http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_DC5P8_rQQ

First time to record on a camera, seems much better than Mac iMovie, which seems to cut out sound~~

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated!

Nice! And quite impressive.
I like this piece a lot, more than most people. I think it it's a delight and deserves a lot more respect than it gets. I also think it's much harder than most people seem to.

Something that I think makes your performance even more impressive is that it seems you're not even done learning it!
It seems that around 2:30 you start getting to sections that you're in mid-process with (especially the passage right at that point). Or maybe you just got disconcerted by the little glitch that happened shortly before that?

Suggestions? Not much, other than to continue the good work with the piece that you're already doing. The only things I'd say:

-- I would look for places to be lighter, more delicate, and graceful -- as many places as possible. And related to this, I'd like to hear the piece "laugh" more, cackle with delight. I mean, isn't it a pretty hilarious piece, almost slapstick? Anyway that's how I see it.

-- I think ideally it should go a little faster (and of course you don't really want to slow down at that place I mentioned!) ....but don't worry too much about the speed -- it's not much of an issue. If you can confidently get it a little faster, great. If not, this is a very fine tempo as it is.

Thank you, Mark_C!

I know what you mean by "liking this piece more than most people"! For me, it's a favorite among my favorite (-: (May I ask which version of interpretation of this piece is your favorite?)

I should admit that I was about to call it done after my yesterday's lesson (that's why I recorded it~) and move on to the "Moonlight" sonata Mov III, which I was hoping to play for quite a while. but your comments actually changed my mind~! During the lesson, my teacher pointed out places that I could improve on dynamics, phrasing, etc, places to make it sound more fun (well, "hilarious"). we worked through them but I haven't incorporated them well when I play the whole piece. and even just for the notes, I don't really have them under my hands yet, the most obvious place being the passage at 2:30 as you pointed out (I have super small hands, octave is the maximum, but I'm not comfortable with some 7th, like those left-hand chords in the second measure, if I don't pay attention to my hand position, the little finger doesn't make sound), my teacher just showed me how to use my arms a bit to avoid too much stretching at that passage. I guess I always have the (bad!) habits to wrap up a piece when it's pretty much done (half-cooked). I seem to always like new pieces better. but when I gave it a second thought, why don't I continue working on it since I like this piece so much?!

ummm, about the tempo, I guess technically I can play faster if I keep my fingers closer to the keys (I worked on this piece for 3 weeks and stopped for a month during the winter break and get back to it for another 3 weeks. When I just got back to it, I couldn't stop rushing!!) but the problem right now is that my ears (or mind??) don't follow well, esp. with the left hand. so it'll take time for me to mentally catch up with the piece.

thanks again for the comments and suggestions!!

Most welcome!


I really couldn't tell you who I've heard. I know that it hasn't ever been any big-name pianist.


You have it way more than half-cooked! But the last 10% (or whatever) is usually the hardest -- and it's easy to feel like giving up on it.


FUNNY YOU SHOULD MENTION THAT!

Recently I started a thread on that exact issue (you can click on that link) -- and hardly anyone much believed it.

I prefer a considerably faster tempo...like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQn4Qfy_Bek

Sure -- but what about for those of us not named Kissin?

I think my problem is different in that I'm not always actively listening... I know I should but often times there are like 2-3 line passages that simply sneaked away before I realize/notice it. I wasn't aware of this problem when I played for 5.5 yrs as a kid, but now picking it up as an adult after a 10yr hiatus, I started to work on things other than "where's my next note..." I guess the ears-can't-catch-up issue comes up every time I start to speed up a bit. It takes efforts to not feel too busy/rushed and get used to a faster tempo and it's not only about the fingers. One thing that might relate to this is when I asked my teacher why I tend to make mistakes at ANY place (I mean, they are not clustered at a few difficult passages), my teacher said one way to get around it is to get hands ready above the notes before pressing them down and I assume it's the same with ears, i.e. get ears ready before hearing the next note/group of notes. But I've never worked on a piece intensively enough to know if at some point my ears just can't catch up regardless of more practice and whether they are actually the rate-limiting factor. I guess I'll find out soon though~~

That's my favorite version! but it has to be the London 97... I'm not sure why but I feel Kissin's performance on this piece seems a bit jaded in later years~

but for me I would be more than happy/satisfied if I'm near this version:

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzE4ODEwODc2.html

It's 10-yr-old Yuja Wang lol. There's an introduction at the beginning and she starts to play at around 1:40~

If this could be played faster and lighter, I think it would add much to the performance of this somewhat repetitive work. The other aspect I would look for in a performance of this opus is a greater variety in dynamic. I realize that much of it is marked f and marked ff which, I think, is all the more reason to really tone it down when it comes to the sections marked marked p. Some of what seems to be missing, dynamically, may simply be the camcorder used to record this performance; it certainly makes it all sound pretty much at the same level.

If I could play this as well as you - which I can't - I would try to lighten the left hand, and might be a solution to "lightening up" the overall performance. On the other hand - as it were! - you may feel that the "rage" justifies this rather intense approach.

I don't share Marc_C's "appreciation" for this work; I wish Beethoven had found the penny!

Regards,

You have lots of good company!

Thanks, BruceD!

I forgot to mention that I kept the una corda pedal down at all time so that my neighbors wouldn't swing by and give me a penny at night (or ask 911 to do so). I like it a lot when occasionally I practice it on the grand piano at school, which allows more contrast. There's actually one place in this piece that my teacher suggested using the soft pedal for a different tone And thanks for the comments on the left hand too~! I'll try it out and see how it goes.