strange atmosphere wi the strings and echo, and that. Nice to be able to sing. I played in church, and started out on the songs, stopping as soon as the congrgation took up the slack...

7 Stevedoz

Excellent work on an awkward tune, harmonics, (!!) rhythm . . . it flows lovely. Absolutely no criticism. I couldn't do it anyway . . .haha

8 AndresVel

I haven't yet recovered from my last Mozart which was too exhausting to learn, and certainly to maintain. I get my fun in strange ways these days(!) and Mozart, Beeth, Ch and the rest aren't a part any longer. But it's good to hear this, and others who still do it.
This sounds like a kiddie's lullaby at the start, like others he wrote. Then the fun starts.
I hope you had fun. It was great to listen to and your piano sounds lovely and clear and is more in tune than my digital. You've come to terms that nothing's perfect, (never heard anything wrong myself) and you're looking forwards to the immense amount of stuff out there still to be conquered!
I wish you well, and love your enthusiasm!
If I might, a little more light and shade even if the music doesn't call for it! And give it a BIG ending!

9 PianogrlNY

First thing I heard on this; your piano sings in a melodic female fashion. .I like this Scarlatti stuff; very tuneful and appealing in a subtle Gothic way. Like Bach with feeling if you see what I mean.
Really lovely and touching, Ellen. I shall have to look into that. Maybe Scarlatti didn't issue dynamics because he knew the player would feel them as the music progressed, as you did. And if they didn't, then why should he care overmuch?

10 Peyton.

Funny thing about Pianoteq, and that which evokes much criticism, is that it sounds like a piano in a tunnel, or something. It doesnt. When you listen to a recording such as this, you're aware of a piano playing in an environment.
This doesn't seem simple, but it's moving in it's own way, and involves a lot of work in getting it right.
Sounded great; I hope you get over your recent losses. And the Kawai ain't so bad . .

Peyton - Thank you for listening to and commenting on my piece.

Continuing on listening and commenting on performances -

01. Calavera - Forever Rachel - Really beautiful piece. I'm glad you took a break from your other projects and shared it for this recital.

02. MarieJ - Luminous - Lovely Einaudi piece with interesting recreation of the original sound.

03. Sam S - Idyll - That was a dreamy sounding piece and a joy to listen to. Thank you and Tootles for sharing this gorgeous piece.

04. QuentinP - WTK1 Fugue 1 C major - I'm not sure if I've ever heard this Bach piece, so I'm glad you chose it. I love all the voices in it and feel you succeeded very well in making them clearly heard.

05. briangmoore - Chanson - Charming piece. I'm glad you chose one of Nancy Faber's compositions to share for this recital. I've discovered a number of lovely compositions of hers while going through the Piano Adventures series. Well done!

06. pianist685 (Constantin) - She's a lady - What a cool project. You have a great sounding voice! It's probably not your ambition, but you'd compete favorably with lots of pop stars I've heard.

07. stevedoz - Danzas argentinas Op. 2, no 2, Danza de la moza donosa - Fascinating piece with interesting harmonies. Thank you for introducing this composer.

08. AndresVel - Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major, KV 545 - Congratulations. How exciting for you to play your first sonata. An accomplishment to be proud of. I'm not sure if I've ever heard more than just the 1st movement, so it was nice to hear the sonata in its entirety. Bravo!

11 Rickster

Oooh! I liked this; it rocks! Has all the atmosphere of live music, and the piano talks. Your voice is tailored to this, definitely. Love the rythm, voice reminds me of a young Jagger who actually learnt how to sing. Authentic and it seems you have Georgia on your mind.
Now we have too!

12 Ted

There is no intro, no end. It rolls, for an eternity until you (perhaps) get hungry. Or your hands get tired.
It creates atmosphere which one can interpret using life experience skills, as a film-maker might.
Maybe a messy divorce, a horrible set of options or an uncertainty of the future, or even the meaning of life.
Oh hℓ it's me who's getting carried away now . . .
I hope you get out of this mess, Ted! Was she really worth it?
That was a quick 8 mins . . . Well done!

13 Peterws

Rick mightn't take kindly to this . . . .

14 facdo

Wonderful recording of this Chopinesque piece. The Bose was excellent, and you'll be chuffed to play that. The B on Yamaha digitals seems designed to sound as different as chalk and cheese to their CFX grand, which it does.
The Rach bit comes in soon enough, with those big darned awkward chords.
I appreciate how difficult it is to do this in one. But you'd have done yourself no harm in leaving in the roughage!
You'll be wanting one o' these soon, then?

15 Serge 88

Pianoteq never sounded so good, so sweet. The Bechstein?
You have a nice feel for this; I enjoyed it hugely; full of atmosphere and highly relaxing. A little more time and those those runs will flow great.

16 QuasiUnaFantasia

Steady rhythm, with interesting phrasing, which you bring out. We're always introduced to unheard of stuff here, are it's always most welcome. This is a lovely example.

17 Ido

Love the earthy sound of that piano. How old is it? I'd love one sounding like that. It comes to life, luxuriant, resonant, expressive. I loved the way you played it. Who could criticise? Not I! Well done!

18 Lilypad

Lovely music, expressively played. Wish it was longer!

19 Thepianoplayer 416

I've heard this one or two times on this forum. Sounds good, man.

20 Snejana

It's hard to imagine the suffering inflicted on those folk. I remember the tanks moving into was it Hungary in the 50s, and the damage wrought was unbelievable so soon after the war had finshed, and they'd received so much help from us to stave off the Germans.
You capture the aftermath the despair. Well done.

Really enjoyed these, guys.

14. facdo - Elegie Op.3 No.1
Lovely sound you produce, new nice piece to me, i think double note section is magical. How wonderful to play a piano that expressive. Hope you can record more from that store and Bösendorfer.

(By the way, thanks for the surprisingly positive feedback on my little Schumann contribution, it’s ok to give critical comments also.)

Continuing...

15. Serge88 - Ballade pour Adeline this is a very sweet piece. I'd like to see the sheet music for this, to understand the tempo changes etc. but very nicely executed. I might like to try this one day. Thanks

18. lilypad - Nightfall very pleasant. I have to be honest, I don't know what the composer was trying to portray specifically, but I did sense a very calm country scene with the light fading. It felt very positive and I thought you played it with real sensitivity. Thanks

Thank you very much MarieJ, peterws, and lilypad for your very nice comments. After so much time working on a piece, they are very encouraging and motivating. really appreciate them

Here some new comments from my side:

03. Sam S - Idyll What a wonderful piece and wonderful recording. The piece gave me Debussy vibes. Your playing was great and the melodies on the clarinet were outstanding. The recording sounded very professional! I would like to know how the you came up to that recording setup. I remember you were testing using more mics and mic placement not long ago. Very enjoyable submission. How great it has to be to have someone so close to you at home to make music with

13. peterws - Summertime Ended I am not familiar with Gershwin music, so this one was a first one for me. It has to be a cool project to make an arrangement on your own. I remember you did one too for the Mozart some recitals ago if I am not mistaken, which I really enjoy. This one was no exception. I think you are too hard on yourself. This sounds very fun and it clearly shows you are enjoying your time at the piano, which is always the ultimate goal. Great job and thank you for sharing

23. Kepijapa - Partita No.6 In E Minor, BWV 830, 2-3. Allemande-Corrente Kepijapa, so cool that you continued working on the Partita and that you decided to share it with us. I really love this piece. I think you did an outstanding job with the Allemande in terms of not losing the rhythm. I can see it can be a challenging one in that department, given the mix of dotted rhythms and demisemiquavers among both hands. The fact you almost never went out of rhythm and that you could integrate some nice ornaments all throughout is great stuff. I would perhaps suggest to highlight a bit more the different motifs in the repeats and to keep an eye on some of the rolled chords. Then I checked the music for the Corrente and could understand why you found it challenging. It looks rhythmically even more complicated than the Allemande. I think you are on a good way with this piece. Are you gonna keep working on the Corrente? I think it will be worth it. It seems like a great way to work on hard rhythms and syncopation. Thank you very much for sharing, it was very good

33. candela - Nordic Themes Nos 8 and 11 Yeahh new music. Thank you for introducing us to a new composer. These two pieces were very emotive. They sound very sad but also very nostalgic. I think you did a good job with shaping the phrases and conveying the character of the piece. Lovely. Thank you for sharing.

“12 Ted

There is no intro, no end. It rolls, for an eternity until you (perhaps) get hungry. Or your hands get tired.
It creates atmosphere which one can interpret using life experience skills, as a film-maker might.
Maybe a messy divorce, a horrible set of options or an uncertainty of the future, or even the meaning of life.
Oh hℓ it's me who's getting carried away now . . .
I hope you get out of this mess, Ted! Was she really worth it? smile
That was a quick 8 mins . . . Well done!”

Who’s a gloom shroom then ? It was all pretty jolly to me but, as I’ve been told, I’m likely a “true musical pervert”. Pleased it tweaked your imagination Peter, thanks for listening.

Thanks Ido, lilypad, Pianist685, marklings, and QuentinP for your comments.

I have some more comments, this time (mostly) focused on those who submitted their performances earlier. I continue to be impressed by the great skill reflected in the recital submissions.

01. Calavera - Forever Rachel

I’ve come to expect excellent performances from you, and you certainly did not disappoint. Thanks for the submission.

02. MarieJ - Luminous

You conveyed a great deal of a emotion in your playing, which sounded flawless to me.

03. Sam S - Idyll

Great playing from you both, and you brought out the tranquil nature of the piece rather well.

04. QuentinP - WTK1 Fugue 1 C major

Counterpoint isn’t easy, but you did a fantastic job with this. I really enjoyed this.

05. briangmoore - Chanson

This is a beautiful little song and you did fine job.

06. pianist685 (Constantin) - She's a lady

You call it a foolish song, but I enjoyed it. I’m particularly impressed by how you combined so many different elements to create a cohesive production.

07. stevedoz - Danzas argentinas Op. 2, no 2, Danza de la moza donosa

I really liked your performance, including the dynamic contrasts. This sounds rather sad given the title, as if the composer is remembering the one who got away.

08. AndresVel - Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major, KV 545

Very precise and disciplined playing. I agree with you about the difficulty of the first movement. I had to play it a long time before I felt comfortable submitting a recording of it. Even after I got it to 80-90%, there were always places where my fingers would tend to fumble, and if I fixed that, I would “spring a leak” somewhere else.

Question: On Measure 15 (about 0:39), it sounds like the trill is a bit delayed. Is that intentional?

09. PianogrlNW (Ellen) - Sonata in E Major K 380

This sonata and K 466 are my favorite Scarlatti sonatas. Like Horowitz, you play it a bit slower than I was accustomed to. I’ve always imagined this as a sprightly dance at a ball, but listening to your performance and Horowitz’s, I see there is another way to envision this piece.

10. Peyton - Etude #2

This is well-played and enjoyable. You did a great job of maintaining interest by highlighting the different layers of sound and the constantly evolving nature of an essentially static work.

11. Rickster - "Heart of Georgia Boogie"

Nice singing and playing! First time hearing a Tokai piano and it sounded just fine.

21. sandalholme - Les Folies Francaises ou les Dominos from Ordre No13

This is just fantastic. Excellent playing and excellent harpsichord sound. I’m curious: (1) What capabilities (if any) does the virtual harpsichord have that the real instrument would not have? (2) Did you change how you play for the virtual harpsichord versus a piano?

29. kenbakermn- What a lovely arrangement and beautiful playing.

26. Kevin M- Very smooth and controlled playing! Just sounds wonderful.

23. Kepijapa-Absolutely lovely playing. I could listen to this all day.

Thanks everyone for your kind comments about our Clarinet/Piano piece. They are much appreciated. We are traveling, so my comments on other pieces have been delayed.


Separate mics for the piano and clarinet fed into a Scarlett interface. The recording is done with Logic Pro X. Two cameras - a Zoom Q8 and an iphone. So I start the cameras and the audio recording at about the same time - it's not important to synchronize them when recording - which I will explain below.

Then I add some reverb to the audio recording in Logic Pro - the clarinet definitely sounds better with reverb. Do not trim the audio recording, but export it.

Get the camera recordings onto the laptop. Then I use Final Cut Pro to make the video. It will automagically synchronize the audio and multiple video recordings based on the audio, and using the audio recording as the final audio. This is truly magic. Then I trim the beginning and ending. There is a multi-camera view that you use to change from one camera angle to another while the video is playing back. Cool. Export the final video...

So, all the hard work is done in software and I couldn't do it without it. This is on a mac, but I would be willing to bet there is similar software for windows.

Of course, the real hard work is preparing the piece. We practice separately, then together. Trying to make the recording can be very frustrating. If a take doesn't go right, then I have to get up, stop everything, restart and try again.

But we are having fun with it. Tootles has severe arthritis in her hands, with joints that have degenerated. She will have surgery on one of her thumbs next month. So we are trying to make as many recordings as we can while we still can. But it is what it is. Getting old can be difficult, but the alternative to getting old is - worse!

Sam

I wish your wife well. There's always something waiting in the wings to clobber you when you get older. Our hospital treatment might be free, but after the pandemic (which may yet revive) surgery waiting lists are years long in some cases. I can see many surgeons going private after all this.

Thank you peterwys and stevedoz for listening and kind remarks on my recital piece and performance.

Here are more comments from me after listening to a few more performers -

09. PianogrlNW (Ellen) - Sonata in E Major K 380 - What a joyous sound! I'm definitely glad you didn't go with the funeral interpretation. Your interpretation made the piece into a lovely musical living thing. Well done!

10. Peyton - Etude #2 - Thank you for sharing this stunning piece. It's like you were always meant to play it and bring it to life. The sound was lovely.

11. Rickster - "Heart of Georgia Boogie" - There are so many things to like about this - the classic left hand boogie lick, the right hand on-off rhythm, gospel chord voicing in places, fun lyrics, your singing voice and the sound of that piano.

12. Ted Jones - The Fourth Ace - After the grass mowing discussion I was influenced to think about my own experience mowing a sparse lawn on rocky soil. The texture of much of the music seemed to fit, but after listening a second time and thinking about it, mountain biking on a rocky trail came to mind with all the interesting variations of scenery along the way. The latter part of the improvisation brought to mind the title of the piece. A lost game due to a forgotten fourth ace - sadness in some slow reflective passages mixed in with almost frenzied frustration and finally calm acceptance.

Wonderful playing in this recital. But we're short one third of our regular participants, I hope they will return with renewed vigour and enthusiasm.

Thank you very much Peyton, tyschoco, QuentinP, and peterws for your kind comments!

Here's my first batch of comments:

01. Calavera - Forever Rachel
Very calm and peaceful start to the recital. Sounded perfectly executed to me. Maybe this Japanese music is growing on me, hmmm. Keep it coming!

02. MarieJ - Luminous
Another calm and serene piece, flowing peacefully like a leaf on a gentle stream. Pianoteq almost sounds like a felted guitar here.

03. Sam S - Idyll
A treat! Very dreamy, and pleasant to listen to.

04. QuentinP - WTK1 Fugue 1 C major
Bach isn't really my thing, but this one is one my personal wish list. And your rendition was absolutely beautiful, all the way through.

05. briangmoore - Chanson
Another calm and gentle piece, is that a theme this quarter? I liked it very much.

06. pianist685 (Constantin) - She's a lady
What a tour de force! Impressive in so many ways, and very entertaining.

07. stevedoz - Danzas argentinas Op. 2, no 2, Danza de la moza donosa
Yet another peaceful and gentle melody, but with some very unusual stuff going on there in the middle. Quite interesting, and beautifully played.

08. AndresVel - Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major, KV 545
Really nicely played. Hugely impressive for two years of experience.

09. PianogrlNW (Ellen) - Sonata in E Major K 380
For a funeral procession it sounded rather a lot like children playing happily without a care in the world. Very nice performance!

2 more. I'd love to tackle both of these but I think they are out of my reach

22. Flygbladet - Monkey Island 1 theme music great performance of this. Lovely and tight, exciting and engaging. I felt it was a bit mysterious as well. Marvellous.

24. Jerzyk19 - Immortal this is a delicious piece. So well executed. Can I ask where you got the sheets from? I've listened to this at least 3 times already. Thanks so much

Thanks to lilypad, Rachtoven and QuasiUnaFantasia - your comments are very much appreciated!

Here are a few more comments of my own:

03. Sam S - Idyll
Wonderful! It was indeed very tranquil. Both instruments sounded great and I think the balance between the two was just right. All the best to Tootles, and I hope her surgery goes smoothly and improves things for her.

11. Rickster - "Heart of Georgia Boogie"
Fantastic! Very cool music and great lyrics. It must be so enjoyable to be able to compose like this – you are clearly very talented.

12. Ted Jones - The Fourth Ace
Very imaginative. This had a somewhat ominous air to me, which eventually segued into something a little more hopeful, which felt like a relief! Well done.

18. lilypad - Nightfall
What a lovely piece. Your playing was open and sensitive and really did it justice. Gorgeous.

20. Snejana - The Ones Out of Place
You conveyed desolate emotions really well with this heartfelt playing. Well done.

Argh, I also meant to say thank you to Marklings for your comments, also much appreciated. Sorry about that!