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Now that I've been through the pieces a couple more times, I thought I would add my comments. All in all, I really enjoyed the recital. I'm glad this forum is around:

1)Mr Super Hunky: I really like the chords in this piece. Even though I'm a classical junky, I wish I had a piece or two like this to have for those late nights when people are around and I could just work through it in the background.

2)DannyLux: I love the sound of this piece. I'm looking it up now to see if I can work on this on the side.

3)StephanC: I think this works for a Holiday recital. I like the sound of the Roland, and you have the dynamics just right for the piece.

4)Peyton Higgison: Very nice arrangement. I like the jazz section in the second part. Makes me want to hit the scales more often to get this kind of sound.

5)J_McClellan: Dear god man, pick something other than Bach. You've been in 2 recitals and you seem to be stuck. Move on. There are more composers out there. Plus, buy a microphone. We want to hear what the piano really sounds like.

6)Ragnhild: I always like Bach but I always hear items from Book I. Glad to hear something from Book II. And without a teacher? Very nice.

7)Icekid767 (Hawk): You have the technique of someone who has played for quite awhile. I love the turns in this piece. Again...now I have to go practice more.

8)Piano again: I had to go back to your direct link to get the Prelude of this one. This is great that you played both, and your 4th pair at that. This is one of my goals in the future also, I'm just not there yet. Very nice.

9)Euan Morrison: I love the sound of this piece. Your choice of soundfont was perfect.

10)Frycek: I always like Chopin when I'm in a mood. Good selection. Nice.

11) Kawaigirl1: This piece almost has 3 voices going. I'm sure it is alot harder than it sounds. I've had this one on repeat once or twice over the last few days.

12)Rockpeter (Peter): I like the mood of this piece. The middle theme comes very close to a silent night.

13)Monica Kern: I really liked listening to this piece. This is a nice arrangement of the song.

14)dh (Deborah): Short and sweet and nice place to start. Welcome to your first trip out.

15)loveschopintoomuch (Kathleen): Very nice playing. And this is still one of my favorite Christmas songs. I'm going to learn this for next year.

16)Copper: Handel played for Christmas. We won't dispute the arguments of whether he wrote it or not...he wrote parts. But, well played.

17)mahlzeit: I love this arrangement. Almost makes me wish that Department stores, when they start their Christmas stuff so early in the year, would use arrangements like this. Christmas on Halloween. Nice.

18)Sandy Moore: I do not think you are playing this mechnically. Sometimes a piece like this needs to stay closer to tempo and let the chords do the moving for you. I think you have found good match here.

19)rocky: I like this song. Smooth and just the right touch.

20)PootieTooGood (Tarik): I want to hear this again if you get the recording items squared away. We don't hear enough of Brahms around here. And, it sounds like you have a very nice and have this down.

21)Patty39: I used to hear this all of the time and now I think back and haven't heard it for years. I like that you brought this back. You did very well.

22)YamahaG3&P-80 (Mike White): Ok, you've got some experience at this and it shows in this recording. I only wish I had this technique. Again, more practice for me.

23)Nighteyes: I played this for the second recital. You have me beat. But, as you said, the nice thing about this piece is that no 2 people seem to play it the same way. You are left on your own to see where it takes you. I liked it.

24)Monster M&H, (Les): I like the sound of this older piano, but I'm bias. I've listen to this one a few times now. A jazz touch that I would kill for.

25)Balladeer: I'm shocked sometimes at what the PM people can do with chords. I really liked this.

26)NancyM333: This is one of the works I have down in the future to cover. I probably have a year or two before I can reach it. You should be ready for your recital. Nice. I always like how it changes mood right in the middle.

27)TX-Dennis (Dennis Turner): I liked the sound of this recording. You played well. I liked it.

28)Bluemarine: Nice selection with the Russian selection. I had never heard of this composer before. I need to take a closer look. I'll keep this recording around for awhile.

29)AdagioM (Michele): I'm glad you decided to submit. This was nice and smooth. Very nice putting this together at the last minute.

30)Serge88: Bach again (what is the count on Bach vs. Chopin around here?). I still like how everyone does this piece just a little bit different. Good job.

31)Mountain Ash: You had the first selection down. Steady rhythm in the second. Nice.

32)Seaside_Lee: I love this song. Especially if you find all of the lyrics. Your changeup in the middle works perfect.

33)funburger: I enjoyed this video. I don't think I could play in the hat and cape. This is one song which almost needs a keyboard or very large organ to make it work. You had the sound.

34)LisztAddict: Changing things up always works. The changes you made work for this piece. And, I love the sound of your piano.

35)psychopianoman (Allen Clark): From chord sheet? I feel inferior.

36)Pianoga (Pieter): For your first recording you did very well. And being able to do it from ear? Again, I don't know how people do it.

37)BobMuir: First, a big thank you for handling the nitty gritty of the recital. Good job. For the piece, very nice. I liked the end.

38)Opus45 (Jeff): I like the changeup with a piece to go along with Silent Night. The counterpoint works and you did well with this piece.

39)reliv4all (my son Matthew): Matthew is 12? Playing this waltz? Tell him he did great while I go sulk on the number of years I need to catch up.

40)Haizel: This was the perfect piece to end the recital. Very nice.

Firstly, thanks all for the nice comments. I'm glad most of you seem to agree that this slow tempo does well with this piece. As someone commented, it gives the piece a sad feel. I liked it most this way too.

Maryrose, yes I am indeed a Robin Hobb fan. Funny you picked up on that. I liked the Farseer and Fool's trilogy a lot.
And my choice of words when I wrote that you guys had to made do with the prelude was maybe not that well chosen, I was just a tad dissappointed I couldn't get the Mozart ready in time. But the remark doesn't do the beautiful piece justice I agree with you.

McClellan, I'd like to hear your version of the prelude if you still have a link around. I tried the one in the #2 recital but it didn't work. And while I can't say that I'm not flattered about you saying I have you beat... I doubt if that's the case and more importantly besides the point, we seem to agree that this piece is quite prone to different interpretations and I'd like to hear yours! (I find other ABF member's interpretations more interesting than professional recordings so I'm very curious to hear pieces I have played myself.)

Next post I'll post some comments on the pieces, I listened to most a few times by now, and it has become a very pleasant collection of piano music I must say! I burned them to a cd and have it playing in the stereo installation also. Nice job all, and I'm quite proud to have been a part of this.

Right on!

Thank you all for the kind comments... it’s quite intimidating posting simple pieces against a backdrop of such wonderful performances.

1. Mr_Super-Hunkey – I see you’ve finally got the acoustic recording thing worked out. You obviously have wonderful improvisation skills to make such a nice recording from limited practice. Oh and nice sustain on that piano.

2. dannylux – what a charming little piece, that jumping base makes the piece sound alive. Your recording was very consistent and well metered.

3. Stephenc – this music was so soulful and played very well. One of my favourites.

4. Peyton – it was nice to listen to your arrangement of silent night. Very well done.

5. J_McClellan – not bad for the internal mic of your computer! Judging by this, your recital will be fine.

6. Ragnhild – I love a bit of Bach, especially when well played like this.

7. Icekid767 – more Christmas spirit, and well played. I especially liked the crazy arpeggio ending.

8. Piano again – sounds polished to me. Played at a nice tempo too!

9. Euan Morrison – some people can’t be with their families at Christmas so your song is entirely appropriate. Well done.

10. Frycek – the “anxiety” came through very clearly, brought alive by your expert playing. It was refreshing to hear a Chopin piece I had not come across before.

More later...

Wow, First of all I want to give thanks to all the encouraging feedbacks. I also want to applaude everyone who had participated in this recital and sharing all the wonderful music. Special thanks to Bob for putting all this together.

S-H: First of all, very nice sounding piano. Now I know what people mean by the M&H having a powerful bass. I agree with most people's comment here saying that this is one of your best improvised piece. That was lovely!

Mel: After listening to your rendition of that piece, it seemed like you never stopped playing for 15 years. Very nice rhythmic piece and you played the trills very well. You should be classified as a pro.

Stephenc: That was a very tranquille piece. After listening to your rendition of the piece, I would like to learn to play it.

Peyton: Great improvisation of Silent Night.

J Mcclellan: What an emotional piece. Well done.

Ragnhild: Well played. I thought you had expressed the piece very well.

Icekid 767: Truly enjoyed your playing. I love listening to Jazz piano music. Very relaxing indeed.

Piano Again: I thought your piece was very polished. Loved those trills too.

Euan: You played this piece with such emotions and feelings that I think you did Einaudi proud. This is such a beautiful piece. Now I'm tempted to learn this piece.

Frycek: Very nice. I love to listen to anything by chopin. I thought you had brought out the melody nicely.

Kawaigirl1: Hmmmm......well the playing could have been smoother.

Rockpeter: Enjoyed your rendition of this piece even though the phone rang...but you played the piece very well and you didn't try to hurry the piece.

Monica: I've always enjoy lsitening to you play. It's been such a long time since I heard this piece. You played it beautifully. That Zoom H4 digital recorder produces such clear sound which makes the listening that much more enjoyable.

dh: That was great playing on your part. Well done.

lovechopintoomuch: I've always enjoyed this xmas piece. Nicely played.

Copper: I too like Monica did not realize Handel wrote this piece. That was wonderful.

Mahlzeit: This is such a hauntigly beautiful piece! this is your own improvization??? That was awesome & I Loved it!

SandyMoore: You brought out the melody very nicely and you had played it gently. Well done.

Rocky: Well done! That was marveous.


...to be continued

Thank you very much for listening and for your nice comments, everyone!

Thank you so much for all the nice comments.

MonsterM&H: I have not heard of Kolltveit (my fault, probably) I live north of Stavanger.
I like jazz, so I like your playing, I am not good at playing anything more mothern than Grieg, working on it.. You seem a little bit shy in the beginning but then it's only getting better..

I hope I will have time to listen more to everybody !

Ragnhild

Of Norwegian desent here, glad to see that I'm not the only one that likes to hear it...
Where in Norway? (not that I've ever been there) Last name is Koltvedt, I know of a city named Kolltveit, but don't know if it's my HOME LAND lol

second half...I may get fired..

22. Mike White - Silver Bells. I enjoyed the variations you used on this piece. Do you play it the same every time or "where ever your mood takes it" People who can do this amaze me!!

23.Nighteyes. Only 6 months!! wow!!
I'm really enjoying this piece. I think I'll try this one for my next Bach piece! Thanks for playing it. It was beautiful.

24. Monster M&H, (Les) Must have been the Mistletoe. I bet your wife swoons! I really enjoyed listening and will again and again...

25. Balladeer - I'll be home for Christmas. This is such a nice arrangement. I've listened to it a few times now and forget that it's an ABF recording!! Awesome!

26. NancyM333. couldn't download. willtry again from home.

27. TX-Dennis (Dennis Turner). Mary did you know. My all time favourite Christmas song. Thanks! I loved it! I didn't find the quality too bad but I can see what you mean - maybe a little "sharp." (the playing was great!) I'd love to have this again for my CD. If you record it again, can you post it in December Piano. Or you can PM me with it! p.s. Where is the sheet music from? I'd love to start learning this piece and maybe have it ready for next year! Ok.. on to the next. I've listened to this 4 times already!

28. Bluemarine
Fairy Tale "Yolka" (The Christmas Tree) Very nice! I hadn't heard this before and am reallly enjoying it. It sounds quite difficult and you sound like you have been playing for more than 4 years! Awesome!

29. AdagioM (Michele) Dedication. This is really nice! Quite peaceful. Your playing is so gentle and steady. I loved it!

30. Serge88
Prelude in C, Bach. More Bach!! Nice! I haven't listened to it in a while but I think my recording of this has a bunch trills. I like it much better without them! Great job!

31. Mountain Ash. These two little pieces were great. I don't think I was playing with both hands after that much time. Your timing sounds really even too. Good job!

32. Seaside_Lee
White Christmas. This is wonderful! And by ear! Amazing. I just don't get it!.. You really don't learn how to do this studying classical music....

33. funburger - Dance of the Candy Fairy.
It sounds fun! I really liked it and you look and sound like you've been playing longer than 9 months!! Great!

34. LisztAddict. Ava Maria. Rats...Have to download later.

35. psychopianoman Silent Night. Nice! I've been attempting playing from lead sheets and while it's fun, it's not that easy.. You did a great job!

36. Pianoga (Pieter). White Christmas. This sounded great! I'm not sure that the red dot gets easier though.. I got a little "country" sense (hope that's ok). Really enjoyed it!

37. Bob Muir- Away in a Manger. I really liked the simple introduction. You did a wonderful job. only 2 takes!! The red dot doesn't appear to slow you down much!

38. Opus45 (Jeff)
Night of Silence. I'd love to hear these two sung together! This was a lovely melody. Thank you for sharing the words as well!

39. reliv4all (my son Matthew). Waltz in C# minor / Frederick Chopin. 14 months experience! You're kidding right! That's a lot of talent! Great job!

40. Haizel
- Hark the Herald Angels. I really liked this but had a hard time hearing it. I'll try again from home and better speakers. It was really nice. Soft and even.

I'm with ya Super-Hunky...waaaaayyyyyy outta my league. That looks like something for an orchestra

...... continuing.....

Kathleen .... Beautiful intro chords - and a little counter-melody kept dipping via the bass line. Wonderful!

Copper .... A well played classic. You continue to show growth.

Mahlzeit .... Beginning with the Alberti bass was the perfect choice for this morsel! Excellent!

Sandy Moore .... Really full sounds in the last chorus followed by a delicate ending. Yummy.

Rocky .... Let There Be Peace on Earth - you reached your goal Rocky. Good spacing, too.

Tarik .... Thanks for the Brahms. This is full and rich, and I enjoyed it a lot.

Patty39 .... You've done well in your couple of years. Nicely presented. Thanks

Mike White .... I'm a big fan of "echoes" as a decoration and you have them mastered - (along with 327 additional techniques). Great mood shifts. Wonderful spectrum of dynamics.

Nighteyes .... I am no classical expert, but I know what I enjoy. This sounded seamless and on target. Nice skills.

Les .... what wonderful tweaking to an already smooth and cozy tune. It's easy to tell you enjoy playing this one. Great work, Les.

Balladeer .... the flood of endorphins released by listening you play has resulted in the most sublime cacaphony of euphoric feelings I've .... oops.

NancyM333 .... I'm always a sucker for a Chopin nocturne. Thanks for this one and from the sound of you, your recital will be a success!

TX-Dennis .... I think you're being too hard on yourself. Very nice package here. I love your use of suspensions. Quite enjoyable.

BlueMarine .... Rebikov, huh. This was simply gorgeous. I am being lured into the classics again. Thanks for the music.

AdagioM .... Very thoughtfully played, Michele. Your presentation makes for excellent listening! I'll have to look this one up.

Serge88 .... mistakes? what mistakes. The only mistake would be not enjoying this. Thanks.

Mountain Ash .... 9 months? What a nice start you have. The recording quality is fine for me.

Seaside Lee .... White Christmas ... uhhhh ... now we're cookin! A couple of very cool chords you sneaked in on me there. Thoroughly enjoyable, Lee!

Funburger .... You are toooo much! Besides playing the piano, you have the 'entertainer gene' in spades! Thanks for the song and the fun!

LisztAddict .... What a tremdous delivery of this classic. A great mix of delicacy and power. Very accomplished!

Allen .... you accomplished your mission. 3 chords and a little imagination and freedom is all you need! Very good work.

Pieter .... congrats on conquering the RED DOT! I thought the 'stride' section was particularly effective.

Bob Muir .... Your progress is showing, Bob! As you got into the piece you sounded quite relaxed and managed some nice phrasing. Good work, Bob.

Opus45 .... this sure does make a sweet counter-melody to Silent Night. I would love to hear two pianos, but this one stands nicely on its own under your accomplished hands.

Reliv4all .... Matthew, this is quite something. If you can continue the fun, you are headed for great things! Thanks for playing.

Haizel .... I see you are playing a Schimmel (drool). Very nice and even playing, Haizel. Thanks for sharing.
__________________________

A big thanks to everyone. May you all have a blessed holiday season.

Balladeer

I just about never head over to this part of PW, so thanks much to lillylady for posting a heads up in the piano forum, or else I'd have missed out listening to it!

What I've been enjoying most is hearing the expressiveness in all of your playing. Great job all!

Rich

(whose ears grow tired of too much fast&loud!)

This is from the book It's Christmas arranged by Dan Coates.

--Dennis

Picking up where I left off on page 2 of this thread:

Dennis your recording definitely does not suck! I think you’ve done a lovely job! Your rendition is very soothing, and there’s a nice flow throughout and wonderful ease into the ending. Getting used to recording and dealing with that extra nervousness just takes time, and repetition. The more you record, the more comfortable you will be and then closer your recordings will get to your actually playing ability. So keep up the great work!

Bluemarine I don’t know this composer or his work, but I really enjoyed your rendition of the Christmas Tree Waltz. I like how the beginning doesn’t sound like a waltz and then it moves nicely into a more traditional sounding dance-waltz, and then back the theme from the beginning. You handle all those transitions really nicely. Thanks for sharing!

AdagioM what a lovely piece, played wonderfully! Glad you decided to send this in, I enjoyed listening to it. I sure wish I could whip something up so nicely!

Serge88 thank you for sharing your version of this wonderful prelude. I never lose interest in this one. I think you did a very nice job. If I may be so bold as to give you a little advice, it would be maintain a more even tempo throughout, and make sure that the notes receive their proper values. Don’t rush through any sections or groups of notes, I like to think of it as “cherishing” each note (but that’s just the weird way I think.)

Mountain Ash is this your first recording, or first submission to an online recital? Welcome and congratulations! It sounds like you’re having fun, and I look forward to hearing more successful recordings from you!

Seaside Lee you’ve got me dreaming too! Very nice, as always! Glad you made it in time to share this with us. I esp like the way you changed the style (? for lack of a better way to put it) a little more than halfway through, I actually would have liked to hear more of that part, but the beginning, with all your lovely flourishes, was also great!

Funburger wow, vibraphone setting! I can’t think of a better piece for that sound than this one! What fun! The only feedback I would give you is to slow down to the most comfortable tempo you can maintain, and then play that tempo throughout rather than having a few sections that are faster than others. BTW I always thought this piece was “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” not Candy Fairy? Is there a difference?

LisztAddict I really enjoyed your Ave Maria! I don’t have a score to check, so I couldn’t tell that you made any changes. It sounds wonderful! I have always preferred the other Ave Maria (the Bach-Gonoud one, is that right?) but your recording has made a fan of me and now I want to play this one! I bet it’s too hard for me though. Sigh.

Psychopianoman I was going to ask you where you got the sheet music from, until I read your comments! What’s a stuffed octave? (I don’t know, but I’d almost like to change my user name to that!) So, is it accurate to say that you played this by ear/improvised it, since you used a chord sheet? If that’s right, well, that’s just fantastic. It’s fantastic even if that’s not the right way to put it! (If nothing else, it’s your own arrangement, right?) I really liked the intro a lot, the only thing I thought was that a little more “drawn out” ending might be nice. Of course, maybe I only thought that because I wanted to hear more of your playing! And esp the second half, I really enjoyed what you did with that, and your transition into that was really nice! Also, you said it’s not meant to be sung along to, but you really make the melody sing, so that gives it a wonderful feel. Hmm, so there’s no sheet music for this…. Could you make some? I would love to play this the way you do. BTW help an ear-less ABFer out, what key are you playing in?

Pianoga I had to laugh at the title that comes up when your recording plays in Windows Media Player! But then I had to shut and stop laughing so I could hear your lovely recording. So is this your first time to participate in an online recital? Bravo! Wonderful job, and I look forward to hearing more of you in the future.

Bob, our shining star, I thought your piece would never come up in the cue! Finally (erm, I’m one to talk since I’m not even in the cue this time..) I really enjoyed your “Away in a Manager,” it had a lovely sweetness, and the ending was of course charming! Thank you for sharing this one!

Opus45 well, you have me wanting to play this piece! (Gotta finish my winter concert first though.) Your recording, or more specifically your playing is really wonderful, the tempo is just right and your expression too. Soft without being wish-washy, just right I thought! And the music does stand on its own, but I am taken with the idea of it being performed in unison with Silent Night. On my third listening, I tried to sing along with your recording, I sang “Silent Night” (regular lyrics) Wow, that is wonderful! So, does that mean that this would be a good piece for three hands? As in, one person plays “Night of Silence” and the other person plays just the melody of “Silent Night.” Have you tried to play along with your recording? Maybe you could record the RH for Silent Night and dub it on to this recording (record it as a second track.) I bet that would be really pretty.

Reliv4all one of my favorite Chopin pieces, and your son does it very nicely! His playing has a nice momentum. I’m jealous of his place after 2 years! Thank you for sharing his recording!

Haizel What a lovely way to end the recital, perfect for the last piece in a wonderful program! Your playing is very grounded and solid, as I always think this song should be, and your steady, even tempo throughout allows the melody to sing just perfectly in my head. Thank you for adding this treasure to the collection!

Ah, now I am very sad, because the recital is over! Everyone played so beautifully, I can’t express how moved I am. I am going to go to the keyboard and take the inspiration that you all have given me and just try to pour it into my own practice.

Thank you everyone. Here’s my standing ovation!

Cont.

27. Love your story of recording for an hour and then finding out it was set to zero. God, how many time I have done that. And how does your sub conscious seem to know it's not recording and allow you to do the best job? :rolleyes: But not to worry, the one you got carries a lot of feeling and is played well.

28. Wow... Very professional sounding. Maybe it was that "big Hall" reverb I loved it!! You played it like you've been playing it all your life.

29. Last minute or not that was a very sweet little piece.

30. Can't get enough of this one. Nicely done. Good recording too.

31. Good work. Yea the sound was a little on the brittle side...but hey, you're just starting out, we can't all sound like Horowitz right out of the gate

32.Ahh, back to the Christmas lounge.. and my danged cigar went out But a little more scotch should make up for that... Nice touch, nice feeling and a great arrangement! Keep those protein shakes comin.

33.Oki-dokie....THAT was different! I'm glad you put it up there on video. Normally (especially on a piano forum) I would have a real problem with the 'sound' of the synth but watching your "dramatic" presentation I laughed out loud. Nice job funburger.

34. Lisztaddict, Dude...I don't even know what to say. You kicked some serious *** I have the music for that and it is TOUGH!

35. I like that left hand treatment. Very new age.. Man you could probably have jammed on that for lot longer eh? Good job!

36. Hey, take 239 wasn't too bad Keep em coming, that's a great start.

37. Nice rolls Bob. It adds a real nice touch. Great improvisation. (Like that little one note ending too )

Thanks for all the hard work on this recital!!

38. That is such a nice arrangement Jeff. It must be really fun to play. You make it sound like it is anyway. Thanks.

39. Only 12? Damn!!!! Can't he find a "prodigy forum" somewhere to post so I don't have to feel like such a dufus?

40. Haizel, I don't know why but the volume was way low on this but I could hear it just enough to know you did a nice job. Really sorry i couldn't hear it better, it's a great way to end the recital.

As always, I'm way impressed at the talent and abilities of the folks here. Thanks all and thanks Bob.

I want to thank everyone for the very gracious comments and for taking the time to set down their thoughts on the pieces. I know how much time that takes, (time that I unfortunately don't have this week), and I wanted to say how much I appreciate your words.

Ditto from me,

I admit I have only got to zip3, but I love what everyone has played, and will listen/comment in the next week.

Peyton, it may take some time (because of my slow 768k upload bandwidth), but it's worth it to download the zip files. All of the recordings have been normalized and MP3 tags annotated. That way you can create a playlist and one piece won't be really soft and then the next really loud.

Bob

I forgot about that. Thanks.

sorry i couldnt make the deadline, but as suggested by bob, my recording is in the piano bar for this month

I don't know what to say, it is incredible! So for now just a big THANK YOU to everybody for sharing talent, passion, taste, moods, technic ... such a wonderful world of music!

I have been totally busy the last weeks, but I have you all on my MP3 player now - that will make a long train trip very short!

Thanks again for your kind comments - what an ego boaster!

Patty