PLEASE DO NOT POST IN THIS THREAD! USE THE DISCUSSION THREAD.

OK Folks, here it is, our sixth quarterly Adult Beginner's Forum Recital. So, pull up a chair and have a listen.

I would like to take this opportunity to ask the audience to please refrain from commentary in this recital room.

A separate room has been provided for the purposes of intermezzo discussion. Please take any and all comments to the [URL= http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/32/4359.html]General Discussion Room[/URL] and all critical discussion to the [URL= http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/32/4360.html]Critical Discussion Room[/URL]. Thank you.


Each participant in the recital has provided a direct link to the original recording. For the convenience of forum members, I've processed the files for consistent volume and ID3 tags in a collection of 8 zip files. This makes it easier to create personal CDs and playlists.

These zip files (along with past recitals) have been posted at the following URL:

http://www.esnips.com/web/PWRecitals

Thanks to Copper for finding a site to host these files and for taking the time to retrieve them from me and upload them.

Previous recitals:
Recital #1 February 15, 2006
Recital #2 May 15, 2006
Recital #3 August 15, 2006
Recital #4 November 15, 2006
Recital #5 February 15, 2007

01[/b]
Performers Name: C7 Player Greg Smith
Experience: Restarted 12/13/2006 after a 6 year break. 10 years off & on (mostly off) before that
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/acxj74bssq
Song title/composer: Le Onde/Ludovico Einaudi
Source of music: Sheet music (“Best of Einaudi”)
Instrument used: Kawai MP8
Feedback wanted: Yes

Additional Info: I’m waiting on delivery of my Zoom so this is recorded on the digital. I can say without hesitation that this isn’t the best I’ve ever played[/b] the piece but it is[/b] the best I’ve ever recorded[/b] it (after many attempts!). It’s by far the longest piece I’ve ever recorded.

02[/b]
Performers Name: Monica Kern
Experience: 3 years on piano; an additional 7 on accordion as a child
Direct music link: http://www.uky.edu/~harris/dispari1.mp3
Song title/composer: Giorni Dispari, by Ludovico Einaudi
Source of music: Sheet music
Instrument used: Mason & Hamlin A
Feedback wanted: Yes

Additional Info: Recorded on Zoom H4, normalized through Audacity. The title of this piece translates as “Odd Days,” which makes it appropriate for the theme of Spring, I think, as spring tends to be a weird and crazy time for me. I love the quiet bridge toward the end where all these notes from WAAAY high up in the treble section start playing with no discernible transition to what’s going on before or after.

03[/b]
Performers Name: Lisztener
Experience: Lessons as a boy 10-12 years old, self-taught on and off (mostly off) until stopping in 1990. Resumed playing August, 2006. Started lessons again late December 2006.
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/ho8b4ks4jb
Song title/composer: Prelude Op.16 No.1 Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915)
Source of music: Sheet Music
Instrument used: Steinway
Feedback wanted: Yes

Additional Info: This piece was difficult for me because of the jumps in the late section. In retrospect, my learning method was flawed in that I tried to memorize too quickly and got away from looking at the music. (I began practicing my mistakes and eventually became frustrated.) On the positive side, I believe I’ve captured some of the beautiful qualities of the piece, but all of you will make that determination.

Many thanks to Bob for his time and efforts. It’s great to be a member of this super forum. Best wishes to all.

04[/b]
Performers Name: Kawaigirl1
Experience: Took up piano again one and a half yr ago from a 23 year break.
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/q8qi41pzrz
Song title/composer: Oltremare/Ludovico Einaudi
Source of music: Divenire Music Book
Instrument used: Roland RD300SX
Feedback wanted: Yes

Additional Info: This marks my 1 year anniversary since participating in the quarterly recitals. When I look back at my progress I think I have come a long ways. This piece had technical challenges for me as there were huge sections where you had to play triplets against eighth notes. However; melodically, this is a lovely piece IMO.

05[/b]
Performers Name: dannylux (Mel)
Experience: 15 months, after not playing for 15 years
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/jvm4e6f1l5
Song title/composer: Prelude Op.17 No.15 by Felix Blumenfeld
Source of music: Sheet music
Instrument used: Yamaha P140
Feedback wanted: Yes

Additional Info: Felix Blumenfeld was Horowitz' teacher in Kiev. Almost forgotten as a composer, his music has been recently rediscovered, thanks to the release of two CDs of his complete Preludes, Impromptus, and Etudes. This is enchanting music, with beautiful melodies and unusual harmonies that make me feel like I'm being tickled from deep within. Blumenfeld's 24 Preludes, Op.17 are in the style of Chopin's, one in each of the major and minor keys, and are masterpieces. The No.15 in D flat major that I play here is difficult for me. The left hand triplets never stop, nor do the twos against threes. It's very passionate music. Hope you like it.

06[/b]
Performers Name: AdagioM (Michele)
Experience: 8 years AB (7 years lessons, teacherless for the last year)
Direct music link: http://home.comcast.net/~michelelb/k282adagio.mp3
Box.net link: http://www.box.net:80/shared/0hznklucl6
Song title/composer: Sonata in E-flat, Adagio, by WA Mozart
Source of music: sheet music
Instrument used: Weinbach 170 grand, Audacity on my PC, mono mic hanging from the prop stick.
Feedback wanted: sure

Additional Info: I know the theme is spring, and this is what I've been playing this spring! This is the only Mozart sonata to open with an adagio movement. I love the contrasting moods in this piece, and how the coda brings the whole thing full circle.

07[/b]
Performers Name: Schubertian
Experience: 8 yrs lessons/40 year intermission/5 months lessons
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/46ee913r27
Song title/composer: Abschied von der Erde D. 829, Schubert
Source of music: sheet music, Peters edition
Instrument used: Estonia 190
Feedback wanted: Yes

Additional Info:
Having nothing to do with spring, this piece by Schubert is a 'melodram' - music intended to accompany the spoken voice - in a play for example. Background music. Most of Schubert's output for this genre is for orchestra and this is the single example with a solo piano accompaniment. It was used in a private performance of a play written by a young man in the Schubert circle - a play by a Adolf Pratobevera for his father's birthday. 'Meister Kummer' addressed in the second line is the name of the squire of the knight who is dying in this scene, although clearly the poetic thought works just as well with the dedication to sorrow in general. What may seem like Schubert's swan song (Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau has it as the final selection in his recording of all the Schubert lieder) was actually written two years before his death (Feb 17 1826, Schubert died Nov 19, 1828).

Abschied von der Erde A Farewell to the Earth


Leb'wohl du schone Erde! Beautiful Earth, farewell!
Kann dich erst jetzt verstehn Only now I comprehend you
Wo Freude and wo Kummer When all joy and trouble
An uns voruber wehn. Pass away from me


Leb wohl, du Meister Kummer! Goodbye Master Sorrow!
Dank dir mit nassem Blick I thank you with tears in my eyes
Mit mir nehm' ich die Freude, Joy I will take with me
Dich lass' ich hier zuruck You I leave behind.


Sei nur ein milder Lehrer, Be a gentle teacher
fuhr' Alle hin zu Gott. And lead all to God
Zeig' in den trubsten Nachten And in the darkest night
Ein Streiflein Morgenroth Reveal a streak of dawn.


Lasse sie Liebe ahnen Let them feel love
So danken sie dir noch And they will be thankful
Der furher und der spater Some sooner, some later
Sie danken weinend doch. Will thank you with tears


Dann glanzt das Leben heiter Then life will be radiantly happy
Mild lachelt jeder Schmerz For every pain a smile
Die Freide halt umfangen And joy will hold in its embrace
Das ruh'ge klare Herz The pure, tranquil heart

08[/b]
Performer's Name: mahlzeit (Matthijs Hollemans)
Experience: Coming up to 2 years
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/2he7d0p3be
Song title/composer: Tonight We Dance
Source of music: own composition
Instrument used: Yamaha CP33 stage piano
Feedback wanted: Yes

Additional Info: I didn't feel like learning a piece for this recital so I just made something up.

09[/b]
Performers Name: silla (Allis)
Experience: 8 years of lessons as a child; piano-less for almost a decade and a half; finally got my own piano and started practicing regularly again in March
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/1x4ecaz73o
Song title/composer: Jesus Loves Me (Based on Clair de Lune) / William Bradbury, Claude Debussy, arranged by Fred Bock
Source of music: sheet music
Instrument used: Roland RD-700sx
Feedback wanted: yes, please

Additional Info: This is the only piece I can play through semi-presentably right now! For whatever reason, it's the one that "came back" most easily from my teenage years.

10[/b]
Performers Name: Ragnhild
Experience: 2-3 years as a child - started practicing again 2001.
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/kz239mbka6
Song title/composer: Felix Mendelsohn: Lied ohne Worte Op 19 no 1 Source of music: Sheet music Instrument used: Old small upright, "Jacob Knutsen"
Feedback wanted: Yes, please

Additional Info: I have only unfinished projects at the moment, and this is one of them....also wish I had a zoom :-)

11[/b]
Performers Name: DragonPianoPlayer / Rich
Experience: Almost 1 year this time around
Direct music link: http://www.rjmeredith.com/music/piejesu.mp3
Song title/composer: Pie Jesu / Andrew Lloyd Webber
Source of music: Sheet music
Instrument used: Casio Privia PX310
Feedback wanted: Yes

12[/b]
Performers Name: AQP_87 (Alvaro)
Experience: 1 year and 7 months.
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/65nuruo6ym
Song title/composer: Impromptu Op.90 No.1 (Schubert) Source of music: Sheet music.
Instrument used: Kawai RX-2.
Feedback wanted: Yes, please.

Additional Info: I fell in love with this piece when I heard it for the first time. I made only one take, I told myself: Ok, one shot, no more chances. This first Impromptu is, for many, the first movement of a Sonata.

13[/b]
Performers Name: Luigi (LugiV)
Experience: 10 years +- (stop playing for many years)
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/462gdkdofb
Song title/composer: Clair de lune (from Suite Bergamasque) / Claude Debussy
Source of music: Sheet music Carish (URTEXT)
Instrument used: Clavinova CLP-280 PE
Feedback wanted: Yes

Additional Info: My dream piece, I like to play it so slowly after hearing the wonderful live recording of Sviatoslav Richter, but I admit that playing in this way it is a very hard task.

14[/b]
Performers Name: {Seaside_Lee}
Experience: {3 years 7 months with pianomagic}
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/xqsjciozt3
Song title/composer: Ol' Man River by Oscar Hammerstein and Jerome Kern
Source of music: {played by ear}
Instrument used: {casio PX100 through Yamaha Motif Rack ES.}
Feedback wanted: {Yes}

Additional Info: {I wanted to record something a little different this time (ie with strings) but, I am not totally happy with them (I think they are too much). I have tried to figure out how to add strings as an extra track but can't for the life of me get it to work...so I'll have to stick with this, this time, maybe for the next recital I'll be able to add multitracks....don''t hold your breath though!}

15[/b]
Performers Name: Peyton Higgison
Experience: 35 years on and off. Not much training.
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/4jjrf8t5yt
Song title/composer: Etude 10/3 Chopin
Source of music: Sheet music
Instrument used: Pramberger
Feedback wanted: yes

Additional Info: I'm still not "there" with this piece. Once it really picks up and especially in the con bravura part I'm struggling and I apologize for the mangled notes. It's one of my favorite etudes and I'll keep working it.

16[/b]
Performers Name: LisztAddict
Experience:
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/gtpaqhyql0
Song title/composer: Hungarian Rhapsody No 6 / F. Liszt
Source of music: http://sheetmusicarchive.net/dlpage_new.cfm?composition_id=1323
Instrument used: a grand piano
Feedback wanted: Yes, please!

Additional Info: I normally don't like making excuse, but I have a valid excuse for not able to play the octave section in this piece up to 114 bpm on the metronome. My piano (down) touch weight is 70 gr. So I can only sustain about 110-112 bpm for 2 minutes without messing it up to the point that the listeners can't recognize the piece I play.

17[/b]
Performers Name: DeepElem (aka Buck)
Experience: 11 months
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/987lrgnlbf
Song title/composer: All the Things You Are / written by Jerome Kern in 1939
Source of music: Leadsheet
Instrument used: Yamaha S90ES
Feedback wanted: Yes

Additional Info: I started with Pianomagic but started taking lessons from a jazz teacher a few months ago (actually on my second teacher, but that’s a long story). I’ve had to regress so much doing all kinds of drills and work on basics that I wasn’t going to submit anything to this recital. But then I thought the recital is supposed to be a record of where you are at that point in time, and I’m never satisfied with what I do anyway, so here it is, warts and all.

18[/b]
Performers Name: Extraghost
Experience: About 3 months since Febuary
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/tyjiqx6bds
Song title/composer: Keiko Matsui - Forever, Forever
Source of music: Sheet Music
Instrument used: Casio AP-80R With Akoustik Piano Sound
Feedback wanted: Yes

Additional Info: I have to perform this piece at a recital at the end of the month, so i would like some tips to make it better.

19[/b]
Performers Name: Serge88
Experience: 1995-2000, 2006-2007
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/qz497ytmb5
Song title/composer: You light up my life / Joe Brooks
Source of music: sheet music
Instrument used: Digital Piano
Feedback wanted: Yes

Additional Info: It's the first time I see a pop song in 3/4 so I gave it a try.

20[/b]
Performers Name: loveschopintoomuch (Kathleen)
Experience: what experience?? on and off, etc. for many, many years
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/f3d9fhzjmk
Song title/composer: B minor waltz, Op. 69 #2 by Chopin
Source of music: sheet music
Instrument used: Clavinova - Yahama, fully weighted 88 keys, but volume is wacky and needs an adjustment (so do I, for that matter)
Feedback wanted: Sure

Additional Info: Well, for the first thing, I apologize. I left a section out. Not on purpose, but purely by oversight (don't ask). Secondly, I play it at too slow a tempo. It's the only way I can play it relatively error-free. Those discordant notes you hear...are actually IN the music. Chopin was noted for his use of discordant notes/chords. That's part of what makes his music rather enchanting.

21[/b]
Performers Name: sid
Experience: 7 months
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/du97q1yi5r
Song title/composer: Comme Au Premier Jour (like the first day) by Andre Gagnon
Source of music: sheet music Instrument used: Yamaha YPG625 & Akoustik
Feedback wanted: Yes

Additional Info: My first recital submission.

22[/b]
Performers Name: joemoshi
Experience: {15Yrs of piano playing experience}
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/vz75jbo8mf
Song title/composer: Beethoven Moonlight, 2nd movement
Source of music: {sheet music }
Instrument used: {keyboard model Yamaha CVP-307}
Feedback wanted: {Yes}

23[/b]
Performers Name: Copper
Experience: 2 years
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/at78x1amez
Song title/composer: First Loss - Robert Schumann
Source of music: The Piano Handbook: A Complete Guide for Mastering Piano (with CD) Carl Humphries
Instrument used: Yamaha P250 (Grand Piano 1)
Feedback wanted: Yes

Additional Info: 1.8 MB 1 Minute 55 seconds
Notes: I wish I had more time - always. Oh well, here's the best I can do today.

24[/b]
Performers Name: jotur - Cathy Turner
Experience: 2 years in my mid-teens, 30-some odd years off, playing dance accompaniment since '95
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/g93isri9bg
Song title/composer: The Entertainer - Scott Joplin
Source of music: sheet music
Instrument used: Casio Privia PX-100, phones out to mic in thru Audacity
Feedback wanted: Yes -

Additional Info: Several of us have been studying this in a group here in the ABF, with sort of an informal goal of having a couple of versions in this recital. I posted an earlier version in that thread which was, IMHO, pretty wooden, tho at a steady tempo and with all the beats intact. This one has more mistakes and more music - life is full of trade-offs My biggest trouble with this is that I can only reach an octave off the edge of the white keys, and notes in-between the octaves are sometimes not possible. So I cheated here in a couple of places and played 6ths instead of octaves, and then I just sort of bungled the octaves other places. But at least this version has me tapping my foot! I generally play "oom-pah" with a band of amateur fiddlers, mandolins, whistles, bodhrans, guitars, accordion, etc, for contra dances, and don't do a lot of melody. I would like to have submitted one of those pieces, but didn't get a good recording. So you're stuck with this - I think it's everyone's first Joplin piece, and it's fun.

25[/b]
Performers Name: ShiroKuro
Experience: almost exactly 8 years ( I started piano in the spring!)
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/hu32ga1ivd
Song title/composer: Haru Yo Koi (Spring, Come) by Yumi Matsutoya
Source of music: sheet music, solo arrangement from what was originally a song.
Instrument used: accoustic Yamaha upright
Feedback wanted: Yes (but please read my additional info before feeding back. Thanks!)

Additional Info: Regarding my playing, I recorded this in March as a practice recording, my first try with the Zoom and my first go at recording this piece. I planned to work on the piece more and re-record it, but work and other music called, and I never had time to make another recording. So I consider this an unpolished piece, and am painfully aware of several problems with it.
Regarding the music itself, this was the piece I played in early March for a graduation ceremony at an alternative school (some of you may remember that I wrote about that here on the ABF.) The song title, "Spring, Come" is a direct translation of the Japanese title. The song is about waiting for spring to come, and the hopefulness that brings, but also about saying goodbye to friends and yearning for childhood friends. In Japanese culture, spring tends to have a sort of bittersweet element to it, like the fleeting beauty of the cherry blossoms, gone all too soon.

26[/b]
Performers Name: Stephenc
Experience: 3 years
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/rpgoxtk2h4
Song title/composer: Secret Love - Jim Brickman
Source of music: sheet music
Instrument used: Roland HP107 Digital
Feedback wanted: Yes

Additional Info: I posted this as a progress piece many months ago now, and have kept it active, so I thought I'd perform it for this recital and keep my all Brickman recital record going. This is a very beautiful piece of music - one of Brickmans best IMO, the original is accompanied by a harp - so now to find a harpist!

27[/b]
Performers Name: Yamaha G3 & P-80 / Mike White
Experience: Lifetime playing by ear, teaching myself to read music for the past three years
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/3g6o9dyi9u
Song title/composer: Prelude Op. 28. No. 20 / Chopin
Source of music: sheet music
Instrument used: Yamaha P-80
Feedback wanted: yes

Additional Info: I'm currently working on five or six harder pieces which are at the 90% finished stage, but not yet ready for prime time.

28[/b]
Performers Name: Euan Morrison
Experience: 1yr-7months (but have previous music experience)
Direct music link:
http://www.box.net/shared/hufv96x8l0
Song title/composer: Angelina / Craig Armstrong
Source of music: Sheet music
Instrument used: Yamaha YDP-113 into Ivory software
Feedback wanted: Yes

Additional Info: A short and melancholic piece by the Scottish composer. My attempt was a little slower than the official recording.

29[/b]
Performers Name: Rockpeter
Experience: 3 yrs
Direct music link: http://www.box.net/shared/5o75qpuu0n
Song title/composer: Venetian Boat Song Op30 No 6/Mendelssohn
Source of music: Mendelssohn : selected SONGS WITHOUT WORDS, NEIL A. kJOS MUSIC COMPANY PUBLISHER
Feedback wanted: YES

Additional Info: a beautiful piece I enjoy playing. Still have some rough spots and it’s not under the fingers just yet. But I wanted to share something for this recital. Comments are always welcome.