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 πŸ˜ƒ Thanks for your comment!

    @Sam and Sophia Thank you both for your kind words!

    Sophia, re that camera angle! πŸ˜ƒ It's perfect for internet anonymity! πŸ˜†

    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.

    Sam Thank you Sam, I hope the surgery goes well.

    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? πŸ˜›

    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 – That was sublime. So sad, and yet captivating, so melancholy, and yet charming. I’m bewitched, and will come back to listen again and again.

        • Rob likes this.

        TC3 β€” Worried Life Blues – So cool! To me, it sounds quite ready – it wouldn’t surprise me if I heard it on the radio, really. By the way, I’ve had a good laugh reading the comments under your YT entry – I can imagine what happened (the funny sides of sharing an account with your other half πŸ˜…).
        And thanks for your kind words on my playing πŸ₯°

        • TC3 replied to this.
        • TC3 likes this.

          lilypad β€” God Bless the Child – Your very atmospheric, lovely playing agrees perfectly with the character of the piece. Beautiful!

          Sam I hope the surgery went well!

          rsl12 Have you seen this? πŸ˜›

          Hahaha - no, I havent. But I would mumble much more than Peter. 😱

          Gooseberry Haha, yeah. πŸ™‚ 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.

            Rob btw, have you heard the Tom Lehrer verion of this, the Elements, set to the Periodic Table?

            Found it! All I have to do is memorize a few new lyrics, and I can double my performance value!

            That is............ INCREDIBLE. My mind is completely blown... πŸ™€ That's not even humanly possible is it?

            Anyway, here's my tip: Start with Earth and Air and Fire and Water and take it from there!

            Sam Cataract surgery this afternoon - so I can't eat or drink anything today - but i can sit here and listen to the recital!

            Good luck, Sam! Hopefully all goes well and the new lenses work their magic! Should be a really nice boost, if so. πŸ™‚

            @iternabe - O Mio …. Nice job! I applaud your decision to take your time and work on more pieces before moving on to level 2. I thought you played very musically, with some tasteful liberties with the tempo, as planned. Kudos!
            @Schubertian2 - Ballade 4. Wow. Seriously. This is some advanced repertoire, definitely beyond anything I’ll ever manage. Well done, my hat’s off to you. I can’t wait to hear what you choose next!
            @MarieJ - Waltz in F Minor. Very beautiful, delicate playing. I like hearing how you’ve leaned into the digital age, sometimes I think we pianists are a bit too traditional … Thanks for your contribution!


            Enthusiastic but mediocre amateur.

            @Player1 I love that tune, and you played it well, with feeling.

            @Cratersmash mash A masterful performance, and a great memory, to boot!

            @Gooseberry That was so delicately and effortlessly performed. I loved it!

            @TC3 A cool blues, and great performance. Piano and vocals are not easy, but you made it look like a walk in the park1.

            @BicBic You certainly did the piece justice. I liked the sombre, and delicate performance.

            @javiercorre Thank you for the eleven and a half minutes, that I sat listening with my eyes closed.
            A beautiful moment of calm in this frantic world. Thank you!

            @SalmonJack a mesmerising composition, which was perfectly paired with your sailing video. Bravo!

            @Sgisela You have an uncanny knack of posting beautiful performances of music that I have never heard before, but somehow resonate with me deeply. Thank you.

            Nightowl β€” What A Wonderful World
            This is a nice arrangement of a beautiful piece, and I really like the way you play it. Your delicate playing and nice phrasing bring out the beauty in the music. Thanks for your playing!