Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Recital 31 --- General Discussion Room

37. Monica I'm usually not much of an Einaudi fan, but had a good experience listening to your video. You seem to have carefully and lovingly worked out the dynamic level for each note and voice. When someone plays music they really like it usually turns out nice. Thanks for sharing this with us.

39. Sandy Nice job on Mendelssohn, who always sounds very difficult to me. This piece seems aptly named and you really brought out its sadness.

40. Jake S Whenever I hear this Gnossienne I imagine myself lying around on pillows at a feast, maybe with a dancing harem in some exotic locale. I loved your phrasing and dynamic choices, and I'm amazed you have only been playing a year and a half. You are very musical.

41. Mr. Pozor Admire your relaxed hands and the resulting nice even soft bass notes. You kept the waltz feel throughout and kept that pretty melody singing on top. Great job.

42. CarlosCC It is easy to see why you were chosen in your
company music competition...you ooze talent. Your playing sounds so relaxed and at ease. And I love the way you give the music room to breathe, a very subtle skill. Really enjoyed listening.

43. Valencia Oh boy, another composer I'm not familiar with. You captured the fairy tale feel of this perfectly. Nice balance between the hands, especially when switching to the more choral sections. I'll be watching for more Bortkiewicz. Thanks for introducing me to him.

44. Ladypayne Very relaxing. And a very nice creative arrangement of this classic. Good job putting this together with the other instruments and sound effects.

45.Sand Tiger I liked your Avenue D, and tried to imagine myself on a busy city street.

46. joangolfing A delightful piece I'd never heard before. Sounds like the definitive work for improving trills in both hands. I particularly liked the way you executed the figures that had a right hand trill followed by a rapid cascade of descending notes. Very nice job on a difficult sounding challenge.

47. Mar_red This sounded like a movie or Broadway score. Great job on a difficult sounding arrangement. I am always amazed at folks with your skills that have gotten there without benefit of a teacher. Nice work.

48. Mile Hi Steve Your Joy was a joy to listen to. And the Steinway sounded terrific. Liked the way you kept it moving the whole time...played with a lot of energy.

Happy grandchild, jazzpt!

Cathy

After being away for almost a week, I must catch up on some thank yous!

Cheryl, aTallGuyNH (your comments really made my day!), Allard, Andy Platt, earlofmar, Mr. Super-Hunky(wow, such wonderful comments from you all!), peterws, CarlosCC, jotur, SamS, AimeeO, Peyton, Jim F. (I'm humbled by your wonderful words!)
A special thank you to wouter - First prize to you for the time and effort you put into your insightful comments! You really spend the effort to afford us detailed critiques. All so much appreciated. Thank you!


Ed! OK, that was uncanny! I have to say that if I have heard that particular tune, I don't remember. You don't know how much in awe I am that you spent the time to figure it out! On a side note, my teacher commented that my intro reminded him a little of how Tommy Flanagan would sometimes hint at the melody of a tune in an intro. You may have been obsessed, but your efforts at finding the answer blew me away! Thank you for nice comments and especially the audio clip!

Wonderful recital everyone! Thanks immensely to all who submitted for sharing their playing. This music has made for great company the last week!

And thank you to all who listened to my piece and to those who commented!: Dynamobt, BenPiano, SwissMS, casinitaly, Monica K, CMohr, stumbler, Allard, Andy Platt, aTallGuyNH, CarlosCC, Sam S, AimeeO, peterws, and JimF. I *really* appreciate the feedback and encouragement and have copied your comments into a document to keep.

For those unfamiliar with Bortkiewicz, you can check out some of the past recital submissions as dannylux submitted a few lovely pieces by Bortkiewicz. Bortkiewicz also wrote a beautiful little piece called The Butterfly which is out of reach for me but others on this forum might be able to take it on at some point.

49. Mike White for some reason I can't get the player to work on your piece. Will try later on a different machine.

50. Copper I liked the lush chords in this variation. Kind of a sad feel to this.

51. Lady Augustina A high energy performance. Liked the very effective downshift to soft and sensitive, followed by the grumbling bass and a storm of notes. Nicely done.

53. Walt Good job capturing the feel of this difficult "easy" arrangement. Those syncopated rhythms are always tricky.

32. Allan W. - Wind Scene - Chrono Trigger
Alan, that was absolutely awesome! Five stars!!! Terrific arrangement, played with real gusto. (BTW, I wholeheartedly concur with simplifying arrangements here and there when you need to, excellent strategy, I would never be able to play anything without it!! It's also a good way of learning how the elements of music fit together.) This blew me away.

More later.

Ed

JimF, thank you for your kind words.


This batch covers everything in the 4 minute range.


4. dannylux / Mel, Azarashvili Nocturne
Movingly played. Perfect balance in dynamics, the melody always front and centre. Tasteful rubato.

6. wouter79, Andante con moto, first part of Sechs Lieder ohne Worte Op. 19b
You have the feel for this. The melody sings. Doesn't sounds overly pedaled to me.

25. Dumik, Chopin nocturne Op. 9 No. 2
Welcome to the recitals. If you hadn't mentioned it, I would never guessed that you were new to the pedal. Very well played.

24. Anne H, Julia arr. by Phillip Keveren
This is a beautiful arrangement, at times haunting. You play it well.

37. Monika K, Discovery at Night
The forum introduced me to Einaudi earlier this year. Your recording is exemplary.

47. Mar_red , Close Every Door
Nice work from a lead sheet. Your piano has marvelous tone that you bring out in this piece.

51. Lady_Augustina , The North Sea
I haven't heard this before. I'm impressed that you managed this in a work break. I would mess up terribly from the stress of the small recording window. I didn't notice the mistakes.

55. BenPiano, Nefeli
I've only heard a fraction of Einaudi's work. This one is very lyrical. You have it mastered.

42. CalosCC, Life ("Live from home" version)
I'm impressed that you played this by ear and memory. Beautiful playing.

35. TrapperJohn, Medley: Drink With Me/Do You Hear The People Sing? (from Les Miserables)
As I never saw the musical, I appreciate that you included the lyrics. They really add to the emotional impact of the songs. Will you eventually record the whole work?

Jessiebear, Peterws, dynamobt, Earlofmar, aTallGuyNH, Sinophilia, Allard, Andy Platt, Casinitaly, JimF, AimeeO, Cmohr, BenPiano, SwissMS, Sam S, Monica K., Jotur, Stumbler and Peyton,

Thanks for your kind comments. I really like these recitals!
I wish that all participants ABF Recitals could comment all the pieces, but I understand that many of us have very busy lives and it's not possible to comment. Anyway, thanks also to those who just listen my piece.

I did not refer to videos because I prefer to concentrate on the "sound", so I have a first "impression". Now, during the week, I will look at your videos.

I also thank the organizers for their remarkable work.

Double post...

53. carlos88 - Bruyeres (Heather) Just Fantastic! I didn't hear one slip and it was played with such a delicate touch. Loved your rubato choices and the dynamics. A real treat to listen to.

54. AimeeO - Sonatina Op. 55, no. 1 Kahlua, Kuhlau, its all good. This one sounds fun to play. Great job keeping your hands balanced and even. Very musical phrasing and you kept the piece moving forward the whole time.

55. BenPiano - Nefeli Good to see you around again, Ben. I see you haven't lost those wonderfully relaxed hands that I always admire so much. Great job on the Einaudi.

56. Ohio_Mark - Minuet in F Major I remember struggling with this gem of a minuet not too long ago. You have really nailed it, Mark, and given it just the right dance feel. Since I'm currently a little obsessed with a Mozart piece myself, you get major kudos from me for getting him right.

Ok got it working....

49. Mike White I really liked your performance of this haunting little prelude by Janis Medins. Glad I took the time to wiki him and learn a bit about this famous Latvian musician. Thank you for the intoduction. I will be looking out for more of his music.

Thanks Sam, Aimee, Peyton and Jim - Jim - I hope you sing better than I do. Whenever I do in front of the seniors they are so glad I'm a piano player

Cathy

Yes - as a medley - 42 songs back-to-back that will take 2 hours 56 minutes to perform - should be ready by Recital No. 50...

Then again, maybe not...

I'm having to finish up in little 'bites' as I'm losing my connection constantly. Nothing but thunder and lightning storms for the past week. Right now we are between 3 red cells so I'm sending this out quickly before it gets lost.

41. MrPozor - Waltz in B minor I thought you did a great job with this piece. I especially like how in tune to the dynamics you already are. Nicely done.

42. CarlosCC - Life ("Live from home" version) Wow Carlos, you are really putting an incredible amount of sensitivity into your performances. I'm so glad you are veering off the original scores path and experimenting with your own new musical outlets. This is music that is based on 'feeling' and you can really teach that. Excellent.

43. Valencia - The Angel, Op. 30 No. 4 This was a beautiful, almost magical sounding piece. You did a great job with this.

44. ladypayne - Canon (Pachelbel) This was very nicely put together. Nice playing along with very nice and relaxing background sounds. I always enjoy your original performances.

53. carlos88 - Bruyeres (Heather)
What a beautiful piece! I don't think I have heard it before, but found it quite addictive and listened several times. You certainly play with wonderful expression and confidence. Very well done indeed. BTW, I also use your recording method, except for the Zoom H4 part.

13. Riddler (Ed) - Prelude in D Flat Major So gentle and intimate. I like how you emphasize the melody line and don't allow the arpeggios to overwhelm the piece.

14. Allard - Dreamer's Waltz Wow, lots of reverb on this one. Your phrasing and dynamic variations are very expressive. Nice!

15. peterws - Contemplation 5 That was really interesting, with all the sound effects. I started listening to just the audio version, but then switched to watch the video -- I think that enhances it. How did you do this? Come up with the music first, then figure out the waterfront theme later, along with the sounds? The goal net was a little odd. But then so is the comment on the bacon.

16. Richard (zrtf90) - Die Zelle in Nonnenwerth What a lovely interpretation of the music. This is a real journey. Your program notes were much appreciated. Now go take out that trash!

17. Jazztpt (Russ) - For Em What a rich, complex, interesting sound. Very cool, and some nice finger work in there.

18. Mr Super- Hunky - Rain (Cover) Very satisfying. I like the balance that you have between the melody and harmony. Your ability to figure this out by ear amazes me.

19. Earlofmar - Minuet in G major (BWV Anh. 116) I like this piece so much, I listened to it twice. My then-future husband and I used to play a flute/guitar duet version of this. It's so sweet and delicate with that interesting left-hand accompaniment. Great job on a not-so-easy piece!

I've had some time these last few days to listen.Very enjoyable as always.I suddenly find that I like Einaudi for some reason, I never saw that coming.It's somehow soothing.
Thanks for comments.It's particularly gratifying when people say that you've inspired them to play the piece themselves.I think it was listening to SwissMS in the last recital that got me interested in playing this and now I've passed it on.
Just to answer a specific question and sorry it's a bit late.

For me the first movement is by far the more difficult.That may be partly personal because I don't do velocity very well, even as it is it's slightly below Allegro.I did think about not including it at all actually.
The third has those tricky thirds right at the end which slightly tripped me up, but then they always do so I was never going to get a clean take.