PianoTell Recital #2 Is Now Live!

navindra · 2024-11-15T15:45:00+00:00

Welcome to PianoTell Recital #2! Click for an index to all the performances: iternabe — O mio babbino caro keff — Over the Rainbow plop_symphony — The Midn...

BicBic

Performer: BicBic, currently in Utah. Played through school etc, current restart of piano is now ONE whole year!
Piece: Scriabin - Prelude no.4 in E minor from Op 11
Comment Policy: Anything goes

Source of music: IMSLP
Instrument: Digital Yamaha P-140
Recording method: Line out to Audacity, combined with iphone video in Powerdirector
Additional info: I haven't played much Scriabin. I suppose most of his pieces are a bit too tricky for me! Learning the notes of this prelude is the easier part I think, trying to get the musicality is much harder and I don't think I'm quite there. Very enjoyable to play and learn!

Sophia

BicBic — Prelude no.4 in E minor from Op 11

That's fantastic for one year, comeback or not! Congratulations on renewing your piano vows... I'm very glad I did the same. Though I'm nowhere near your level yet, of course. You have a very delicate touch, and played with very good dynamics. Very nice!

WieWaldi

BicBic — Prelude no.4 in E minor from Op 11
This one sounds really challenging, to get the mood done right. Tempo, dynamics, clean playing - everything matters here more than just hitting the right keys at the right moment. I am not familiar with Scriabin, just heard the name, so it is hard to judge if this was played as intended by the composer. To ears (this is what I can tell), it sounded well.
Just read you are playing only ONE year - this is impressive!

Sam

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

iternabe — O mio babbino caro - very good for such a short time! Nice touch!

keff — Over the Rainbow - So calm - and sensitive - well done!

plop_symphony — The Midnight Ball - Very cool - and excellent for Halloween.

Schubertian2 — 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 — Quick Five Blues - 6-5-4-3-2-1- Go! Loved it!

Nightowl — What A Wonderful World - Excellent progress!

Sophia — 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 — Slow Steps - two improvs in one month! I actually liked the one at PW better, but this one is great too!

thepianoplayer416 — When You Wish Upon a Star - commented at PW - still great over here!

MarieJ — Waltz in F minor - commented at PW - just love that video - so creative!

Player1 — Ashokan Farewell - I have heard many bluegrass groups play this - loved it!

Rubens — Sonata no.2, Op.36 (1913), 2nd movement - Another great accomplishment - you should be very proud!

Cratersmash — Sonata No. 3 in A Minor - Another difficult piece and wonderful playing! Bravo!

Gooseberry — Pigalle - Never heard this, but is very engaging and delightful. Well done!

Rob — Lost - very cool!

TC3 — Worried Life Blues - Awesome! Loved the singing!

lilypad — God Bless the Child - So smooth - loved it!

BicBic — 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!

rogerch

BicBic — Prelude no.4 in E minor from Op 11
I’m no Scriabin expert but your playing sounds great to me. I like the dynamic contrasts and the way you bring out the motion in the left hand.

javiercorre

Performer: Javier from Mexico. I've been practicing for 5 years
Piece: Sonatas K. 208 and K. 380 by Scarlatti
Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

Source of music: IMSLP
Instrument: Yamaha B1
Recording method: Pixel 8 Pro
Additional info: I'm performing these pieces on my piano recital/exam on november 22 so this was a great performance practice.

plop_symphony

Cratersmash — Sonata No. 3 in A Minor Wonderful playing! I'm hoping to work my way up to Prokofiev soon (even his Children's Pieces are pretty difficult). There was some percussion throughout starting in the middle section - was that your foot or something? I thought it actually fit really well and now I'm wondering what this sonata would sound like with a full percussion section.

javiercorre — Sonatas K. 208 and K. 380 I'd say you're ready for your recital. Scarlatti was truly ahead of his time.

navindra

javiercorre Wow! Just wow.

You've been practicing for only 5 years and not only can you play Scarlatti, you can play two whole Sonatas worth from memory. Absolutely astounding. Bravo! 👏

I really enjoyed just how nimble your touch is and your musicality kept me entranced. You're definitely ready for your exam! Good luck and hopefully you can share how it goes! 👏

Sophia

javiercorre — Sonatas K. 208 and K. 380

Beautiful! Delicately played and such an endearing piece. Fantastic dynamics and very skillful playing. Almost flawlessly and from memory, in a single take!!! And you have only five years of practice?! I'm very impressed! I'm sure you will do great on your exam!

WieWaldi

javiercorre — Sonatas K. 208 and K. 380
Very nicely and confidently played. Seems like you practices this one a lot, as I don't see any sheet music and this one is a whopping 11¹/₂ minute piece. So you are either an excellent memorizer, or you just practiced really plenty until you realized, you don't need sheet music anymore. Both pieces were played really very well. Only 5 years of playing? This is a stunner! I personally preferred the latter one, cause it is on the lighter and brighter side.
Wish you good luck for your recital in few days!

SalmonJack

Performer: SalmonJack from Hood River, OR, USA. Playing sporadically since 1973. Picking up the pace these days.
Piece: Bliss Ten by SalmonJack
Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

Source of music: My own composition.
Instrument: Kawai MP9000
Recording method: Kawai MP9000, Logic Pro, MacBook Air
Additional info: Two advantages of writing your own music is that 1) no one can compare my playing to anyone else's and 2) no one can definitively point out the mistakes. (It's a fine line between a mistake and pure genius). I find blissful solitude while hiding in my studio creating music.

I started this piece with an interesting contradiction I found in the I-V dyad (in my case, D): you can't tell whether you're in the major or minor key without more context. The first section, even just the first four measures, provide context for both. I'm not sure why that lit me up, but it did.

I will play this piece better in the future but for now I have to step away from it to get some perspective.

More blissful solitude. Take ride on the Columbia River. My boat is a Finn, an Olympic racing class from 1952 to 2020, a boat I've sailed for more than 50 years. If you want to read about the nut cases like me who sail this thing you can find an excerpt from my novel at http://paganusersmanual.com/finns.

Sophia

SalmonJack — Bliss Ten

This forum is so talented... pianists, composers, sailors, movie makers, and from the looks of it you're all rolled in one 🙂 Thanks for sharing your creation and lovely imagery to go with it. It felt like a mini cruise with an on board pianist - thank you for taking us on this virtual trip!

WieWaldi

SalmonJack — Bliss Ten

Two advantages of writing your own music is that ... 2) no one can definitively point out the mistakes.

Respectfully - I don't agree entirely. Breaks in the rhythm that doesn't sound well, both as hard dissonances interrupting the flow of the melody can be heard easily. Even by non musicians.
Ok, in your case you may be thinking about other mistakes, and you are right! Bliss Ten sounds really nice, I both enjoyed your piano playing as well as the nice video with the bow-view of the boat. Thank you for sharing.

Sam

javiercorre — Sonatas K. 208 and K. 380 - They make a nice pair of Sonatas to play together. Loved both of them!

SalmonJack — Bliss Ten - commented at PW - love that video! And the playing is great too!

rsl12 — I am the very model of a modern Major-General - So awesome! Should be quite the hit!

Sgisela — Do Tebe (to you) - Very well played - loved it!

ShiroKuro — Reminiscence - wonderful! You will do great in the recital!

Pathbreaker — Larghetto - commented at PW for the audio only version. I actually thought that recording quality was better? Same recording? Anyway, great playing!

diretonic — Chega de Saudade (No More Blues) - Loved the rhythm and drive!

navindra — The Entertainer - Wonderful playing and video editing - loved it!

Off to surgery!

Gooseberry

SalmonJack — Bliss Ten – I enjoyed very much this beautiful ride on your boat and listening to your composition, very refreshing, thank you!

rsl12

Performer: rsl12 (USA). Piano has been a hobby for decades. First half of my piano life was focused on classical, but now I'm into jazz.
Piece: "I am the very model of a modern Major-General" by WS Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan.
Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

Source of music: Arrangement by CD Sheet Music
Recording method: I've decided my Blue Yeti microphone works best on top of the piano, right in the middle.
Additional info: I've been taking voice lessons for a few months (as part of reaching my fun goal of being able to entertain at nursing homes). I'm doing this song in an in-person recital on the 17th, and I've been practicing the voice part for about two months (I'll have a pianist). When I found out about this Pianotell recital three weeks ago, I decided to learn the piano part as well. Singing this song was challenge enough, even without piano! I hear lots of faults in the recording that I could correct with more time. The piece is very fun, so I'll try to improve it and keep it in my repertoire. I hope it's entertaining, even with all the flubs!

keff

rsl12 Bravo Major General!

Nightowl

rsl12 I was going to wait until tomorrow to listen to the next batch of recitals, but my curiosity got the better of me and I'm so glad it did - because your performance was ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!!! 😃 🤩 😍 The speed of playing was incredible and singing all those complex tongue twisting lyrics at the same time made this even more impressive - my mind is completely blown!!! How do you do that?!? You were absolutely on fire!!! Thanks for the entertainment, I'll be watching this again, that's for sure!

ShiroKuro

rsl12 That was AWESOME!! And yes, it was very entertaining! (Somehow, I think your nursing home performances will be a lot more fun than my retirement center concert... 😛

Anyway, I loved it! I didn't hear any flubs either.

BTW did you memorize the music and the lyrcis?? That's quite a feat!

WieWaldi

rsl12 — I am the very model of a modern Major-General
Nice singing. Albeit this is a piano forum, 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. Second thing is the speed, very fast words, almost rap, but with melody. Not quite Scatman but close. Definitely very difficult for my understanding. Kind of a musical version of a tongue twister. If I would try to do the same, I would mumble though the entire piece.
Big respect for this submission.

Sgisela

Performer: sgisela
Piece: Do Tebe (to you), Vitaly Filipenko
Comment Policy: polite comments only

Source of music: sheet music
Instrument: Estonia L210
Recording method: iPhone
Additional info: I’ve had a very complicated last few weeks and haven’t gotten around to recording one of the pieces I’ve been working on. So I’m posting this older recording. I submitted a recording of this piece to PW about a year ago, but I continued to work on it a little bit, and while this remains far from a perfect recording, it is closer to how I hear it in my head, compared to the earlier recording.

I came across this piece when I was listening to my favorite classical music radio station, WFMT. They have a program called Introductions, which features young musicians living in Chicagoland. One week, they did a special on Ukrainian-American musicians and Ukrainian composers. One of the featured pianists, Myroslav Myhailenko, played this piece, and I loved it. But when I looked for it online, I couldn’t find it anywhere. There are a few recordings on YouTube, but I was at a loss for the sheet music. So I emailed the host of the program, and he very kindly asked the pianist if he’d be able to share the sheet music. Myroslav quickly sent it to me! And I’m so glad he did.

Nightowl

Just another few comments - this time from the final few pieces. I'll listen to the middle section another day.

Sgisela — Do Tebe (to you)
Wow, that's a beautiful piece and you played it effortlessly - you are clearly a natural! How long have you been playing piano? Also, I also loved the way you started and ended the piece with a close up of sunflowers - very nice!
ShiroKuro — Reminiscence
Another piece new to my ears and what a treat it was! I love the way the piece creates the effect of rippling water and you played it beautifully.
Pathbreaker — Larghetto
Beautifully played and your hands are beautiful too - an added bonus for viewers!
diretonic — Chega de Saudade (No More Blues)
Now that's jazz! I agree that it sounds quite busy in parts, but then I'm not an afficionado of this type of music so maybe others really like the busy sections?
navindra — The Entertainer
Nav you nailed it! I played this arrangement a few months back, but never managed to play it as fluently and confidently as you do. Plus you had the satisfaction of pushing the total number of submissions just one digit higher (not that anyone's keeping tally with another forum, oh no...) 😉

Rubens

Sophia
I love the nonchalant ease with which you play this piece, like a walk in the park. Your rhythm notably sounds natural and musical. You make learning the piano look easy, but not everybody has your gift!

Gooseberry
After 3 years of learning my playing consisted of a loud and unmusical succession of notes. At the same level of experience your playing sounds like a professional recording that could be used as a movie soundtrack.

Sgisela
There is a nocturnal lyricism in your playing that tugs at the listener's heartstrings and pull them into the depths of a soul-stirring journey. The part at 2:58 is achingly beautiful. The typical "wet" sound of the Estonia fits this music perfectly. After finishing listening to this I restarted immediately.

WieWaldi

Sgisela — Do Tebe (to you)
I am also glad, you've got the sheet music. Wonderful played through the entire piece from top to bottom. I hear a lot of how good you express the music, vivid sections and calm ones.

Sophia

Sgisela — Do Tebe (to you)

Very pretty!!! That literally flowed from start to finish... such a pretty room, such a pretty piano and such a pretty piece. And lastly, such a pretty story how you got by the sheet music. Very special indeed. I thoroughly enjoyed that, thank you!

ShiroKuro

Performer: ShiroKuro, Midwest, 25 years
Piece: Reminiscence, Takashi Kako
Comment Policy: Polite Comments only: no suggestions for improvement please.

Source of music: Sheet music by the composer
Instrument: Yahama C2 (acoustic grand)
Recording method: iPhone on a shelf behind the piano.
Additional info: This was my first take. I made one more recording after this which actually had fewer mistakes, except that I made a mistake in one of my favorite spots in the piece. So, since I don't have time to make and upload a recording tonight, I decided to use the first recording, even though it has more mistakes, because the mistakes are less critical IMO. 😃

By the way, this is one of the three pieces I'm scheduled to play in the concert that I've been posting about. (Unless I decide it's better left off the program -- what do you think??) The concert is just under two weeks away now. The plan is to play this one last. Wish me luck.

And thanks for listening!

WieWaldi

ShiroKuro — Reminiscence
Very well played, now I understand why had been trouble to get a recording done for this recital while time was running. This one sounds quite challenging. Ok, for myself as a total beginner, a lot of the pieces in the recitals sound quite challenging. Nevertheless, I think you played the entire piece really well and did a lot of musical interpretation.
Btw, the 2nd time I listened to it, I discovered one of the minor mistakes and you are right. It is nothing that does disturb the flow of the music in any way. If your live performance goes as good this "1st recording attempt", you can be really proud.

Sophia

ShiroKuro — Reminiscence

That was very well played! Everything perfect, dynamics, flow, you name it. Only thing I would change is the camera angle to show a little more of your face, haha! Just kidding! You are a lot braver than me in that respect 😃 I think you will do fantastic in your upcoming performance... literally no one is going to be nitpick on a few tiny flaws (if any). I enjoyed it very much!

Pathbreaker

Performer: Pathbreaker
Piece: Larghetto by Germaine Tailleferre
Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

Source of music: sheet music (Deux Pieces Pour Piano)
Instrument: Yamaha N1X, Modern D
Recording method: Cubase, Audacity
Additional info: Still a work in progress. Hope you enjoy.

WieWaldi

Pathbreaker — Larghetto
Very nicely played. For someone who does not know this piece (me), it does not sound like work in progress. It sounds well rounded and very finished.

Sophia

Pathbreaker — Larghetto

Wow, very impressive. If that is your "work in progress" I can't even imagine what the finished project would sound like ^_^ And you played everything from memory... at least it looked that way. You have very elegant and relaxed hands too, a joy to behold you play. Well done!

diretonic

Performer: diretonic
Piece: Chega de Saudade (No More Blues) by A.C. Jobim
Comment Policy: All comments welcome

Source of music: My arrangement
Instrument: Layered sampled pianos
Recording method: Cubase
Additional info: Recorded a few years back when arthritis was beginning to trouble me hence required a couple of performance edits. Listening now I feel the arrangement here and there is far too busy so I might have another stab at this soon.

rsl12

rogerch You had in mind to use minor subdominants? Your thinking about improvisation is getting more sophisticated. Glad to hear more of your progress!

Sam Love your use of inversions. The deceptive cadences continually surprised me! Hope your hip is doing better. What a chair!

Rob First section flows so well. The middle section sounds like it's going to be a change of mood, but it returns quickly to the original theme. Loved it.

TC3 I think this is my favorite recording of yours so far. Good arrangement--simple and varied. Your singing voice is also really good on this! It sounds relaxed and confident.

diretonic I can see why you think it's a little busy in places, but I hope you don't tweak it too much because it sounds really good. I particularly like the way you juggle in the middle voice(s).

navindra

iternabe For only 10 months of playing the piano, you sure can tell a story! You've got great musical intent. Well done, and nicely & delicately played! 👍

diretonic Wow, what a lovely arrangement! I wasn't familiar with the original piece, but you certainly made it your own. I really enjoyed the liveliness of this and the atmosphere+mood you created. That's quite some talent you have, bravo, and thanks for sharing! I felt great after listening to this! 👏

Sophia

diretonic — Chega de Saudade (No More Blues)

What a lovely blues - I can't believe you played that while arthritis was troubling you. I probably agree with your comment on "busy" but that is because I enjoy laid-back music so much... whether classical or bluesy like this one 🙂 Still, that style is very much favoured by many famous jazz musicians so my comment probably doesn't mean much either way... I thoroughly enjoyed listening and hope to be able to improvise some day like you did there. Oh and the ending was adorable!

navindra

Performer: Navindra Umanee in the USA. On and off piano lessons since September 2019.
Piece: The Entertainer by Scott Joplin arr. by Willard A. Palmer, Morton Manus, and Amanda Vick Lethco
Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes! Please let me know what you think of the tuning and sound of the piano as well!

Source of music: Alfred's Basic Adult All-in-One Course, Book 1
Instrument: Ritmüller UH121R by Pearl River
Recording method: I touched up the tuning on the piano using the amazing CyberHammer with the equally mind-blowing pianoscope app. I used close miking with the onboard mics on a Tascam Portacapture X8 near the bottom part of the harp and I had a matched pair of the Audix SCX25A mikes behind me. I mixed the mics using Audacity, and using Logic Pro, added a touch of reverb with Space Designer’s Piano Warmth and let Mastering Assistant work its magic. I decided to favor a player perspective for this upright.
Additional info: I originally played this piece for my teacher's 2024 Halloween Piano Party and I recorded it at home for PianoTell. I can't wait to graduate from Alfred Book 1.

WieWaldi

navindra — The Entertainer
Let's continue with Ragtime! This one may be widely frowned upon some ragtime pianists, simply because it is overplayed. (I hope I didn't screw up grammar in this sentence😬) Still, The Entertainer has a very special place in my heart. It was the very first rag I ever heard in my life, thanks to M.Hamlish. And I never get bored of it. No, I would say, you never ever really played piano, if you didn't play The Entertainer at least once in your life. (Sorry Mozart, but it's true 🤪) You played it excellent, everything was on point.

Navindra, congrats! Now you can say, you have played the piano - really!

Gooseberry

navindra I never tire of this tune, it’s so cheerful and energetic! I like your tempo and dynamic choices. And listening to your highly enjoyable playing has made me smile and want to jump and go to the piano and try to play it too!

ShiroKuro

navindra That was great!!! Very well played. And you piano sounds great too!

Also, I love your pumpkin shirt! 🙂

navindra

And that's a wrap, folks!

Please enjoy the recital! 🙂

You can like or comment on performances by directly replying to them.

For meta feedback on the recitals, please use this thread instead.

Sophia

Well, as there were so many fascinating pieces submitted this round, I have decided to take my time and savour them all over the next few days/weeks. I will comment as I listen... so far I have only listed to

iternabe — O mio babbino caro

And what a lofty piece to start the recital with! @iternabe we basically started our piano journey around the same time, so it gives this wonderful feeling of "growing up" together. I think you have been making fantastic progress, obviously your zeal and eye for detail are paying off. Very delicately and musically played. And what performance isn't enhanced by a few furry friends watching over you ^_^

TC3

Sophia I'm doing the same, will take my time and listen / respond to a few at a time. I'm going to try to go in more-or-less random order as well. Where's my D&D dice bag? I must have a d27 in there somewhere ... 😃

ShiroKuro

Yay!!! Congratulations everyone!! And thank you @navindra for all of your work bringing this together!!

I'm looking forward to listening! But gotta get back to work first!

Schubertian2

Thank you Navindra - what a lot of good work you do!

navindra

Schubertian2 Thank you Navindra - what a lot of good work you do!

Thanks a lot for this comment. I saw it before leaving for work this morning and I can honestly say it put a smile on face and made my day. 🙂

Congrats everyone! I've enjoyed everything I've listened to so far and will slowing start sharing my comments. 🙂

Sophia

keff — Over the Rainbow

Wow, that is a very interesting arrangement of OtR... those harmonies seem to gyrate around the melody in some places! Very sweet ending too. And so very impressive to see someone play a five minutes piece in one single take - I usually go to "pieces" after the one minute mark 😁

keff

Sophia Thank you for your kind words.

Sophia

plop_symphony — The Midnight Ball

You played for just UNDER two years and learned this in a week?????? Consider me deeply impressed! Such a happy tune - and I loved the very interesting rhythms and dynamics. Really really - no, really well played. Keep going and by next year we can probably expect you to be at concert pianist level. Just kidding 😆

plop_symphony

Sophia I had worked on it a year ago, so it wasn't completely unfamiliar to me when I restarted on it this year. 😅

TC3

Okay, a few picked at random:
@Rubens - Sonata. A beautiful piece expertly played! I can hear what you mean about the moods of the piece. I’m also impressed with how nice that Kawaii sounds. Well done!
@Sam -Never Finished Piece. An interesting piece, thanks for sharing. I would be interested in hearing more about your creative process.
@Pathbreaker - Larghetto. Wow, for a “work in progress,” it sounded great to me. I imagine you want to spend more time on it for your own satisfaction, but I personally think it’s already audience-ready. Thanks for sharing!

Pathbreaker

TC3
Thanks for your comments. For my own satisfaction is a great way to put it.

Sophia

Schubertian2 — Ballade 4

That's a gorgeous ballad, what is not to like about Chopin. The time spent learning that was well worth it, wow, that last part must be sooo challenging to play and you pulled it off splendidly! Loved the imagery as well, so fitting to the delicate melodies. Thank you!

Sophia

WieWaldi — Quick Five Blues

Ahhhh... WieWaldi... I always said you are five steps ahead of me, but I need to change my opinion four now. After listening to this three times, I had to change it two the simple fact that you will always be number ONE in blues! Well played!!! I can't wait to reach this lesson 😃

WieWaldi

Sophia — A Classy Rag
Yeah - Ragtime! This is IMO one of the most difficult genres of all. This specific one might be one of the easier rags, whereas rag&easy is a contradiction by itself. I mean it is like a law of nature: There is no easy rag, (same as there is no easy Chopin). I always forget you are playing just since January, and then you pull a ragtime out of nothing. Flawlessly performed. Kudos!

Sophia I always said you are five steps ahead of me, ...

Haha, every step I make, you do two.
I'm very sure, cause I'm watching you! 😊

« Previous Page Next Page »