Posting on behalf of 11 year old daughter. She completed all the Czerny (upto 740) and moved to Chopin few months ago.

Appreciate any Comments & Criticism.

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

Hi there, suniil! Well, that's quite an accomplishment for an 11 year old! There's a very nice attention to getting the details of this piece, particularly in the left hand -- that aspect is brutal! I liked also the shape of the right hand melodic arch: it is indeed more important than the left hand from a musical standpoint, and shaping the right hand is IMO the most important aspect of the piece. (Many of the Chopin etudes, IMO, have important musical "secrets" that are more difficult to handle than the more obvious technical challenges.)

If I have any criticism, it's that it is sounds a little too much like, well, Czerny right now. I'm hearing a presentation that "obeys all the directions", so to speak, but doesn't have a specific attitude beyond that. As good a technical grounding as there is here, I think there is more opportunity to address the poetic implications as well as the technical demands. At this stage, it is worthwhile IMO to visit YouTube and hear how many of the world-class pianists have approached the etude. Admittedly, most of them will take it much faster, but I think you can pick up details in shaping, dynamic contrast, and line, that will enhance the dramatic impact, without necessarily taking it any faster.

A great start, though, and thanks for sharing!

There is much to commend in this performance; the notes are all there, and the tempo is steady. Perhaps, eventually, it could go a little faster, but, for the moment, it's an acceptable tempo if somewhat slower than often played.

Two things, I feel, need to be worked on :
- First: there needs to be a greater dynamic range in this work. It comes across as all being played at the same volume which tends to take away from the real drama of the piece.

- Second (and more difficult to express in words and more difficult to execute) : there needs to be greater attempt at giving "shape" to the phrasing, including how phrases end. It all seems to be played without any "give and take," without any "breathing" at the ends of phrases. It is, in a sense, a little too metronomic and, hence, somewhat lifeless, as accurately as it is nevertheless played. While this is an etude, a study in left-hand flexibility, primarily - but with a significant passionate theme in the right - it is also a musical piece and the musicality needs to be worked on.

I feel that there needs to be conveyed a sense of where each phrase is going and a musical realization of when those moments are reached by the subtle use of rubato coupled with dynamics, and a greater flexibility of tempo internally without changing the overall tempo. I am not experiencing that, at the moment.

Adding "artistry" and "interpretation" to the performance of a work is something that comes with age and experience. This is off to a very good start; all the notes seem to be there and the technical challenges of simply playing the right notes in time seem to be met.

A very good start, as I say; thank you for sharing.

Regards,

Congratulations ! Very good !

You must be proud of having such a child with multi talents.

Like Bruce, I too am a bit surprised about the phrasing thing, since she is also a good singer.




However, needless to say, with such talent, enthusiasm and disciplined work, I am sure she will have a brilliant career in music, if guided by the correct teachers.

Thanks for sharing.

Thank you Tim, BruceD & Hakki for the feedback, will pass on to her and teacher.

Few of the earlier comments by BruceD (P&F - C minor) were passed on to her teacher and corrected accordingly. She played it to the Head of Piano in her school and got very good feedback.

Hakki: that's self taught, though she is trained in classical singing. Thanks

I should have been clearer. I just put that video to show that being a singer she actually knows how to phrase, but she hasn't approached the etude the same way.

Of course I meant the teachers for the classical piano and singing training.

BTW, especially with classical music recordings, it is safer to post them on YouTube after being screened by her teachers.