I just recorded this today. This is the easiest piece I've learned, but it is very hard to get it right...

Chopin Prelude Opus 28 no 4

Comments are welcome. Thanks for listening!

Here's an mp3 version of the recording

Prelude Op 28 No 4 MP3

For some reason Youtube added too much compression to the audio track.

That was lovely! I listened to both. You carried the melody perfectly. My only criticism is that I felt it could perhaps need a touch more rubato, especially around the arpeggiated figurations in measures 9 and 12 and measures 16 and 17. Let me commend you for a very beautiful performance though!

Thanks Horowitzian for your comments. I hear you about needing more rubatos especially on those spots. I wanted to do more rubato, but my brain resisted it. Coming from pop / jazz genre, I'm still struggling with rubato concept. I'll focus my practice more on rubato.

Also, I think I might have played this too fast too. Lots of youtube videos for this prelude are over 2 minutes long.

You're welcome! I understand about the difficulties with achieving rubato. I'm working on a Bach invention and a Chopin nocturne simultaneously and I find it hard sometimes to switch from the general rigidity required when playing Bach to the freer rubato required in Chopin. But that rubato makes all the difference.

As to tempi, I find Sergio Tiempo's tempi (dang, say that five times fast!) very congenial:

Sergio Tiempo plays Chopin Op. 28 No. 4

I think your overall tempo is good. Probably the difference in time was from you speeding up the left hand chords in-between the melody phrases. Very nice job, however, and the ritard on the last three chords, was perfect, IMO.

Horowitzian: thanks for the Sergio Tiempo's link


Damon: thanks for your comment!

Very lovely performance. Kudos!

You are welcome!