PianoTell Recital #2 Is Now Live!

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!