PianoTell Recital (model) Ideas

Pallas I second everything Pallas said here. I too have no preference what system P|T will adopt... my only wish is that it will adopt its own culture in time. I know that some have years of history tied to PW, so some will feel a lot more nostalgic about the place. Whereas I have good memories (it's where I met you all), there are some things I would like to leave behind in there (some of the cultural aspects). And I absolutely think that @Sam's wishes are gospel when it comes to recitals. I mean it's his baby

Just speaking for myself, I wouldn't mind if this recital environment is sufficiently different from PW so it won't feel like competition. For example three times a year instead of quarterly, distinctions like that to make it unique to this forum. Perhaps January, May and September. Maybe even each themed - for example January - anything goes. May - themed recital. September - everyone is wearing something blue. I'm joking of course... but seriously, I'm really hoping this place will come to stand on its own and not depend on whatever goes on in PW. That's my wish

I’m gonna make a blunt observation. It seems like almost everyone who has recently been an ABF participant is posting quite a bit here and almost nothing there. There are a few regular recital members who don’t post much to the forum, other than at the time of recitals, so I don’t know whether they’d make the trip over to participate in a recital here, but other than those few people, I think most of the committed people are spending a lot more time here these days.

I like this new forum a lot. But it’s possible that it’s the latest shiny toy, and in time people may get bored with it and go back. Or it may really take off. My sense is that a lot of us who are over here were pretty unhappy with a lot of things at the other place, so I’m optimistic.

However, any recitals over here are currently an abstraction. My sense is that Navindra’s got a lot going on to set this place up in a way that is sustainable long-term, and I’m sure this will be a priority ahead of doing whatever needs to be done to set up a recital. Anyways, I’m sure that if/when a recital series gets started, there will be plenty of issues to work out, things that work well and things that don’t. My opinion is that we don’t need to get bogged down right now in things like timing, how much distinction there should be with PW recitals, etc. I think the first recitals will, as much as anything, be an opportunity to sort out how to get them going, work out the kinks, etc.

Right, I think we're all basically saying the same thing here. It's perfectly acceptable to wait and see how things play out. There is no rush to make any decisions here... this is P|T. Anything can happen here.

And PW is PW, where recitals are scheduled and planned for the future... where we can participate if we wish, or leave them to it if we don't

Gombessa Agreed! Hopefully with the approach proposed above (based on the excellent ideas here), we can refine a plan and get a recital going with relatively little effort.

As for the timing, I've reached out to @Sam for his input. We would do well to go by his recommendations on this.

At least one advantage of timing it with a PW recital is that folks can get maximum impact for a performance they might have been planning anyway. We can make sure things are working well here before thinking of forging a new path ahead.

I'm thinking about the submission template a bit.

Principles:

1. Present pertinent information upfront.
2. Performance!
3. Additional details can be viewed after the performance if desired.

So I'm thinking something like this:

[b]Performer:[/b] Peter Bence from Hungary. I've been playing since 1991.
[b]Piece:[/b] Under Pressure by Queen & David Bowie.
[b]Comment Policy:[/b] Critical Comments: Anything goes!

https://youtu.be/muxgwcxW-zo 

>! [b]Source of music:[/b] My own arrangement.
>! [b]Instrument:[/b] Purple Upright.
>! [b]Recording method:[/b] iPhone X with large condenser microphones.
>! [b]Additional info:[/b] I get a lot of requests to play Bohemian Rhapsody but I'm still not happy with my progress on that one. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this rendition of Under Pressure. It took me a whole week to spray paint the piano!

It looks like this:

Performer: Peter Bence from Hungary. I've been playing since 1991.
Piece: Under Pressure by Queen & David Bowie.
Comment Policy: Critical Comments: Anything goes!

Thoughts?

Hey all,

Now that we have Sam's input, I think we have enough to get started with recitals on PT.

PianoTell Recital #1 can run concurrently with Piano World Recital #75. Performers can submit their performances to both recitals as they prefer. I would suggest we open up for submissions at least 1 day before PW to work out any kinks.

However, we are missing something... someone to lead the recital. Who wants to volunteer or nominate someone for this? Don't worry, I've already checked with Sam and he's happy to have someone else lead the PT recitals.

What does leading the recital mean? Well, part of the role is to define exactly that. You'll own this completely (with everyone's support, of course) and you'll get to put your personal stamp on this. I will help put together an initial HOWTO for the recitals then give you ownership.

You can read this here for a historical overview: https://recitals.pianoworld.com

When I first participated, I had several questions and Sam was always supportive and reassuring. He was always inclusive. I asked if I could submit something I had already recorded and the answer was yes! Even though I had shared the performance on PW previously, the recital experience was very fulfilling. I got lots of constructive and encouraging feedback... more than I'd ever gotten in any other venue. It was something else altogether! Not to mention, I was highly motivated to watch everyone else's performances and learned a lot from them – including discovering new compositions to learn myself.

From what I've seen, Sam informs everyone of an incoming recital at least 4 weeks in advance and motivates everyone to polish up their pieces. Two weeks before the recital, Sam opens up for submissions. During this period, Sam keeps an eye on submissions and updates everyone with a running tally while still encouraging folks to join. Finally, he publishes the recital, creates a discussion thread and it's off to the races.

I'd recommend you reach out to Sam for advice and to consult. In my experience he has always been willing to help.

So... who's interested?

We can give it a few days to hear opinions and feedback.

P.S. As a perk, you will get to choose your new Lead flair. Green ?

Pallas Thank you!

There would not be any website/programming involved, I would own that part of it and provide support.

@Sophia already did reach out to me and I personally think she would make an excellent choice for cat herder Recital Coordinator. I would definitely support someone coming in new with a fresh perspective while building on the historical learnings from PW.

It would be great if you both could discuss it privately and see if you'd like to co-own and how you'd do it. Then once you confirm whether it'll be one or the both of you, I'm all for making it official unless someone has valid objections.

This is the start of something great!

navindra Shall we run the next Quarterly recital in parallel with ABF on PW? We might start with duplicate submissions on PW and PT and see how it all works out.

keff navindra In parallel on the same dates as PW or alternative dates (say in anti-phase) ?

It was always a bummer in PW, there was no place for Christmas songs. November recital is too early, and February is way too late.

My take for the quarterly recitals is to go one month later than PW:
Mar, 1st - 15th
Jun, 1st - 15th
Sep, 1st - 15th
Dec, 1st - 15th

And for the themed recitals, use the 2nd half of the month:
Jan, 15th - 31th
Apr, 15th - 30th
Jul, 15th - 31th
Oct, 15th - 31th

This schedule gives always 1¹/₂ month time for practicing between the recitals.

The downside of have an anti-phase to PW, it gets chaotic. It is no fun to post the same thing again, but 2/4 weeks later in the other forum. All the people have seen it already, and the comments/congratulations will be very rare, not to say disappointing. If it is for me, I would change the schedule in PW, too.

AFAIK, the proposal of having the 2nd half of the month was already in PW, but @Sam declined it because it didn't fit into a good time slot for him. Somehow he arranged with his environment to have time on the 1st of the month and this couldn't easy changed. Sam, please correct me if I am babbling nonsense, here.