Well, I suppose most of the good ones are gone, but I'm going to join up.

I'll steal 16, and go for 12 too(I've got enough time...).

I don't think I could get around to doing 19.

brojek.

SUPER! brojek....

I can't believe the wonderful response we are getting. We'll put you down for 12 and the 16.

Many thanks. We hope to make this the BIGGEST event the Piano Forum has ever had...thanks to you and all others.

We're on a roll!!

Kathleen

I have contacted by PM several other people who have been on the Devoted thread and who just might want to take part.

I am not going to contact Hersh; he is much too busy. But when the time comes, I will definitely send him an "engraved" invitation to come and hear.

Once again, so thrilled we are moving ahead so quickly.

Now, I have to get to the piano and PRACTICE!!

Best to all,
Kathleen

Hi Kathleen! Very nice idea! I've shied away so far because so much of Chopin is beyond me right now, but your enthusiasm is infectious

I could probably handle No. 20 - I hope I do it justice, and I'll probably bug you for some tips along the way, if you don't mind terribly! I was tempted to tackle No.21 but I see its rated at a grade 7 level, which leads me to think I'm overestimating myself a bit!

Thanks!

Updated list

1 - Piano again
2 - Frycek
3 - Kawaigirl
4 - Euan (& Kathleen?)
6 - Ragnhild
7 - Kathleen
8 - Gerg
9 - Stephenc
12 - playadom
13 - Frycek (?Kathleen)
14 - Frycek
15 - Kathleen
16 - Jazzyprof & Playadom
17 - Kathleen
18 - Gerg
20 - Kathleen & Thalamus
21 - Piano again
22 - Frycek
23 - Gerg
24 - LisztAddict

Unaccounted for:
5, 10, 11, 19

Ah - Kathleen I hope you don't mind doubling up with me!

Dear Thalamus:

I don't mind one bit! In fact, I would love to hand that one over to you. I just signed up for it because I thought it might go unplayed.

So, Thalamus...it's all YOURS! And thank you for joining in.

And please put Euan down for #4 alone.

While I would love to play the 13th, Frycek, I know you can do a better job at it. I'm so anxious to hear you play. So please take my name off. This way I can concentrate more fully on getting it the way it should be. I'm sure someone will take the #7 :rolleyes: and I pray someone will take the 15, as I have forgotten half of it.

I can't believe we only had 4 left...it's amazing and a heartwarming compliment to the master, himself. It says to me that no matter what you are and where you might be...Chopin is always just a sigh away.

Thank you all,
Kathleen

Anybody mind me joining in to take one of the ones that are left?

Op30no3, we're all all be more than delighted. Thanks! May we call you Op?

Updated list

1 - Piano again
2 - Frycek
3 - Kawaigirl
4 - Euan
5 - Op30no3
6 - Ragnhild
7 - Kathleen
8 - Gerg
9 - Stephenc
10 - Op30no3
11 - Op30no3
12 - playadom
13 - Frycek
14 - Frycek
15 - Kathleen
16 - Jazzyprof & Playadom
17 - Kathleen
18 - Gerg
19 - Op30no3
20 - Thalamus
21 - Piano again
22 - Frycek
23 - Gerg
24 - LisztAddict

All the bases are now covered but remember DUPLICATES ARE WELCOME AND ENCOURAGED! PLEASE JOIN IN!

Call me pooty-toody if you want-- I don't care.

Sounds good; this should be a lot of fun.

I'll give the cycle another listen to make my choices.


This is the order of difficulty, from a random site:
7, 20, 4, 6, 2, 15, 21, 11, 9, 17, 13, 10, 23, 3, 14, 1, 18, 5, 12, 19, 22, 24, 8, 16

I think we'll just call you "Jackson."

ALL 24! In just a day and one-half! You all do Chopin so proud!!

Kathleen

Bassio..if you want #7, please feel free. It won't take you very long to learn. Only one tricky spot...near the end, an impossible chord in the RH. But you can leave out a note (or two).

Kathleen

I'm sure this is somewhere in the last few pages of this thread, but when is our deadline for learning our Prelude? Before I choose one, I should probably know that. I have a feeling the grading numbers next to them may represent how many months it will take me to get it ready!

It's interesting that the order of difficulty Bassio posted is somewhat different than the one Frycek listed. I'll use them both as I decide.

Thanks,

Nancy

Nancy, the deadline is Chopin's death day, October 17th, 2007.

If anyone is interested in doing #24, I'll gladly let you have it.

I suppose I could do it, if you're trying to get somebody.

Excellent Kawaigirl! #3 is a fountain on a hot summer day - a wonderful piece. Yes you are correct: to get the proper effect you'll need to play it senza-pedal. Since the challenge is in the LH, you should be able to nail it fairly quickly just by cycling the LH measures - several of which are identical. I know you will do a great job!

#8 is only ranked an "8" IIRC in the difficulty list Frycek provided, whereas #5, #12, #16, #18, #19, and #24 are ranked a "10". I will say #8 has 1,558 notes, and because of the speed must be memorized to be played at or close to tempo. Memorization is proving to be the biggest challenge. Rhythm is also a minor issue, but because the piece is patternistically identical throughout (like many of the other Op.28), that should not be a major issue. Having been hammering on it for a few days (RH mostly so far) it is a pretty fun piece actually.

ALL:

I'm really surprised that #11 hasn't been [EDIT]singled out by someone.

I meant someone who has not yet chosen a piece so that person has an opportunity to participate.

*cough*duplicate*cough*

Maybe I'll do #24 in May or something. Gotta finish a prelude and the rhapsody first.

d.p
Meant to edit above post.
brojek

O.K., I'm confused. Who is playing 24? I KNOW Liszt Addict ABSOLUTELY wanted to play it so badly a while back.

But I don't see why we can't have two(three) people playing it. It's certain "large" enough in scope to be shared.

I am looking for someone who would take #15 and 7 off my hands. As I mentioned before, I signed up for these...never, in my wildest dreams, that we would have so many people interested in participating and I wanted to try to have all of them covered.

I would prefer to spend the next 7 months really concentrating on the 17th, so if anyone wants one of the two (or both) I mentioned, be my guest.

Kathleen

Roll on October 17! This is an excellent idea. I'm so looking forward to hearing you all

Yesterday afternoon I went to a recital in London by the Malaysian pianist Bobby Chen. (No Preludes though!) He played Bach’s Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, some smaller works by Prokofiev, Chopin, Schubert, Delius and Debussy, and ended up with Chopin’s first Ballade and Liszt’s second Ballade.

His playing of the Bach seemed unorthodox to me – it was dazzling and almost romantic with a fair bit of pedalling. Very virtuosic, very gripping. He took the audience by the scruff of its neck and made us sit up and take note. What a staggering work that is! And the performance was unforgettable.

The middle section of the concert was unremarkable; the Chopin Nocturnes in particular were a bit loud and fast for me. He had chosen some of the most popular works of Chopin (Etudes 10/3, 25/1, 10/12, 25//12 and Nocturnes 9/1, 9/2, 9/2 and 15/2) and it all sounded a bit ordinary (obviously I refer to the performance not the music!) Perhaps he had played them all too many times before.

But you could tell he really enjoyed both Ballades and his playing was terrific in both. It was interesting to compare the two works side-by-side; it highlighted the difference between Chopin (conveying drama and emotion without a specific story-line; the virtuosic passages evolving organically from the demands of the music itself; delicious melody never far away) and Liszt (very programmatic – you could hear the turbulent sea in the story of Hero and Leander; many flashy passages full of fire and fury).

So, the performance was a bit of a sandwich: excellent and memorable beginning and ending with a more pedestrian filling in the middle 

Has any one else heard Chen play Chopin? If so, what was your impression?

If anyone would like Nr 14 they can have it. Otherwise I'll keep it.

So everything is more or less spoken for but
Preludes numbers 7, 14 & 15 are available for adoption. And remember DUPLICATES ARE WELCOME!

Book me for 7 and 4 for now

I still did not decide on 15 .. maybe I should do it eventually .. but let us leave it still open

My #24 is performance ready but I don't like duplicates. I rather see we have just one of each and that's the best this group offers; no comparing of 2 performances on the same piece. So #24 is still available for anyone who wants to participate but hasn't yet picked a piece.


7, 14, 15, 24 are still available.

You, know, I think he may be right. Maybe we should discuss this duplicate business some more.

I've changed my mind about duplicates. I really think that LisztAddict should play the 24. He put his "dibs" on it about a week ago.

The thing with duplicates, as I mentioned in a previous post is the likely comparison situation. The ONLY reason I thought dups might be OK was to get more people involved. But I shouldn't have worried about that, it appears we have plenty of people willing and able to take part. And I do think a concert without dups will be more enjoyable, not to mention the lack of stress involved knowing that a person's performance will not be held up for comparison to another's.

So, that's my take on it. I really, really want LisztAddict to play the 24; he so wanted to and I don't want him to back out because of this duplication thing. We are still in the planning stage, so there is no reason why we can't "change" our original thoughts about certain issues.

MaryRose: Thank you for your wonderful review on the Chen concert. I so envy you living in such a "cultural" area.

Kathleen