I just recorded this.

http://www.freewebs.com/amelialw/myrecordings.htm

feel free to comment!

Amelia

Nice job! This is one of my favorites of Chopin's etudes.

One suggestion: consider thinking of those big arpeggios up and down the keyboard as big dynamic waves: huge descresendos going down, huge crescendos going up (or vice-versa).

Hi, Amelia:

Good job! I like the Rachmaninoff a lot.

Wow, Amelia !

Thanks for posting the Etude 10.8 you have done a great job on it (bet you have spend some tome on that mid section )!
Wish your recording quality had been a little better to match your playing.


Ragnhild

Hi there,

These are solid interpretations and I commend your courage in showing off your talent to us.

For the Chopin, I would even bring out more left hand. This piece, for me, has always had the feel of a triumphant march.

As for the Rachmaninoff, I'm used to faster playing. The right hand sparkling passage (in the beginning) reminds me of light reflecting and shimmering off of water in a lake of river.

Having said that, I did enjoy your performance. Your playing is grounded and sensitive.

Amelia
a good start to the Rach, but it needs to be a little quicker and a whole lot freer. I studied this recently and my teacher illustrated rubato styles to get me thinking of how free Rach and especially this prelude can be. First he played it - quite similar to how you play the Rach - and said this is how Beethoven would play this. It's very rhythmic with just a little easing at the ends of some of the phrases. Then he played it again with more rubato - moving forward a little (for example in the opening RH passage) and easing back - and said this is how Chopin would play it. Free but still quite controlled. Then he played it one more time, with a lot more rubato. The phrases can rush forward then pull back very dramatically. For example, in the opening RH passage you could start at your tempo, but by the time you hit bar 2, you can be playing twice as fast, then ease back some for the melody entry. Dan101's comment on shimmering is what you're looking for. Remember that light shimmering off a lake isn't a perfect reflection, the ripples and waves move around - so think of that when you're playing. Look thru the entire piece, there are lots of indications what Rach was thinking and feel like you're over doing it.
keep working away, you've got a great start

Great.

The etude is one of my favorites as well as the prelude.

I would like to suggest something in the Rachmaninoff: try to lessen the accents in the left hand because it disturbs the flow .. make it flow more naturally.

You've done great to have learnt to play these pieces. Well done!

I did, however, feel, or rather I'm used to hearing it faster, that the etude was a bit slow. Well not slow, but just not quite played at the tempo I prefer it, though I may just be used to that tempo!!! And no one seems to have commented on that so far so it is probably me in the wrong!
And maybe the LH melody, especially at the start could be a bit louder? Or the RH accompaniment softer? Though that may have axtually been the recording equipment you used not making the dynamics seem as contrasting, maybe me being wrong again!


Great playing!

Amelia :

The recording quality is such that it is difficult to appreciate any dynamics in your performance, although I hope they are there. Perhaps if you recorded with lower volume then there wouldn't be such heavy overload on louder passages.

The Chopin Etude, as others have indicated, needs to be performed at a faster tempo. Furthermore, it needs to come across as two beats per bar, not four. At the moment it comes across as a rather plodding four beats to a bar. You should be able to pick up the tempo - since you seem to have all the notes in your fingers - and when you do, think consistently two beats per bar.

While the RH does have accents marked on every beat, they need to be much more subtle than they are in this performance; as you play them, they are too strongly accented and they interrupt the flow of the RH figurations. While this is a "study" it is - as I am sure you realize - above all a musical study; it shouldn't sound like an elaborate - or difficult - five-finger exercise. One of the interpretive challenges of this rather difficult Etude is that it shouldn't sound difficult!

You need to work on RH-LH balance in the performance of this Etude. The main musical interest and the melody are both in the LH; the RH is pure filigree work to give tonal structure to the piece.

You're off to a good start with this. Keep at it.

Regards,

gmf001:
For example, in the opening RH passage you could start at your tempo, but by the time you hit bar 2, you can be playing twice as fast, then ease back some for the melody entry

I have recordings of this work by Horowitz, Richter, Ashkenazy, Weissenberg and Lugansky, to name but six(!), and all display each performer's different interpretative ideas. I have also studied the piece in the past with my teacher and indeed played it at an informal recital in October last year. On a general note, the composer is quite specific as to accelerando, rallentando, poco meno mosso, etc., markings at various points throughout this prelude, and personally I reckon that one should remain faithful to at least the spirit of them. E.g. to increase the tempo during the first two bars does nothing IMO but diminish the effect of the crescendo then diminuendo marked by the composer. The feel should be one of increased intensity of tone and volume, and precisely not one of speed, then fading back down to where the LH theme enters. Generally speaking, getting faster in the loud bits and slower in the quiet passages is a common basic error, and one to be avoided in broad terms.

So now I will listen to Amelia's recording, and perhaps come back with even more opinionated drivel

-Michael B.

Hi Amelia,

Well done on the work done so far to get these pieces to where they are now. The recording quality and distortion make it difficult to make anything more than general remarks, but here goes... As others have noted, the tempo of both works is quite relaxed at present, which coupled with heavy accents here and there does lead to things being a bit 'ploddy' overall. I would suggest that quite often it is not that the first note of any group is too loud, (though this is often the case), but that those immediately following are too weak in comparison. In the Rachmaninoff for example, the 'shimmering' effect of the RH sextuplets comes from both a lightness and evenness of touch. For example the opening figure G#-D#-G#-D#-G#-D#, and where its equivalents recur, often comes out as G#[/b]-d#-g#-d#-G#[/b]-d#, etc, (especially where the first and third notes of the triplet-based theme coincide with the RH group) as the D#'s need to sound on a more equivalent level to the G#'s. There are perhaps also what sound like some misreadings in the chords half way down the 2nd page (section where you have the nasty LH descents, B-D#-B-D#, etc). In the Chopin, the RH needs to be a lot lighter and the whole thing a bit more playful, yet still march swiftly along in a 2 to the bar feel. Again the second note is often weak in comparison to the rest of the group of four. Also, getting this piece up to tempo is quite a challenge in terms of moving the hand appropriately whilst maintaining a regularity and evenness of touch. It sounds occasionally that you are already stretching a bit for the top note before redescending. Once nearer performance tempo, you certainly won't have the time to do this, so it is best to get into good habits of moving your hand as necessary before turning up the speed a bit.

I hope you take the above comments in the spirit of constructive criticism, and well done on a firm and solid foundation for these two pieces, which (especially the Chopin) present a lot of technical and musical challenges to any pianist. Keep up the good work!

Michael B.

thanks everyone, I will take note of all those things. BruceD: thank you for pointing out some things that I should correct, those I need to keep in mind as my teacher did just correct me on mon but I forgot again.

I did my recording on an old mp3, so that explains the horrible sound quality.

I'll use something else to record again, will push the Chopin Etude and Rach prelude up by a notch, anyway I have to do it because of my competition comming up in 2 and a half weeks time.

thanks so much again, really appreciate it.

Great performance, Amelia!

If you don't mind I just had a couple of quick comments (you can just ignore what I say if you disagree or anything):

As already mentioned, the Chopin was a bit slow. The tempo sort of made the piece become a bit too focused on the right hand, even though the melody is with the left.

In the beginning of the Rachmaninov, your right hand sometimes covers up the left hand melody completely. That left hand line needs to be heard.

I'm starting to feel bad for posting my video recording in the actual "Member Recordings" section (and getting barely any responses) :p

I'm working on the G# Minor prelude. It's a nice piece. I'm not going to pretend that any advice I would give would be better than the rest of these folks, so I'll just say I agree with most of it.

From a listener's perspective (those who you will be performing to), I thought the G# minor was sometimes a bit too indistinct and so didn't hold interest as well as in some other recordings I've heard.

ok, thanks, i've taken note of all these things and corrected them.

Anyway I have a competition rehearsal class with my teacher and her other student today.