Bach’s Air from Orchestral Suite No 3 in D Major.

Peyton

I recorded this months ago thinking I would keep working on it and improve. That is still the plan but here is what I have so far. Any advice from those in the know is welcome.

pianoloverus

This is generally very good and it's obvious you've thought and worked carefully on this piece. My suggestion would require a fairly big change and is an interpretive choice you may not want to do. I noticed and heard that you are carefully connecting the notes in the bass to make them very legato. I don't know if this is your idea, a teacher's suggestion, or it's written in the score because there are many different transcriptions of this piece. For example, in the first measure after playing the D with your thumb you play the C sharp with your second finger and then shift to your first finger on the C Sharp so you can play the C sharp an octave below it legato. But many editions actually indicate that the notes should be played staccato with pedal or write non legato in the bass. The idea is to make the bass notes sounds somewhat detached or portamento which corresponds more to the piece when played in its original form on strings. Here's probably the most famous transcription of this piece by Siloti where you can hear what the piece sounds like with the bass notes played detached or non legato:

Of course you may not like how this sounds or decide it's not worth the effort after you've carefully learned how to play bass notes very legato, so my thoughts are really only a suggestion. I do think it sounds better if the base notes don't sound so legato.

Peyton

twocats

Peyton it's great that you're branching out into classical music! 🙂

I agree with PL saying that the left hand should be a detached "portamento", it doesn't need to be as short as in his shared video but it shouldn't be legato. Also I noticed that you're sometimes landing a little aggressively on the high notes in the right hand, like you're rushing to get there and your finger is dropping down hard. I think if you can be more controlled on those notes, it will sound much better.

There's a lot of small musical phrasing that you're doing really nicely. I would try to focus on keeping each phrase musical and beautiful, and don't fall into "muscular" finger playing when you're playing with more volume. Let your wrists be relaxed.

Overall you did a great job, bravo!

Peyton

Great advice and i really appreciate it. Pianoloveerus, I have not had a teacher in over 30 years now so any interpretations are pretty much my own. For this piece I listened to Guida play it and tried to mimic him as much as possible. I had sheet music but it didn't quite fit what he was playing so, again, tried to play what he was doing. (There were still some things he did I just couldn't figure out.) I need to get on headphones and listen more carefully to what you posted (Levit) and compare the differences. Is Guida playing the bass as staccato as you suggest?

Twocats, good about those high notes and volumn... I will work on that. I recorded this many months ago and only now am getting back to it. As far as "branching out into classical"... it's actually been the other way now for the past year. On my channel you would see all the Chopin, Shumann, Satie, Bach and tons of Glass in my repertoire along with of course all my own stuff. After I lost my grand in the fire (along with everything else I owned including 40 years of sheet music) I have only had digital pianos. They, especially my new Yamaha, have led me back to my songs so that is where most of my attention has gone.

Anyway, thank you both. This is just what I was hoping for. I love music but as mentioned, I left my teachers way in my past so am sort of out here on my own LOL and appreciate any help I can get.

pianoloverus

Peyton Great advice and i really appreciate it. Pianoloveerus, I have not had a teacher in over 30 years now so any interpretations are pretty much my own. For this piece I listened to Guida play it and tried to mimic him as much as possible. I had sheet music but it didn't quite fit what he was playing so, again, tried to play what he was doing. (There were still some things he did I just couldn't figure out.) I need to get on headphones and listen more carefully to what you posted (Levit) and compare the differences. Is Guida playing the bass as staccato as you suggest?

Both Gulda and Levit are playing the left hand non legato but much closer to portamento(detached) than staccato (which I saw on one edition of this transcription which is why I mentioned it but I don't think the right way to think of it). They are also both using pedal with Gulda perhaps using more than Levit. The other big difference in their left hands from what you are doing is that they play the left hand notes as octaves and not as single notes. That's another change you might want to try that I think would make the transcription sound better.

Here is a link to the transcription by Siloti that Levit plays where you can see the octaves and non legato marking:
https://vmirror.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/1/1b/IMSLP09510-Siloti_-_Transcription_of_Bach's_Air_from_Suite_for_String_Orchestra_No.3,_BWV_1068.pdf

Here's a recording where the pianist plays only single notes in the left hand but plays them non legato that sounds quite good:

Jane

Well, I like your version, @Peyton . Pedaled, mellow, and vaguely reminding me of the first time I heard Pachelbel's Canon in a health food store in the 70s.

That's the thing about transcriptions. They're like a "cover band" rendition. They may try to mimic the original instrumentation. Or do a Busoni with lots of pedal and added octaves. Or Liszt's transcriptions of the Beethoven symphonies. Or anything in between.

As for ol' Sebastian, I can see him whistling a happy tune. Then getting together at the pub with his buddies and whacking that tune out on kazoo, violin, and flute. Then playing the same tune as a fugue on the church organ that Sunday.

Although I just made a recording of Kempff's transcription of the Bach Siciliano, in which he is quite precise about staccato and pedal markings. And I follow those markings rather strictly. But I've heard pros play it with a lot of pedal and at tempos greatly varying from what Kempff marked.

Peyton

Back in the day when I had an instructor (35 years ago now) she listened to me play the aria from the Goldberg variations. When I finished she sighed and said "You could have been a fine pianist." I took that as as compliment. She would tell me, as I fubed notes no doubt, that she would rather hear a place played with heart than "played technically correct."

pianoloverus

Peyton She would tell me, as I fubed notes no doubt, that she would rather hear a place played with heart than "played technically correct."

Why not aim for both? I think choosing only one is a false dichotomy.

Peyton

pianoloverus I believe her point was , if given a choice she would rather hear a piece tthat was maybe not played technically correct but with heart than one played technically correct but with no heart. Obviously one should aim for both.

pianoloverus

Peyton Of course one should aim for both which was the point of my post.