Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner 2014 Chopin nocturnes and waltzes recital

Wow, I just love that Chopin still lives while people play his music, and Rubinstein whenever anyone listens to his playing. Just think, you are all made immortal by posting your recitals. PW is the key to eternity! I'm just not brave enough to post yet! Can't wait to hear more..... thank you everybody!

doctors, beautiful contrasts between the hesitant and tender A section and the broad B section. Nicely recorded too.

And chopinlives81, that's probably the most elegant Chopin playing I've ever heard on a digital

Nocturne in B-flat minor, Op. 9 No. 1 - doctor S : I love the asynchronization you have between the hands! Lovely interpretation. Measure 73 was very impressive

Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9 No. 2- ChopinLives81: Very nice! This was not one of my favorites when I learned it (except for the ending which was a lot of fun), but I really enjoyed listening. You did really well on all those LH jumps, congrats on a great recording!

Nocturne in B major, Op. 9 No. 3 - Arthur Rubinstein Show off. :P

He was perma-banned some time ago.

Oh, be quiet. Everyone knows you're just jealous because he played Chopin better than you.

Everyone does.

Anyone going to Valdemossa this summer?

Just wait. I wasn't able to get a recording on my acoustic, so the recording I made from the rented digital last summer ended up being my submission.

Not that I'm claiming I can out-elegance chopinlives81, but just to make mention that there's some more Electric Chopin coming up!

Bzzzt! Feel the voltage!

I finally found my Zoom, and it feels very jilted. I told it that the piano was prematurely out of tune anyway (thanks, rapidly changing weather extremes) and it should be grateful.

You all should. Mostly that my nocturne is blessedly short.

Loved the Op. 9's. Wow, so nice to see what people can do with a labor of love

I made it a point not to listen to any recordings of mine. I have no idea what it's "supposed" to sound like. I do wish I could get a faster middle section free of any mistakes, but I have been so insanely busy it's a wonder I learned that piece at all really!

That's the same way I felt about my two submissions. I really needed more time. Personally I have no problems listening to recordings of pieces I'm working on. As an amateur I know I'll never be able to play as well as the pros but I appreciate hearing different interpretive approaches to the same work. It helps me make my own choices.

My personal view on the performances. My first language is not English, so it's hard to find the right words to describe stuff.

Nocturne in B-flat minor, Op. 9 No. 1 - doctor S
Nice recording. Good dynamics too, nice flow. Loved the ending of the
middle section to start with the main theme again.

Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9 No. 2 - ChopinLives81
Nice sound from that digital! Good balance between left and right throughout the piece, allthough I
would have liked to hear the beginning of the ending really pp (like, ohoh something gonna happen)
and then at the con forza part really lash out and have a bang there with the stretto octaves. Then at the ending
as ppp as possible.

Nocturne in F major, Op. 15 No. 1 - Ronald the Beagle
I think it's brave to take up a piece like this (actually all of them). You voiced the main theme really nicely.
I really got the "nocturne feeling" there. It contrasted well with the middle section.
The only thing I would say is that the middle section could be played a little faster.

Nocturne in F-sharp major, Op. 15 No. 2 - Dame Myra
Wow the Doppio Movimento was really well played. Nice tempo! And nicely surrounded by the mysterious main theme.

Nocturne in G minor, Op. 15 No. 3 - FarmGirl
What a nice performance. I like the tempo you chose, I would like to hear the last part played with a bit more
dynamics. It fits all together nicely though, I like the performance.

Partway through the Op. 15s at the moment. I love everyone's sense of drama! And personal connection to the music. Chopin invites that, don't you think?

I think so too. I think that is one of the major reasons that most of us like/love Chopin. When you're busy with a piece, you grow to love it even if you started it because someone told you to.

I also have that with other composers of course, but most with Chopin. That is why I am always keep adding his stuff to my rep I guess.

Nocturne in F major, Op. 15 No. 1- Ronald the Beagle : Very tender treatment of the A section. The middle section seems like a beast - have you ever tried it on an acoustic grand? I'm sure you'd be able to get a lot more "con fuoco" out of it , but you played it well, congrats!

Nocturne in F-sharp major, Op. 15 No. 2 - Dame Myra : Beautiful playing! Something about the recording quality and the upright? piano makes it sound like a recording made a long time ago, which actually added to the overall effect. Brava!

Nocturne in G minor, Op. 15 No. 3 - FarmGirl : I like how you set up the hymn-like quality of the B section with the "languidness" of the A section. When you get to the B section it sounds very hopeful. I didn't notice your husband making noise

Thank you so much; you are very kind. The piano was 1906 Steinway B.

Nocturne in B-flat minor, Op. 9 No. 1 - doctor S
I was impressed by your performance. You handle the difficult poly-rhythmic parts very well. I also really liked the contrast between the main and the middle part of the piece.

Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9 No. 2 - ChopinLives81
The digital piano gave me an impression that you were actually playing the piece on a harp. You play very well with high precision and good control. Very nice to listen to.

Nocturne in F major, Op. 15 No. 1 - Ronald the Beagle
You really make the melody of the main part sing. Very beautiful to listen to. The "con fuoco" part is extremely difficult, and I can hear that you have done a really good job with it.

Nocturne in F-sharp major, Op. 15 No. 2 - Dame Myra
Very impressive performance! Technically and musically flawless as far as I can judge. The sound quality and recording made it sound very "authentic".

Nocturne in G minor, Op. 15 No. 3 - FarmGirl
This nocturne isn't so often played, and I really enjoyed listening to your performance. I was particularly pleased with the transition between the first and the second ("choral") part. I think you succeeded in expressing the drama here.

Sorry, the recording made it tricky to tell, but still I like the effect of it.

That's okay; it was a friend's piano. Very strange to play. Because of the size of the room (and because it was in an apartment/townhouse complex), the owner had the piano at half-stick! for the performance. I thought it sounded like an upright, too, when I received the recording.

Thank you all for your kind words. My recording is the result of no less than about 50 attempts to get a good recording and a lot of hard work to get a good sound out of my digital. I'm glad all that hard work paid off.

To all my fellow recital participants, Wow! Impressive job so far from everyone. I've really enjoyed listening to the submissions so far. It really hits home on a more personal level to hear beautiful music coming from people just like the rest of us. Keep up the good work