PianoTell Recital #2 Is Now Live!
plop_symphony β The Midnight Ball
What a fun quirky piece! I like your spirited playing. Nice job emphasizing the very cool and spooky bass lines!
Schubertian2 β Ballade 4
Very impressive! I think itβs great that you worked this up from the music without studying other interpretations, so that the choices you made are all your own. I love the contrast between delicate and intense. Great playing!
Nightowl I already have my piano bench set at the highest it will go, because I have long legs but a very short body. Maybe it has dropped a little over time - I will check later.
Haha, I had the same issue with my piano bench. (Cheapo set bench, $40 if you buy it seperately.) Adjusted it once and never checked again. And after some time, I felt pain in my right wrist and then I realized, I am sitting too low. To be fair, another way would be a proper sitting position with a straight back, and not sitting like a question-mark like me.
Cataract surgery this afternoon - so I can't eat or drink anything today - but i can sit here and listen to the recital!
iternabe β O mio babbino caro - very good for such a short time! Nice touch!
keff β Over the Rainbow - So calm - and sensitive - well done!
plop_symphony β The Midnight Ball - Very cool - and excellent for Halloween.
Schubertian2 β Ballade 4 - Wow, you can be really proud of all your hard work - quite an accomplishment to learn this, and get it to such a high standard, and perform it!
WieWaldi β Quick Five Blues - 6-5-4-3-2-1- Go! Loved it!
Nightowl β What A Wonderful World - Excellent progress!
Sophia β A Classy Rag - Excellent for not even a year yet! Of course, the video and audio weren't synced - thought my eyes were glitching on me!
rogerch β Slow Steps - two improvs in one month! I actually liked the one at PW better, but this one is great too!
thepianoplayer416 β When You Wish Upon a Star - commented at PW - still great over here!
MarieJ β Waltz in F minor - commented at PW - just love that video - so creative!
Player1 β Ashokan Farewell - I have heard many bluegrass groups play this - loved it!
Rubens β Sonata no.2, Op.36 (1913), 2nd movement - Another great accomplishment - you should be very proud!
Cratersmash β Sonata No. 3 in A Minor - Another difficult piece and wonderful playing! Bravo!
Gooseberry β Pigalle - Never heard this, but is very engaging and delightful. Well done!
Rob β Lost - very cool!
TC3 β Worried Life Blues - Awesome! Loved the singing!
lilypad β God Bless the Child - So smooth - loved it!
BicBic β Prelude no.4 in E minor from Op 11 - Very good - I have to say I liked the Schumann in the PW recital better. Because, you know, Schumann!
javiercorre β Sonatas K. 208 and K. 380 - They make a nice pair of Sonatas to play together. Loved both of them!
SalmonJack β Bliss Ten - commented at PW - love that video! And the playing is great too!
rsl12 β I am the very model of a modern Major-General - So awesome! Should be quite the hit!
Sgisela β Do Tebe (to you) - Very well played - loved it!
ShiroKuro β Reminiscence - wonderful! You will do great in the recital!
Pathbreaker β Larghetto - commented at PW for the audio only version. I actually thought that recording quality was better? Same recording? Anyway, great playing!
diretonic β Chega de Saudade (No More Blues) - Loved the rhythm and drive!
navindra β The Entertainer - Wonderful playing and video editing - loved it!
Off to surgery!
Sam Of course, the video and audio weren't synced - thought my eyes were glitching on me!
Haha really? Weird, you'd think the phone would be smart enough to keep them in sync. Why else call it a smartphone eh? I can't say I noticed it myself, and I definitely wouldn't know how to correct it if I had, haha 
Thanks for your comment!
@Sam and Sophia Thank you both for your kind words!
Sophia, re that camera angle! It's perfect for internet anonymity! 
Yesterday, I had my last lesson before the concert. I had asked my teacher if I should remove "Reminiscence" from my program and just play two pieces (Moments and September Song). His reaction? "Absolutely not!" 
I played in the lesson much better than the recording I shared here, so if I can play somewhere in the middle of these two performances, I'll be quite happy.
- Edited
WieWaldi I think here the focus in on vocals. Sounds very challenging as there is a lot of treble tones and I can hear the voice is getting a little stressed on this registers compared to the mid and lower tones.
You are right. I spent much more time working on the vocals than I did on the piano part. And the problem of tension in the upper register, particularly when I want to crescendo up to there, is still vexing.
If I would try to do the same, I would mumble though the entire piece.
Have you seen this? 
Nightowl I did notice a slight variation in your tempo, but I thought it was intentional, because I think when the piece is sung by opera singers they tend to vary the tempo. I also know that usually a good rendition of this song is met by rapturous applause from the audience, because everyone is impressed when someone manages to sing those complex lyrics at speed... I'm curious - what do you do for a living?
Many of the changes in tempo were not intentional! And I didn't notice the issue until I heard the recording. I probably should have done some practice recordings earlier to identify such issues. But I'm glad to hear they didn't sound like mistakes. As for my job, I'm an engineer teaching at uni. Totally not related to piano, but it seems there are plenty of other academic types on this forum!
Sophia That was FANTASTIC!!! Absolutely PERFECT performance, you really have it all. Whoever you are going to perform this for will be the highlight of the evening, I just know it! What impressed me most of all (and believe me, I'm IMPRESSED!) was your happy smile throughout... which I know is not easy at all.
Yes, it's an effort to smile and act casual while concentrating! You can see my countenance slipping as I get closer to the end and get more nervous about ruining my recording! Thank you for your nice compliment!
TC3 Bravo! You put me to shame both in playing and singing. I hereby cede any claim to Vocal Royalty to rsl12!
No need for that. You are doing great!
iternabe β O mio babbino caro
Wow, that's a really nice piano sound. It seems like you're very good at controlling your touch.
Sophia β A Classy Rag
Classy indeed! It might need to be a bit faster, because otherwise some of the rests seem to drag on a bit.
Sgisela β Do Tebe (to you)
Very expressive playing! I hope sheet music from living composers like this can be made more widely available.
Rob β Lost β That was sublime. So sad, and yet captivating, so melancholy, and yet charming. Iβm bewitched, and will come back to listen again and again.
TC3 β Worried Life Blues β So cool! To me, it sounds quite ready β it wouldnβt surprise me if I heard it on the radio, really. By the way, Iβve had a good laugh reading the comments under your YT entry β I can imagine what happened (the funny sides of sharing an account with your other half 
).
And thanks for your kind words on my playing 
lilypad β God Bless the Child β Your very atmospheric, lovely playing agrees perfectly with the character of the piece. Beautiful!
Gooseberry Haha, yeah. 
I didn't want it to look like I was praising my own playing from a third person perspective ... Thanks for the nice comments!
Enthusiastic but mediocre amateur.
keff I was curious about the intro and found out that the intro was in the original composition (though it didn't appear in the movie)! It was a nice surprise. The arrangement has the jazz harmonies I enjoy. Did the smallness of the print cause hesitations in your performance? I hate small print. Printing on oversized paper is the only easy solution that comes to mind. Even with the hesitations, it was a nice performance--I didn't notice any other problems.
MarieJ Another nice combination of music and images. I definitely sense your style after watching a few of these. With the music box theme, I wonder what it would sound like with a voice closer to a music box.
Player1 If you learned this quickly, it must mean you're improving! I don't know the piece but there are no obvious wrong notes. It's unclear from your submission what kind of feedback you want so I'll leave it at that! When your performance was over, some political informercial started playing and I couldn't figure out how to get back to your performance. I had to reload the page to get out (which meant my message-editing box also cleared). If there's an easy way to get back to your video in that situation, let me know.
Gooseberry What a nice sensitive rendition. A clear melody floating over a well-controlled accompaniment, with good use of rubato.
lilypad I don't know this standard, but it's very pretty. I took a listen to the Blood Sweat & Tears version. It's quite different! Good for you, trying to incorporate something of it into your own playing and making something new. I think the arrangement, as pretty as it is, is a little repetitive, and the repetition can be tricky--without changing up your approach each time, it can sound a little stale.