hebele Greta99 thanks for sharing this composer. I immediately thought she must had an impressive life to get recognition in late romantic era. According to Wikipedia, Saint-Saens exclaimed "I never imagined a woman could write such music!". The piece itself was well played and quite pleasant to listen to, which I did a few times. Thanks.

Thank you! Mel Bonis was a very unhappy woman. For those interested, here is a short biography of her:
https://www.mel-bonis.com/EN/Biographie/
When I read it for the first time, I was very moved. I now appreciate much more that I was always allowed to make my own decisions.

    • Sam

    • Post #209

    hebele — Minuet in G - no visible scars that I can see - or hear! We all play this at some point. You did a great job with the ornaments too!

    Pathbreaker — Op. 116 No. 6, Intermezzo in E major - Commented over at PW - but i will add that I am envious of you for playing the 2 against 3 so well - I always struggle with those in Brahms...

    Calavera — Antipyretic - Commented over at PW. This time I looked up a definition for the title - I thought it referred to fire, but it is fever - fever-reducing. Clever!

    WieWaldi — Frisco Blues - Another blues! Great, very laid-back like the other one - easy to listen to!

    SalmonJack — Just Mist - Commented at PW. Still sounds (and looks) good!

    Rob — Pembrokeshire Promise - Excellent! Wistful and heartfelt!

    BicBic — Mazurka Op.6 No.2 - Love the Mazurkas! But I don't get those people who obsess over just the right way to play them. Just have fun with it! I am learning op 24#1 for the Dance Music recital at PW in a couple of months. Well done!

    Sgisela — Danza de los ñáñigos - Commented over at PW. Good for you on memorizing it - some pieces just come together and are easier to remember.

    Gooseberry — Nights in White Satin - very smooth - brings back memories! Well done!

    bSharp — Open Arms - very enjoyable to listen too - so smooth!

    Greta99 — Berceuse, Op. 23 No. 1 - I heard some Bonis at University when we studied some of the female composers - Interesting stuff. Well played! You did a great job bringing out that low melody in the middle section.

    ShiroKuro — Wind - Very well done - I can tell you love this kind of music!

    navindra — Over The Rainbow - your video work is exceptional! And the piano playing is great too!

    Another great recital! Everybody keep practicing!
    Sam

                                Calavera Great job! I wish I knew how to arrange music like this.

                                  Nightowl Thank you. I tried to keep the right balance between the hands, bringing out either the melody or the accompaniment line when I thought it made sense, but probably should have worked more on it so as to control this aspect better.

                                      WieWaldi Nice, languorous blues. Good job resisting the temptation to play faster.

                                          Player1 Thank you!

                                            Sam Thank you!

                                              Sam Nice, grand sound! This is supposed to be under tempo? Could've fooled me. I'm no believer in that "whole beat" theory kicking around the Internet, but sometimes you have to wonder what composers were smoking with their metronome markings. I wonder what the 'important event' is - sounds like something that you'd hear in a church or at a commencement ceremony.

                                                Rob I especially liked the alternating fingers on the E.

                                                Rob - you noticed exactly what Peter Feuchtwanger told us in his master classes about how fingerings can make significant and subtle differences in the musical line. Sometimes we choose a finger that makes us take a little more time which give us an agogic accent without having to think about it.

                                                  plop_symphony Thank you very much. And good you appreciate my slow tempo. I really had to concentrate to not speeding up. I was hard work, because I tend to rush.

                                                    Rob
                                                    Oh yes, I gots issues. I gots so many issues that I have issues with my issues.

                                                    Had to do more doctor stuff first thing this morning. Which is why I'm late with my next set of comments on the recital.

                                                      bSharp Journey - Open Arms - I am a HUGE Journey fan. While Faithfully is probably my most favorite piece by them, a big Thank You for this piece is deserved here!

                                                      Greta99 "Berceuse", Op. 23 No. 1 by Mel Bonis - I don't know this composer but, to me, the piece is reminiscent of music that was composed a century earlier.

                                                      ShiroKuro Wind by Brian Crain - All the work you put in shows in the performance. The ending sounded fine to my ears so you rightfully should be pleased with it.

                                                      navindra Over The Rainbow - Well done! Keep up the effort and eventually you'll finish Alfred's book 1 and move on to Book 2. 🤣

                                                      Ok, so that's a wrap for this recital. A big thanks to everyone who submitted and participated.

                                                                Gooseberry It sounded good to me, this arrangement has a gentle charm and it's really just down to preference how much you choose to stress the melody. 🙂

                                                                @Rob Thanks, that is a great confidence boost, coming from such a skilled player. 🙂 Sometimes I wish I could watch historical videos of advanced players, recorded back in their early months/years of playing - it might be quite an eye opener to see flawed performances from people who play at advanced levels now. Conversely the opposite situation happens on YT, where there are numerous videos from people showing their progress "after 1 year" but they seem so advanced that it makes me 1) feel totally inadequate and/or 2) doubt the honesty/authenticity of the recording.

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

                                                                • Rob likes this.

                                                                  Nightowl Greta99 Oh, so you are a repeat returner... there seem to be quite a few around here. 🙂 From the time frames you mentioned you're now into your 8th consecutive year of playing, which explains your advanced skill level. You must feel pleased that you stuck with it and now your commitment is paying dividends.

                                                                  I don't view myself as an advanced player. Considering that I wasn't a beginner seven years ago, I haven't made much progress. I prefer not to think much about the labels and just try to enjoy the process.

                                                                    rogerch .

                                                                    Your work has definitely paid off. It was very nice to listen to. Thanks for sharing!

                                                                        Nightowl

                                                                        Very good, especially when you consider that you've only been playing for 14 months. You can pat yourself on the back.

                                                                          • rsl12

                                                                          • Post #224
                                                                          • Edited

                                                                          Sam Your slower tempo makes it sound very important indeed! I just listened to a Horowitz recording and he makes it seem too easy and trivial. It's always a joy to hear you. Sad to hear about your friend, but does your wife play piano? Any chance of piano duets while you have the opportunity?

                                                                          keff Very tricky rhythm in the left hand! The other thing I would have found challenging is the solo section. Composed pieces that are supposed to sound improvised are my nemesis--they don't have the logical structure of normal compositions. Interesting ending!

                                                                          MarieJ I'm glad you realized your dream piece! Was this all one take? I'm very impressed!

                                                                          Pathbreaker I don't know this intermezzo. I listened twice to get used to the movement and harmony. Lots of ii-V movement (or similar), and also chromatic approaches, which made me my mind go into a jazz mentality. My second listening I got a better sense of it. It's a tricky piece! Lots going on, and many many lines to be shaped, which is expected of a Brahms piece. I enjoyed listening.

                                                                                  ShiroKuro Thank you! And nicely done indeed getting your submission in! 🙂

                                                                                  Peyton Thank you so much, Peyton! I would love an electronic tuning hammer. I did buy a robotuner for my guitars once, a much older version of the Roadie... unfortunately it never worked that well.

                                                                                  Seeker Thanks a lot! Yes, I do agree that I should add some mics to capture more of the ambient sound. I'll have to experiment a bit and see what works! The pedal thumps are just the natural sound of the piano, but because I'm miking so closely, they get amplified... the reason you don't hear them is purely due to digital trickery on my part.

                                                                                  rsl12 I'm so glad this duo happened. You two managed to steal the show! 😃

                                                                                  pianocat Thanks so much and thanks for listening!

                                                                                  Sophia Thanks so much and thanks for the encouragement! 🎩

                                                                                  Gooseberry Thank you! 😊

                                                                                  ShiroKuro Thank you! I snuck in right behind you too. I've got a bit of an unfair advantage in my ability to finish last. 😃

                                                                                  Sgisela Appreciate it!

                                                                                  rogerch Thanks a lot, Roger! 🙂

                                                                                  WieWaldi Thanks so much for the thoughtful feedback! I admit I enjoyed reading this one. 😆

                                                                                  hebele Thanks so much! 🎩🔨

                                                                                  rsl12 Wow, that's impressive work indeed @Sophia! Very slick.

                                                                                  rsl12 Thanks you! Yeah, I fully agree and admit the wobble was a bit risky and not quite as polished as could be. 😂

                                                                                  Nightowl Thank you! 🎩🐎

                                                                                  Sam Thanks a lot Sam!

                                                                                  Player1 Thank you! I definitely can't wait to be done. It's taking too long!

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

                                                                                                                    • SSeeker

                                                                                                                    • Post #226
                                                                                                                    • Edited

                                                                                                                    rach3master This is the plugin I use and recommend to all of us here. [
                                                                                                                    It can be used in various ways. The way I use it is somewhat dependent on the microphone I am using which is a dual capsule LDC microphone called "Endora". So I am getting two channels, one front facing, one rear facing from the one microphone. How that all works is another topic, but back to the plug-in. So what I've got is essentially a mono recording with 2 tracks, not quite at the same amplitude (the one facing the piano is louder than the one facing away). I use the plug-in to widen the image, and I think it gives very nice and believable results. I don't think it would work all that well with Audacity, because a visual display is part of how to use it. If you don't have anything but Audacity, you might look for the lowest price alternative that would give you some visual capability in your edit. Listen to the YT clip with headphones, and you'll hear the difference. I like it; I've had many people tell me how lifelike my recordings sound.

                                                                                                                        • rsl12

                                                                                                                        • Post #227
                                                                                                                        • Edited

                                                                                                                        Sophia Tell your daughter it was a commission well spent - I just hope you don't squander it all at once.

                                                                                                                        No worries about that--I can't squander what I never get!

                                                                                                                        As for our duet (Sophia) let me use this moment to say how impressed I am with the video! Number one of course is your playing (not a surprise), but given how lousy the audio quality of my portion of the video was, you managed to clean up the hiss and get a nice level of volume and reverb on both the voice and melodica, each requiring different levels. And for your (if I remember correctly) first time splicing videos, you did a pretty fancy job! Let's also not forget you came up a structure for the duet, and had to practice playing the piece without the melody (not that easy!). Finally, it's nice to know the pretty face that's attached to your cheery personality.