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This was part of a program that also included the "Funeral March" Sonata. I was not happy with how the sonata came out so I've left it out, but there is enough good in the rest of the concert that I feel comfortable sharing it. The Scherzi are nearly 40 minutes of music, so it's a big file and I recommend streaming it.

Berceuse: https://app.box.com/s/5l5q9g3l1f56o0u1o27c

Scherzi:
https://app.box.com/s/gvyqxo99szydvh2wmuhf

No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20: 0:00
No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 31: 10:50
No. 3 in C-sharp minor, Op. 39: 20:50
No. 4 in E major, Op. 54: 28:14

The links do not work.

Fixed it, forgot to do the sharing links.

Listened to a fair amount of the 1st Scherzo....

Are you happy with how long you waited on the rests? (Important point!)

Good job on the basics -- of course you have the piece.

I still tend to rush to the next measure and cut rests short. I'm aware of that and I'm getting better at it, but I don't always hear it as I'm playing it.

Yes -- the rests are cut way short (not just at the beginning).

IMO when a piece has stuff like that, it's no more ready than when we don't yet have the notes. You have the piece, but it's not ready.

For example, and for what it's worth, I think that in competitions, we'd get eliminated quicker for that than for some sloppiness. And another IMO: A lot of people give things like this much less attention than they call for. It's easy to overlook in our work -- and, ironically, it probably wouldn't take all that much.

Thanks for sharing, I really enjoyed the 4 scherzi. Nicely constructed, thoughtfully and passionately played. I don't have much to offer for analysis but it does appear the observation of rests that has been mentioned is in some other areas. The octave sections of the third scherzo seem to be missing the 8th note rest and instead a quarter is played (written as a quarter split into 8th note and 8th note rest). Am I hearing that right? Is that what you are referring to?

Sorry, but I don't think your technique is ready for these pieces, and definitely not good enough for an effective program of ALL FOUR scherzi. My advice would be to pick the one you love the most, put the other three on the shelf, and focus narrowly, but intensively, one that one scherzo. Do you have a teacher? How long have you been playing?

Joel: I have to wonder if you're kidding, maybe doing a parody of something, or whatever, even though it seems like you're not. Jeffrey's technique is ready for basically anything -- and we absolutely see that here. At the most, maybe he's not in his very best playing shape because of having had to do other things in the last few years.

I'm only giving my honest opinion. I don't know anything about Jeffrey. I'm just judging by what I hear. I feel that pieces like these are only effective if the technique possessed by the player is immaculate, which I don't feel is the case here. It's one thing to learn and practice pieces like these -- which I think Jeffrey is more than capable of doing -- it's whether or not performing them is appropriate.

Joel :

Some specifics might be helpful, both to us listeners and to Jeffrey.

Regards,

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! Wow. Just wow.

Specifics? I don't follow. You mean like, specific parts of the performance? Well, all of it. The whole performance is permeated with the sound of technical struggle. It would make me uncomfortable as an audience member to be frank.

Perhaps the first time ever that I've agreed with such a post.

Joel:
Look.
As you know, I think you're a great member, you're an unusually bright and knowledgeable and sensitive and perceptive kid (perhaps pardon my saying "kid") ....and I like you and all that. But about this stuff here, granting that such things are subjective, you're simply wrong here and you're being unfair to Jeffrey. It's simply false that he's showing "technical struggle," and much more so that this playing is "permeated" with it.

That said, I agree to some extent with part of your gist. I've mentioned before to Jeffrey that I think he would be better off to focus on fewer pieces and aim to take them to still-higher levels. From what we've seen, he tends to play huge amounts of repertoire (it helps that he's a fantastic sight-reader) and, as I gather, not devote as much attention to individual pieces as most of us might. If I recall right, he said he didn't think there would be great benefit to the pieces by focusing more, and I disagreed. But "technical struggle"? Uh-uh.

Okay I see what I've done here. Sorry if I have offended anyone, especially you, Jeffrey. Now that I have taken a much more intense listen (specifically the 4th), what I had confused to be technical struggle seems to be musical problems rather than technical. For instance, the grand runs in the 4th are very rushed, choppy, overly-loud, and sometimes the right hand is hardly audible. Maybe this is from technical trouble, maybe not. There middle section is played very beautifully though. The coda, however, is not technically sound, and I'm sure there are more spots like this in the rest of the scherzi.

It is totally fair to say that I haven't fully mastered any of these pieces. Considering that I'm not a professional, though, and make no pretensions to it, I don't at all feel that it's fair for you to tell me I shouldn't be playing this music. My technique is roughshod because I work 60 hours a week.

Joel: Better.

But still, much of what you're saying about the 4th isn't so, and this part:


....is utterly false. There can be musical quibbles (and I'd have some, especially that I think the very end is just brusque), but it's plenty technically sound.

My best guess about this is that you're judging from the technical finish and musical preferences of a particular performance by some 'unidentified' pianist.

You're right. You don't have to listen to anything I'm saying. All I'm saying is that it's generally better to master one rather than do all of them not to the best of your ability. Quality over quantity. Just my opinion. I hope I haven't earned a spot on your bad side, have I? I don't know how else to say what I'm saying. And I certainly wouldn't sugar-coat it even if I could!

Do you know how much money I make off of playing serious, solo piano repertoire every year? None. My income is all from stuff that is completely unrelated. So I hope you can excuse me if I play the music that I enjoy, even though I get very little practice time, so that I don't feel completely deprived. That concert didn't earn me a dime - it went back to the church that hosted it, as did the proceeds from the recordings.

Next month, I'll be playing Mozart's Concerto No. 23. That is getting all of my attention now, and there's no money in that either. I'm also contributing to the Chopin Mazurka recital just a couple weeks later and there's no money in that either. Do I expect to be note-perfect? No. I expect to get enough of the notes that my voice comes through.

No, not just Bunin. lol