PianoTell Recital #1 Is Now Live!

navindra · 2024-08-15T13:55:00+00:00

Welcome to PianoTell's 1st ever recital! Click for an index to all the performances: Player1 — Energico rogerch — Improvisation 6 keff — A Nightingale Sang...

plop_symphony

Sgisela That is some truly inspired editing 🤣 I wasn't looking closely at first so I thought you really did have some holiday things mounted on your piano.

plop_symphony

hebele Thankfully I haven't seen Downton Abbey so I wouldn't know what the tempo is 'supposed' to be. This sounded really nice to me!

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11. thepianoplayer416 — Air in D minor

Great playing! I've played this piece before, from Melanie Spanswick's Play It Again! method books, and there she indicates that the accompaniment in the left hand should be detached notes rather than legato. Maybe it's a Baroque thing? I tried playing it both ways and just that small change resulted in a very different impression. Still not sure which I prefer.

12. BicBic — Prelude in B flat minor - No.16 from Op.34

I have to agree with the other comments - you absolutely killed it! One day I hope to be as confident with large jumps.

17. Calavera — Chrono Cross - Scars of Time

I agree with you on orchestral arrangements doing video game music justice, but there's an art all its own on capturing the nuances of a composition in a solo piano arrangement. More than technical ability, arrangement is the number one skill I want to work on.

thepianoplayer416

plop_symphony
When making the recording I thought about whether to play the notes detatched or legato. By definition Air is a composition with singing qualities. The keyboard instruments of the day: clavichord & harpsichord were not capable of sustained notes. Since I'm playing piano, I should let the phrases connect the way a singer would than try to make a piano sound like a harpsichord which a lot of people do.

Here the piece sounds like 2 melodic lines (counterpoint) common in Bach's music played on an organ.

Sophia

Rob Considering the relatively short time you have been playing, plus the added pressure of the dreaded 'Red Dot', your performance was excellent.

That's what I keep telling @Nightowl too 😁

Josephine

Serge88
Very well played! It's a very relaxing piece to listen to.

thepianoplayer416

Sophia
Thanks for the comments. Don't think the score has tempo indication. Made v1 at a slower tempo and decided to record the final version at a faster tempo, just a few beats per second. The final version worked out.

Josephine

diretonic

I wish I could make such a great recording last minute! Thanks for sharing!

thepianoplayer416

rogerch
Thanks for your comments.
This piece (Air in D minor) was a gem waiting to be discovered. A lot of students would play "Minuet in G" from the "Notebook for Anna M Bach" or Bach "Prelude in C" from WTC-1... anything with the Bach name. By definition "Air" is a piece with singing qualities. However, in the 17th & early 18th century the keyboard instruments were clavichord & harpsichord. Some would play the notes well articulated (more separate) like a harpsichord. My approach is to let the piano sing and the notes connect like piano playing.

plop_symphony

thepianoplayer416 Yes, there's so much Baroque music out there beyond Bach that's attainable for students. There's more Purcell where that came from, there's quite a few Scarlatti sonatas or sonata movements that are at the level of the Anna M Bach notebook, there's easy pieces from Handel and Telemann and Rameau as well.. etc.

Josephine

Rob

That's a beautiful composition Rob! Very elegant and delicate, like the image you created with AI.

plop_symphony

20. iternabe — The Trout

Great playing! It looks and sounds like you've got excellent control over the force at which you strike the keys.

23. TheBoringPianist — Prélude, Fugue et Variation, Op. 18

I love me a good fugue, especially if it's not by Bach. (Not because I hate Bach fugues - emphatically the opposite - but other than Bach and maybe Shostakovich, standalone fugues seem to be quite rare in the piano repertoire.)

28. twocats — Rustle of Spring

Lovely piece. There's quite a lot of these "one-hit wonders" in the piano literature - you can probably count on your fingers and toes the number of people who've played anything else by Sinding - and the same goes for Marchetti whose "Fascination" Sophia performed. "Spinning Song" by Albert Ellmenreich would be another such one-hit wonder.

iternabe

Sophia @iternabe
I always enjoyed that piece. In fact our washing machine uses that melody each time it finishes the laundry... and I always let it play right to the end because I never get tired of it 😃 Yours is a very nice arrangement too. Really impressed with your 7 months of learning - in your case too, your persistence paid off!

@Sophia Thank you! We don't have Samsung washing machines. But my wife did notice one day I was practicing
"the rice cooker tune" (Minuet in G) 😆

Nightowl 20. iternabe — The Trout
You absolutely nailed it there! Amazing playing, for a player who only began 7 months ago.

@Nightowl Thank you!

rogerch 20. iternabe — The Trout
Nice playing of a fun piece! I especially like the articulation in your playing, with short notes and long notes, staccato and legato. The dynamics are well done. Sounds great!

@rogerch I am paying attention to the details on the sheet music. The method book and YouTube lesson also helped me a lot to understand those details and how to play them. The dynamics is something I find needing the most practice. So I am really glad that the result come through in the recording. Thank you!

plop_symphony 20. iternabe — The Trout

Great playing! It looks and sounds like you've got excellent control over the force at which you strike the keys.

@plop_symphony You are too kind. I wouldn't call my control "excellent", far from it. But I do notice it improved a lot since I started learning piano. I credit it partly to daily scales practice while trying to play as soft as possible during slow runs.

rsl12 20. iternabe — The Trout
You played that piece pretty much perfect! Good rhythm and dynamics. PS Nice video setup!

@rsl12 Thank you!

TC3 @iternabe : Well done, you nailed it. The more I hear from the Faber books the more I think I should have started with them. Keep up the great progress!

@TC3 Thank you! I do like the pieces in the two Faber books I am using. I feel they are tastefully arranged. And each piece presents just the right amount of new challenge to move me forward.

Rob @iternabe I didn't realise that Faber had such good tunes. I especially liked your light touch.

@Rob Thanks! This is from Faber's companion series book to their method book. I've got the Classical one, but they have Popular and Christmas books, too.

Sgisela 20. iternabe — The Trout. Wonderful job! This is fantastic progress for 7 months. I think you did a great job bringing out the character of the piece.

@Sgisela Thank you! I think the arrangement by Faber did a great job, too, and I do strive to play as it is printed. I've casually heard the Trout quintet before. While learning this piece, I looked up the quintet again, and also found that the title actually comes from a popular song with some kind-of funny lyrics 🙂

WieWaldi iternabe The piece might be at an easy level, but you compensated it with a very clean playing. And the nice thing about your submission are the dynamics and the fluidity of your playing. It is really a joy to watch your videos (not just the recital piece) and you are doing remarkably well with your progress.

@WieWaldi Thank you! I do pay a lot of attention to dynamics during practice. It's really satisfying to hear that you noticed it. I am about halfway through the Faber Classics book 1 and really enjoying the journey. More videos will be forthcoming regularly.

plop_symphony

Rob Thanks! I don't know if the original recital suite is still in print, but the entire suite can also be found in the piano collection "Carol Matz's Favorite Solos, Book 3".

Josephine

TheBoringPianist

I heard this piece for the first time when I read about it in the thread you mentioned, and I immediately fell in love with it. Especially the variation, beautiful piece. I enjoyed your performance, thanks for sharing!

Josephine

lilypad

I have that all the time, that my recordings get progressively worse. But I often delete my recording before starting the next one, and then I have no recording at all. I'm glad you didn't, because it's a great recording, you played this piece beautifully!

Josephine

twocats now that you mention it, it does feel very Russian! I can't even tell you what I think Russian style sounds like, but maybe more intense and muscular? I also had a Russian teacher, and then later a Polish teacher (tempered by a very mellow American professor in between).

I really like that sound. My playing needs a bit of that to make it sound more alive. This was a practice recording I send to Rubens and I think I'm playing it now with a bit more rubato but I failed to make a recording. But I still feel it has to be more intense.

twocats

Josephine actually I love the sweetness of your playing! It really has an elegant waltz feel. In the B section you can add a little drama and intensity on the lines with the percussive repeated chords (I think they happen twice, I hope you know which lines I'm talking about) like what Rubens does but I don't think the whole thing needs to be more intense. I think you have great musical intuition for this piece and you should be true to how you feel the music in your heart 🙂

rsl12

20. iternabe — The Trout
You played that piece pretty much perfect! Good rhythm and dynamics. PS Nice video setup!

21. ShiroKuro — Nuvole Bianche
Very pretty! I'm glad you were able to find something to submit! It sounds like a finished recording, not a practice one. Is there more you want to do with it?

22. lilypad — Manhattan 1928
It took me about half the recording to realize this is kind of a variation of Rhapsody in Blue. Cute song, nicely played. Sounds like your fingers had to jump around a lot!

24. Rob — Sunday Morning
It's really lovely. I got tingles. I listened to it a few times. Reminds me of Debussy's Reverie, particularly at 0:40. Debussy makes me think of Degas, so basically we both have the same image in our heads!

25. diretonic — Borrowed Blues
I love Dr. John! He's on my list of artists that I need to do a deep dive on in 2025. I live in Louisiana and I need that New Orleans sound in my repertoire! This little bit you did sounds like perfect study material. Great job with the transcription.

27. Serge88 — Misty
What a nice arrangement, and well played!

29. navindra — Bluebird
Wow, what a production! Three cameras?? Unscheduled and no sheet music? Piped music in the background? Live audience, and therefore only one take??? You did a great job!!

lilypad

rsl12 Good catch on the similarity to Rhapsody in Blue. I didn't narrow it down to that particular piece, but I thought Nancy Faber was somehow channeling Gershwin there. I meant to mention it in the additional info section.

navindra

Player1 Thank you! 🙂

bSharp Thanks you! This was at the Pointe aux Piments beach. It was a tad rocky compared to other beaches in Mauritius, but we had a great time! 🏝️

Josephine Thank you very much! I'm glad the video all came together despite having little control over the surroundings!

Sophia Haha, I wish! Some kind folks did clap and someone asked me if it was Einaudi. I do sometimes think it would be a dream of mine to be able to confidently sit at a piano and have a nice entertaining repertoire that I could just play. Not easy!

Sgisela Thank you! It's funny, I can be very nitpicky about pianos, tone, tuning, etc, but the state of the strings on this piano was no detriment at all... it was a ton of fun. I do have a soft spot in my heart for old or beat up pianos... I'm not sure what it is but I always enjoy them very much.

keff Thank you!

rsl12 Thank you! It was more than one take for sure. I really wish I could pull off a single take, but I've got a lot of work before I get to that point. I recorded a handful of takes and picked the best compromise. Definitely fewer takes than I usually do though. 😃

Nightowl Haha, I think if I changed my profile pic, I'd perhaps run the risk of appearing to impersonate @Sam a little too closely! Thank you!

TC3 kudos on MacGyvering

Haha, that's a high compliment for me, considering how many hours of MacGyver I watched as a kid. I really need to learn that theme as well. 😃 This one is by Alexis Ffrench actually.

rogerch Thank you!

Rob Thanks a lot, Rob!

WieWaldi Wow, thanks a lot! It was more than one take for sure, though less than I would usually do. Thanks a lot for noticing the tempo variations and I'm glad the video came together the way it did! 🙂

ZigZagStory

TheBoringPianist
Thank you for posting your performance !
And super cool that you learned this in 7 weeks.
If you would like to share, how did it go with the competition?

TheBoringPianist

ZigZagStory not to derail the PT recital thread too much but I made it to the final round (15-min preliminary round, 20-min semifinal round, 25-min final round) but didn't place in the top 3. My finals program (which included the Franck) was definitely my weakest set, especially Chopin Scherzo No. 3, which was the piece I practiced the least leading up to the competition because I was too busy trying to get all the other music ready! If you're interested in hearing the rest of my program, I recorded myself:
Preliminaries (Kapustin/Janáček/Price/Moszkowski)
Semifinals (Haydn/Russell/Prokofiev)
Finals (Franck-Bauer/Clementi/Chopin) (the clip above is from this)

twocats

TheBoringPianist not to derail the PT recital thread too much but I made it to the final round

I personally would love it if you started a thread about your experiences participating 🙂

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