Wow, wow, wow! What an absolutely amazing first recital everyone! 👏

I had small glimpses here and there as submissions started coming in, but really I had no idea how this would play out. The last minute submissions simply put the cherry on top.

It's clear to me now that this recital really is something quite special. I'm particularly enjoying the visual format and, most of all, the encouraging engagement from everyone. I'm hoping that this is a new tradition that we can keep alive.

Bravo and congratulations to all who participated, and thank you to all who are listening and providing feedback on the performances! 👏

I'm going to follow up with some feedback on individual performances of my own shortly. 🙂

Let's continue to discuss meta feedback on the recitals in the other thread.

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Beach L168, Wish, baCh, WOW Petrof, Fake Steinway, VS
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Player1 Great job and thanks for opening the recital! I couldn't hear the cat, but knowing that part of the story definitely contributed to my enjoyment. 🐈 🙂

rogerch I can only conclude you have either invented time travel or else discovered the elixir of life! For someone so young to have 50 years of experience under your belt is quite a precious life achievement. Congrats! And if this is a warmup, I enjoyed every second of it... for an improvisation it's essentially a finished piece and tugs at the heart strings. Bravo!

keff My daughter absolutely loved this one and I can see why! I feel a deep sense of comfort and enjoyment as I listen to this one as well.

At the last minute, you updated the submission with a video... so you had both audio and video performances. If we had more time before the recital, I think I would have worked with you to select your favorite! 😃

While I can't pick one, I asked my daughter which one she preferred, and she said the video one. Perhaps she was biased by the visuals? 🙂

Either way we listened to both and enjoyed both! 👏

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Beach L168, Wish, baCh, WOW Petrof, Fake Steinway, VS
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          Sophia Wow! I feel like I'm in a Café in Paris or a French movie! I wasn't familiar with this piece and I enjoyed it a lot! I think it also reminds me of that movie Up:

          For only starting in January, this is a massive achievement and a lot to show for your hard work! You should be proud! I'm still on Level 1 of this book series and I desperately want to finish it. Once I do, I'm not sure if I'll pick up Level 2 or do something else... but knowing that there are pieces like this in the book 2 is definitely food for thought!

          This was special and an awesome showcase of your hard work and dedication! 👏

          Sgisela Mindblowing! I really loved the fast-paced rhythm and how you brought this piece alive musically.

          The video is very well done! I had no idea the plush doll was a special effect until it changed... what software do you use? How much work was it to blend it in like that? I really loved all the imagery on this, it really contributed to my enjoyment of the piece.

          And wow, that piano sings! That voice could bring one to tears. I love that bass.

          Absolutely riveting performance! Bravo!

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          Beach L168, Wish, baCh, WOW Petrof, Fake Steinway, VS
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                navindra I think it also reminds me of that movie Up:

                That was adorable, thank you! Funny enough I knew the piece only from Nat King Cole singing it. I love his rendition 😃

                I'm not going to lie, Alfred 2 is mostly rather drab, but it definitely has a few very pretty pieces that somehow make it all worth it 😄

                Thank you for your lovely compliments, it made my day. That goes for everyone who commented, I really appreciated it ❤️

                  navindra rogerch I can only conclude you have either invented time travel or else discovered the elixir of life! For someone so young to have 50 years of experience under your belt is quite a precious life achievement. Congrats! And if this is a warmup, I enjoyed every second of it... for an improvisation it's essentially a finished piece and tugs at the heart strings. Bravo!

                  My youthful appearance is part luck and part lifestyle. The luck is that at 57 I still have almost all of my hair and very little grey. The lifestyle is that I'm very active and I eat a healthy diet. It also helps that the video smooths out the wrinkles!

                  Thanks for the nice feedback on my improvisation, and thanks for starting PIanoTell and running the recital!

                    pseudonym58 Thanks a lot for sharing this monumental achievement! I'm in awe at the wide range of your skills from arranging an orchestral work for solo piano all the way to mastering these performances. On top of that you contributed your hard work to the Public Domain. Outstanding! 👏

                    StaffPad seems very interesting though it's not an impulse buy... you certainly make a convincing showcase for it!

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                    Beach L168, Wish, baCh, WOW Petrof, Fake Steinway, VS
                    TIME

                        navindra Thank you for the kind words and it was lovely to hear of your daughter's reaction.

                        I started to make videos during lockdown but had gotten out of the habit. I will probably just submit videos for future recitals as I can't detect any difference in sound quality between using a mobile phone to produce a video or an external microphone for an audio.

                        Thank you for your offers of help and for all the work you put into this first and very successful first recital.

                            rsl12 You are right! The band named themselves after the book! I've never read it. Is it any good? Since you read them all, I assume the answer is yes!

                            I liked it when I read it over 50 years ago when I was just out of college. "Revenge of the Lawn" was my favorite and I also liked "Confederate General from Big Sur".

                              navindra Thank you for the compliments. StaffPad allows you to use a stylus directly on a recent iPad or a compatible Windows tablet. The recognition is pretty good, but there is a learning curve in adjusting to what StaffPad requires, as it doesn't actually "learn" from the user. There are some quirks for which I and others have had to develop some workarounds. In general, StaffPad is not designed as a full-fledged music notation program; more properly, it's a musical sketchpad. You don't have a whole lot of control over the pagination or the general layout, but you can produce a serviceable document as a PDF. It would be perfectly fine, say, for giving to studio musicians or band/orchestra members. It's just not a completely professional look, and any publisher would want/have it redone in an application such as Finale, etc. for publication.

                                Sam I love the storytelling and your interpretation of this piece! I think you have nice control of the tempo and I enjoyed the pacing plus your musicality. You kept the piece interesting!

                                And wow, even with your broken femur, it seems you picked yourself right up and didn't even miss a beat in terms of hosting the PW recitals as well as participating. Truly an admirable role model for us all. Thank you for your support and all that you've done for the piano community. You're a legend! 👏

                                On a side note, it's interesting to see your new piece of tech. I feel like lately many people are making the leap to tablets for sheet music. Maybe I should as well?

                                hebele Only 5 months of self-learning, wow!! I enjoyed that very much. What a great piece you picked to showcase your progress — congrats and well done!

                                MarieJ I always enjoy your choice of repertoire and this did not disappoint! And wow, your fabrics are incredibly beautiful! Congratulations both on the piece and the amazing art! Thank you for sharing! 👏

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                                Beach L168, Wish, baCh, WOW Petrof, Fake Steinway, VS
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                                        navindra I feel like lately many people are making the leap to tablets for sheet music. Maybe I should as well?

                                        You haven't yet?? I'm very surprised. I think you will like it! 🙂

                                            plop_symphony Wow, very beautiful and sparkling rendition. Fantastic tribute! Your piano sounds so good... which Pianoteq instrument was it?

                                            thepianoplayer416 Short but sweet! Well done with a nice little trill at the end to top it all off! 👍

                                            BicBic Very impressive indeed, bravo! I enjoyed those octaves a lot! 👏

                                            Nightowl Wow, that's a nice looking piano and congrats on the playing, your perseverance, and reaching level 2! You did great with the digital recording! This is further fueling the fire under me to finish my level 1 book... 😃

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                                            Beach L168, Wish, baCh, WOW Petrof, Fake Steinway, VS
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                                                      navindra Sgisela Mindblowing! I really loved the fast-paced rhythm and how you brought this piece alive musically.

                                                      The video is very well done! I had no idea the plush doll was a special effect until it changed... what software do you use? How much work was it to blend it in like that? I really loved all the imagery on this, it really contributed to my enjoyment of the piece.

                                                      And wow, that piano sings! That voice could bring one to tears. I love that bass.

                                                      Absolutely riveting performance! Bravo!

                                                      Thanks, @navindra ! About the video, I used iMovie. I don’t have any special skills with video editing, but the program make it quite easy to do this king of editing. I also used Dall-E to generate some of the toy graphics, but the nutcracker was available for purchase on Amazon, and the advert had pics from different angles.

                                                        Rob Sunday Morning - The music, image and composition title are just perfect. I can't think of a better Sunday morning.

                                                        diretonic Borrowed Blues - Love it! You're also keeping alive the time honored musical tradition of borrowing it from Dr. John who borrowed the style from another 'cat'.

                                                        Rubens @Josephine Waltz Op. 70 no. 2 - Impressive collaboration! It sure sounded seamless to me. Bravo to both of you.

                                                        Serge88 Misty - That's an interesting arrangement. I've never heard one with a solo section included and I love that smooth ending that you played so well.

                                                        twocats Rustle of Spring - Beautiful. I first heard this piece in a movie years ago, but have rarely heard it since. Thank you for sharing it.

                                                        navindra Bluebird - I loved the way the video came about. It reminds me of some of the more casual settings in Alexis Ffrench music videos I've seen on YouTube. You did an outstanding job of playing the piece and appearing calm and unfazed by all the distractions going on around you.

                                                        Thank you for putting this recital together and also starting Piano Tell forum. Your skills that probably make the technical side of the work easy or at least pleasantly engaging for you. The 'herding cats' part can't be easy, but you seem to calmly take it in stride at the same time.

                                                                      navindra Thank you! I used the C. Bechstein on Pianoteq. I chose it as my free instrument over the Steinways!

                                                                        navindra Thanks Nav, but I'm confused when you imply that you are working from a level 1 book, because your playing is very advanced and I thought that you've been playing for several years? Do you currently play by ear or are you just bushing up on the basics?
                                                                        I'm pleased with the sound quality on my recording, as my previous recordings sounding very muffled, but I managed to adjust the microphone setting on my laptop and it seemed to do the trick. 🙂 (This was an achievement for me - I'm not exactly a tech wizard! 😆)

                                                                        "Don't let's ask for the moon, we have the stars." (Final line from Now,Voyager, 1942)

                                                                            bSharp Very nice! It's interesting how this piece "just starts" but then it builds up from there. Very atmospheric and very emotional. I really enjoyed your range of expression and it's pretty awesome that you can play this from memory. It ends just as abruptly as it started! Bravo! 👏

                                                                            I'm thinking I should learn an Einaudi piece... any recommendations for a first piece?

                                                                            WieWaldi Wonderful! I enjoyed your rhythm a lot and nice job with the tempo overall! You did a great job bringing out the story and I found myself humming along with your melody line. I'm definitely going to go check out the original version of this now!

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                                                                            Beach L168, Wish, baCh, WOW Petrof, Fake Steinway, VS
                                                                            TIME

                                                                                  Nightowl While I'm no longer a beginner, I'm definitely far from advanced... but yes, I feel quite bad about this.

                                                                                  I started taking lessons in September 2019 with Alfred's AIO Level 1 but after about a year my lessons got rudely interrupted and I went for over a year without lessons. At some point, I started Supersonics on my own and I realized I much prefer that over Alfred.

                                                                                  Eventually, I resumed video lessons and Alfred with 15 minutes a week, so not a whole lot.

                                                                                  Looking at The Entertainer, I first started working on it in January... and now it's August and I'm not even done with it. Part of the reason is that part way I stop working on the book and instead focus completely on pieces that take my fancy. It also takes me several weeks before my teacher is satisfied with how I'm doing on any given Alfred piece and in this case we also had a summer break.

                                                                                  And only now have I realized the tactical error I made... instead of focusing completely on a piece for weeks or months at a time, I should have employed interleaved and spaced practice methods. So I could have had ample time to make more progress on Alfred's while also working on pieces I actually like.

                                                                                  Oh well. Live and learn.

                                                                                  I'm excited for September because I'll finally be resuming lessons properly at 30 minutes a week. When I'm done with Book 1, I'll ask my teacher if we can switch to Supersonics instead. I might still buy Book 2 to leaf through though.

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                                                                                  Beach L168, Wish, baCh, WOW Petrof, Fake Steinway, VS
                                                                                  TIME

                                                                                      Nightowl Thanks Nav, but I'm confused when you imply that you are working from a level 1 book, because your playing is very advanced and I thought that you've been playing for several years?

                                                                                      Same here. @navindra, I was always assuming you play for 15 years or more... something like that... And you have a lot of good videos uploaded that won't sound like someone playing only 5 years.

                                                                                      navindra And only now have I realized the tactical error I made... instead of focusing completely on a piece for weeks or months at a time, I should have employed interleaved and spaced practice methods.

                                                                                      Same error here. I was thinking from the beginning if I learn just a piece, this will provide me with so many technical challenges during learning that I get the basics from alone. After 7 months in total, I played a beginner version of the Entertainer, and I was very proud of it. But I couldn't play anything else. Everything was baked into my muscle memory and I couldn't read the notes properly. I scribbled a ton of note names into my sheet music.
                                                                                      After finishing the Entertainer, I was so frustrated how big long it would take to learn a new piece because I realized I had no proper technique, and it would take ages again. Then I stopped playing due to frustration and picked it up 11/2 years later with the Beginner's Blues Course from Christian. Still, the Entertainer is my most difficult piece or exercise I ever played.

                                                                                      Btw: I can't play the Entertainer today anymore. Forgot everything and muscle memory got deleted.