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Of course, anytime...I have no doubt you will be rattling it out "cold" soon enough. And nice to see you are a fellow Kapustin fan! What a tremendous composer...listen to him almost every morning on the way to work. Tremendously difficult stuff, but definitely worth the effort. I am making very, very slow progress on some of his works but having a blast.

Cheers,

David

This section is killing me. I can play the rest of the piece fluidly at a reasonable tempo, but when I reach this part, the fingers on my right hand just can't move fast enough. I would like to think this issue is related to endurance, but even when I start from a few measures before this treacherous section, I still can't play it passably.

Does anyone have any advice on tackling this section?

Cast 12: I'm a bit surprised cuz I found this is an easier section for the fingers compared to other sections. Maybe it is your fingering?

For me I start each phrase with the third finger:
32321235, 32321235, 232123532321235, 32321245, 32321245

Also, it's easier to do the accent too with the 3rd finger I find.

Hope this helps

I'm using the same fingering.

I think my problem is identical to that of Brandon_W_T, who said, "That is the part that is killing me! My fingers just don't seem to want to move fast enough when they are so close to each other."

I'm using similar fingering, but I'm using 3 instead of 4 for the last two fours:

32321235, 32321235, 232123532321235, 32321245, 32321245

I use:
32321235, 32321235, 232123532321235, 32321235, 32321235

Yeah, when I first got to this section it felt awkward and was hard to get real even given the close proximity of the notes. BUT, I assure you that after you let it settle a bit and after repeated drilling...it will come to you. I know its not that groundbreaking of advice, but if you are able to play the first 1.5 pages fluently and up to speed, then you are MORE than capable of handling these few measures being that they are not at the same difficuly level. This whole piece is about getting over those fiendish mental obstacles, and once you convince yourself that you can do it...you will do it. Sounds silly but the actual act of "wrapping your mind around the piece" is much harder than actually playing it. The notes will in time just fall under your fingers. It is indeed one of those pieces where it really helps to let it settle for a bit. Don't physically play it for a few days but run it through your head as much as possible. I do just as much mental practice as I do physical practice and it REALLY helps. Sometimes you really just need a good vacation from playing it...the mind works in funny ways.

David

+1

How true, how true! Last week I was on a trip to Ghana and was away from my piano for a whole week. I was worried that the lack of practice would cause the Fantaisie Impromptu to fall apart completely. To my surprise, when I returned and sat down at the piano, passages I had been struggling with were now literally playing themselves at tempos I had thought impossible before. It seems as if certain neural connections were strengthened during my absence from the piano.

Check out Cyprien Katsaris' masterclass on Fantaisie Impromptu:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5xwnNilvco

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPchhjWFFeQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30MqixN-Kp0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVdcLpJAt64

Thanks for those videos jazzyprof, nice find. There are lots of nuances explained there.

Hmmm, I really need to get a teacher.

Nice video, thanks for posting it jazzyprof.

Katsaris taught very well in the video, the girl was playing much better afterwards, despite some problem with the language. Gave me some idea on interpreting the coda too, can't wait to try when I practise tomorrow!

No... I just started to read Bailie's comments on the FI, and from what she says the Rubinstein edition is different from the Dover edition...

Apologies if I'm repeating advice offered elsewhere, but have you worked on it much hands-separately?

In my own experience with this piece, I corrected a surprising number of "routine flubs" that I *thought* were in the right hand by working on my left.

I enjoyed Katsaris' master lesson, but I wonder how much of what Katsaris was saying was fully understood by the young pianist. Yes, she did what was suggested, but one does wonder how much of what Katsaris was saying to her was really absorbed. It takes more that just the appropriate amount of technique to "own" a work and teaching can become a problem when a young musician's technique outstrips his musical growth and experience.

Regards,

No doubt the girl has some issue with the language, but musicality, imho, is trasmitted beyond the language. Katsaris did quite well in transmitting the feeling for different passages in the class, I mean, I can feel what he's trying to say when he says something like "play with more freedom, hope, etc", and it's more than just a bunch of words coming out from his mouth. It seems like the girl responded to it too.

Bear in mind she's only like 10 years old, even if she's not getting much of it now, whatever feeling she got from the class will plant a seed in her mind for her future.

Well, many parts seem to be the Fontana edition, but the beginning of the Fontana edition I downloaded from the net is different...

Excellent!