Here I've posted Catoire's "Nocturne" from the Quatre Morceaux, Op. 12, No. 3, thereby completing the set of four. I hope you'll enjoy it. Link:

http://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=37579.0

Downloading now...will listen later.

Hi Horowitzian,

Your stalking system is OK but not infallible. My IP is not Verizon, but Fairpoint Communications which bought out Verizon in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. :-p

Enjoy the Catoire piece. Let me know what you think.

Mate, I can't see any of that info. And no, IP addresses are not completely infallible.

Will let you know.

I love your rendition—possibly even more than Hamelin's. In your hands, I feel the piece has a very smoky and almost foreboding mood. I think this is because Hamelin is giving greater weight to the upper voice while you are a little heavier down low. I wouldn't wish to be without either.

Well done, thanks for sharing!

Hi Horowitzian,

I'm flattered that you enjoyed my rendition of Catoire's "Nocturne" so much! I agree that I probably give a little more attention to some of the strategic and rich bass harmonies.

I thought right along during my Catoire survey that his "Etude-fantastique" would be my nemesis, yet it proved otherwise. It turned out to be this lovely nocturne, that on paper looks so accessible and inviting, but offers the pianist much treachery in the second half of the work. In particular the right hand arpeggiated figuration there sometimes comes out of the octave to intervals of a 10th. I thought I was back playing Brahms! When I listen to Hamelin's rendition of this piece, being a virtuoso that he is, he manages to make that arpeggiated section sparkle, but yet I can detect him struggling a bit too, although he keeps it more imperceptible than I ever could. Catoire tests the professional and amateur alike. I'm glad to have completed Op. 12.

Having completed Catoire's Opp. 12, 17, and 24--my favorites in his repertoire--I need a respite, so will be preparing a piece by another very interesting composer, but I keep it under my hat so that everyone will be surprised. :-)

Yes, the simpler looking pieces can be quite difficult! I'm learning that with some Debussy I'm working on...

Anyway, you deserve a big congratulations! Completing all three of those opuses is a huge accomplishment! Well done, and many thanks for including us on your journey. Can't wait to hear what you've got planned next...I've got a few ideas on what it could be, but I'll keep them to myself.

RachFan, I'm pleased by each recording you produce, and this one is no exception. The Nocturne is a wonderful piece, "far-away" in its focus. But unlike the poster on Pianostreet who found the music "measured and melancholic," I found it more like a quiet, peaceful reflection with flitting shadows that dispel quickly. You've given us another pleasing performance of this composer's work, and I'm grateful that you've undertaken the task of performing and recording Catoire's music. Your respite is well-deserved.

Though, of course, I'm now waiting for the "surprise" composer.

Hi Horowitzian,

Yes, "simplier" pieces can present hard challenges. Take Chopin's Prelude, Op. 28, No. 7 in A--on the surface a very simplistic piece. When Moritz Rosenthal was in his 60s, he once said that he had been studying the prelude for decades and was still gaining new insights for performing it. This illustrates the challenge that we all face in studying the literature for the piano.

I know you've enjoyed the Catoire journey nearly as much as I have. And for me it's what they call a "liminal journey" at the end of which is a doorway and threshold where there is a realization of aesthetic truths learned along the way. Catoire is that kind of composer. To search for this composer's inner meanings, they lie not only the musical notation. Rather one must search between the lines of the music as well. Catoire taught me a lot about playing the piano. Every time a played and recorded a wonderful work of this long neglected composer, I always considered it to be a great honor.

Hi Chris,

You've been a fan of Catoire right along, which I greatly appreciate, and I know of many others who have been delighted by this unknown but extraordinary composer. For this nocturne, I like your description of it as "... a quiet, peaceful reflection with flitting shadows that dispel quickly." That captures its mood exceedingly well.

I developed an immediate affinity to Catoire's music and it has been a joy to capture it in recordings to share it with so many musicians here on the Internet. As I said to Horowitzian above, it's truly been an honor to perform these wonderful works of Catoire.

David

ooh it's gorgeous - it gives me the shivers..

your piano is deliciously out of tune. i love the way the notes 'bend' as they decay.
your Baldwin is one of the most beautiful pianos i've heard. i really like the Baldwin 'sound'. A freshly tuned piano is not as interesting as one that 'wavers'.. maybe it's the humidity.

I've been working so hard and listening to the ipod quite a bit. I think today will be a Piano World recordings day. I'm painting the baths, hallways in my old house. mr. apple fired the painters because he couldn't afford them.. they were too slow, so it's up to me.

i love this piece. .. and i wish you would start a blog and consider releasing the music as a CD to buy.

Hi,

Yes, the piano was last tuned at the beginning of May. Lately we've had a lot of rain. That dampness in the air always effects the piano. Plus during most of that time I was bashing the piano with the "Etude-fantastique". So the two factors together explain it being slightly off. It's not bad though considering. Yeah, I love the Baldwin sound too!

I don't envy all that painting you're doing. As I write this, a contractor is staining the rear deck and the back stoop. I should hate to be doing it myself!

Re a CD: I've thought of this, but there are some barriers. First, I'd need a larger piano--7 or 9'. I checked with the tuners in the city, and they told me that any larger piano in churches, halls, etc. are chronically out of tune, and because those venues want to save on heat (in this northern climate), there are huge temperature swings when the halls are heated then go cold causing havoc with tuning. Also those venues don't put a penny into their budgets for piano regulation, leaving the pianos in even more dismal condition. So there's no suitable instrument here. And, of course, if things were otherwise, I'd have to reserve and rent the hall which puts pressure on the recording process.

The second thing is that there are some errors in my recordings, and the buying public has gotten used to recording engineers fixing and sanitizing all the flaws in professionals' recordings so that the artists sound better than they really are. I insist on doing full takes, warts and all.

And finally, for saleable recordings, I'd need to go beyond my home recording setup and use professional equipment, which is extremely costly. For those reasons I'm content to stick with the piano sites for now. So that's the sad story of the not-to-be CD.

I'm glad you enjoyed the "Nocturne". It's so lyrical and reflective, isn't it? Anytime Catoire put a pen to score paper, it turned to gold leaf.

David

you do those composers a service by recording their music.

i'm glad you share.

Hi apple*

I must say that it's been a high honor to play the piano music of Catoire and Bortkiewicz.

David

you can call me apple - that star was just an afterthought

Hi apple,

Will do. :-)

Absolutely beautiful. Thank you for the magnificent playing and for introducing me to Catoire - who I had never heard of until I saw this post.

Wow.

Phil

Be sure to look up Rachfan's other posts; it will be well worth your time to get his other recordings of Catoire and Bortkiewicz.

Hi Philip,

I'm so glad you enjoyed this nocturne by Catoire. And I thank Horowitzian too for the "plug" for my many other Catoire recordings. Of course, they're all here in Member Recordings; however, rather than rummaging through the back pages here, a much faster way is to go to www.pianosociety.com, and on the home page click on Composers, then scroll down the list and click on Catoire. My recordings are all consolidated there in one place which is very convenient. Thanks for listening, Philip. Catoire's music is extraordinary and it's easy to become addicted to it!

David

Hi David,

I've been looking forward to this piece, and you did not disappoint! A beautiful performance!

You grabbed my attention from the very first notes, that introspective introduction that sets the mood for the entire work. I love the echoing of the melody from the treble to the middle voices.

That section with the triplet figure in the RH and the melody in the inner voice? Heavenly. You play that RH figure so sparkly in contrast with the melody, just lovely.

You say this piece was a real challenge, but you make it sound effortless. Your playing is relaxed, as if this is exactly how you intended the piece to sound.

Congratulations on completing another set, and a big thank you for giving us the gift of Catoire.

Can't wait to hear your next project!

Hi heidiv,

Thanks for listening! And I'm glad you enjoyed this nocturne. I very much appreciate your kind words on my playing. The intricacies you mention in your message are a good summary of the difficulties in playing this piece. This proves yet again that what may appear to be easy in a score can turn out to be very treacherous. That sparkling starlight effect was really difficult to master, and toward the end of it, it gets worse as the broken chord figuration goes out of the octave to intervals of a 10th causing hand position changes. Probably I think I could still improve upon it with more practice, but maybe off in the future. It is a gorgeous piece though.

Yes, I'm now working on a piece by another composer, which I hope to record and post here in the future. Stay tuned!