Piano World Home Page Forums Fun Stuff! - Parties, Tours, Projects & More... Member Recordings Chopin Scherzo & Haydn Sonata

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43-QxZQIO14

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgp2a2M3LF0

Recorded live at a recital.

Bravo! You play beautifully. Thanks for giving us a front row seat.

That was just outstanding! The scherzo was exciting. Thanks for sharing

Wow... You are professional, right?

WOW......just got done listening to the Chopin.
I put a comment on the video.....here's a copy/paste from it:
.....This is TERRIFIC!! Sounds not merely professional, but excellent professional. Maybe it also helps that my wife and I just happened to hear a BAD performance of the piece this evening, and so this is a RELIEF!! :-)
This has it all: Great technique and accuracy, clearly well planned, yet with a spontaneous and personal feel. One can even forget how commonplace this piece is because of the freshness of this playing.
A real pleasure!

BTW.......WHO is this "Max" guy? Someone you know?

I sure HOPE he's a professional, or else I'm not even an amateur.

.....and now I just listened to the Haydn.
Again here's a copy/paste from what I put on the video:

Just heard the Chopin 2nd Scherzo and was eager to hear how he does with this other style, and guess what -- it's just as special. This guy is amazing!!
And BTW this is a relatively uncommon Haydn sonata, isn't it? I was completely unfamiliar with it.

P.S. I assume he IS a pro, or at least a budding pro. He's too good not to be.
But, BECAUSE he's so good let's look for *something* to criticize.
Let's split hairs.

The only thing I can come up with is......Maybe the Haydn could have had more dynamic range on the LOW side -- i.e. softer in the soft sections.
But not necessarily......I'm just reaching.

Let me get this straight - you're 11 and joined PW 5 1/2 years ago?

Am I missing something here......

Neither factoid in there is close.

Not you, Max.

OK......fair enough.
(I wondered because that post was labeled as being to 'me')

Assuming he's just 11, imagine what he could be some day.
Heck, it's hard to imagine even what he is right now.

P.S. I'm assuming that the person who posted isn't he. So, it doesn't mean we have a member who joined when he was 5 1/2.
{edit: I see that the poster actually joined 7 1/2 years ago, which would mean that if it's Max, he was 3 1/2)}

A bit of post viewing and I get it. James is taking member recordings literally. It's his recording, not him playing. Still, pretty big 11 year old. To be fair though, a prodigy if I've ever heard one. The Chopin is not easy.

Wow.
Imagine playing this Scherzo at 11.
And extremely well too!
Bravo!

I assumed there was at least some personal connection between him and the pianist, but yes -- I see that it could have been just a linguistic misunderstanding.

Ambiguous phrases can be cool.
I mean, it's too bad when things aren't clear, but it's also sometimes hilarious.
Here's the one that's sometimes given as an example:
"Visiting relatives can be a nuisance."

Just got back from a long trip and saw the reply posts/comments. My sincere thanks to all of you who watched, and those who commented with kind & encouraging words on Max’s playing.

1. I am James (a really old and balding guy), and Max, the 11-year old in the video, is my son – hope this clarifies all confusions regarding identity.

2. Max is not a “pro” (yet) but just a piano student. By definition a pro is a pianist who makes a living (or at least draws a large portion of his income) by performing. And he is too young to know whether he wants to be a professional pianist yet.

3. Max started to learn to study piano playing at the age of four and half – so he has been playing the piano for a while now. He is NOT one of those exceptionally talented/gift “prodigies”. In fact he had weak fingers, uneven touch, and other problems which he struggled for a long while. He does work hard to overcome his weaknesses, and seems to be succeeding.

4. The Haydn sonata is the Hobs 41 XVI: 41, movement 1 – kind of rare.

5. As a newly acquired hobby I enjoy taking audio and video of Max playing the piano. I have been adding increasingly better equipment on both audio side and video side. However I seem to always mess up something when I record him playing piano. The last two video recordings the video was out of focus – I used everything manual but it was too dark for me to see the focus.

6. I have started uploading my recordings of Max only recently (Sept 09). Will continue to record and upload in the next couple of months, particularly now encouraged by the largely positively comments. Hope I do not mess up again though.

Thanks again for watching.

PS:

My previously attempt to record Max playing piano to be shared on this forum was a total mess-up: I took both video recording and still shots at Ori’s party on 13 Sept 09, only to find out that I had forgotten to put a memory card in the camcorder I was using. Thanks again Ori & Rebecca for your hospitality though.

Cool -- there IS a personal connection, as I had surmised.
(I'd say "son" is a pretty personal connection.) :-)

P.S. Your son is BEYOND FABULOUS.
His playing would be superb for someone of ANY age, and for a kid of 11, he's other-worldly.

And I have to respectfully disagree with you on one thing: He most definitely IS exceptionally talented and prodigious.
Maybe you've come across some other kids that you thought had superior gifts, but all things considered, I'm not sure how possible that is.

Which Prokofiev Sonata does he play in one of the other videos at his site?

Prokofiev Sonata #4, mvt. 3