Scriabin - 5 preludes, op.16

[al]

Well it's only no.1 at the moment, the rest to follow later in the week.  This first one was recorded about a week ago, it's since been improved a bit.  I'll be performing the whole set soon, so I'd welcome any comments or suggestions.

The recording quality isn't that good but it's listenable (done at home on a cheap Samson mic).

[kelly_kelly]

Well, I think it sounds good, although my opinion isn't worth much.

[lostinidlewonder]

Nice! The middle voice in the LH needs to be drawn out for alllll its worth At the start it was very strong then seemed to get drowned out by the melody. I find that is the most interesting parts of Scriabin the more you emphasises his middle voice the more dimension is created in his music. Also the rubato and rit Bars 18-19 need more attention, broaden the playing more. That constant low B should be drawn out, feel the length of the string. I like to think of it  for example in Bar 20. I see the LH as B f c  B g  C e  G f  Where the larger notes are somewhat given more to than the lower case, really feel the B octaves supporting one another and then later on demonstrate how it moves to B-G B-F etc.

[gaer]

Well, I think it sounds good, although my opinion isn't worth much.

Why do you say that? I don't know what level you play at, what your background is, etc., but I get incredibly valid ideas from people who know almost nothing about piano or music. Sometimes I think people who have no formal training, which I'm not saying is true in your case!—make fantastically important observatations, although it can be quite frustrating when my wife, for example, says that something is wrong but can't tell me what. Yet when she says something is not quite right, she is always dead on.

Gary

[wzkit]

Well it's only no.1 at the moment, the rest to follow later in the week.  This first one was recorded about a week ago, it's since been improved a bit.  I'll be performing the whole set soon, so I'd welcome any comments or suggestions.

The recording quality isn't that good but it's listenable (done at home on a cheap Samson mic).

I like the interpretation on the whole. Your tempo and phrasing is well judged and sensuous, rather similar to the way I play it myself. The feeling I get from this piece is a kind of sensuousness, even erotic feeling, mixed with a tinge of brooding melancholy. What is the feeling you get from it?

One minor comment is that I thought you could be a bit more lush in your pedalling. I felt that you lift the pedal a bit too soon at the end of each bar, thus resulting in the third note of the middle voice in each bar being cut off prematurely. As lostinidlewonder has said, you could draw out that middle voice a little more, and one way to do that is by keeping the notes more sustained. Do not be afriad to let the sounds blend into each other. As long as your touch on the melodic notes are firm, the tones should be able to penetrate through the pedalled haze. You could for example, hold on to the right pedal until a split second into the start of the following bar, before lifting off.

Additionally, a little more dynamic range could be used, although I'm not sure if there's dynamcic compression because of the recording equipment used. For example in bar 7, where Scriabin indicates mezzo forte, could be louder than in bar 3, where it  is marked piano. One suggestion could be to use a little left pedal from bar 3 to 6, then lift it off at bar 7. At bar 11, again, the "echo" voice at the top register (A# G# A#) is marked pianissimo, as opposed to piano on the lower register, but that contrast is insufficient in your recording, in my view. Again, some creative use of the left and right pedals could create interesting effects here.   

Overall though, well done! Let us hear the other preludes when you are done

[al]

Thanks for the replies everyone! They've been helpful.  I performed this last night and it went pretty well, aside from some small problems with the piano. 

I felt that you lift the pedal a bit too soon at the end of each bar, thus resulting in the third note of the middle voice in each bar being cut off prematurely.

In my edition (Dover, I'm not sure how reliable it is), the slurs start and end on the last note of each bar, which I took as an indication for pedalling this way.  Scriabin also marks the last note of the middle voice as a quaver unlike the previous two crotchets.  Personally I agree that more pedalling can sound better, but I'm not sure it's what was intended.

Regarding the dynamic range, the recording seems to have compressed it all a bit.  I hardly used the left pedal in this recording, though, I'll try and make more use of it and see how it sounds.

[gaer]

In my edition (Dover, I'm not sure how reliable it is), the slurs start and end on the last note of each bar, which I took as an indication for pedalling this way.  Scriabin also marks the last note of the middle voice as a quaver unlike the previous two crotchets.  Personally I agree that more pedalling can sound better, but I'm not sure it's what was intended.

Following the exact written lengths of notes and using slurs for indications of when to pedal can be very misleading, although I don't know about this particular composition.

I don't play any string(ed) instruments, but I've been told that slurs, for instance on violin, or phrase marks, often indicate a change of direction of the bow, and that does not cause a break in sound as much as a slight accent. Or so I've been told. The meaning is totally different in brass, where the beginning of a new phrase indicates a light touch of the tongue rather than just a movement of the lips and a change in pitch, and this touching interrupts the air just enough to create a slight emphasis, but not necessarily a true break.

Ravel is one of the few composers who sometimes explicitly marks notes that are not to be held by the finger but that should be held by the pedal, using tie marks that run right into a rest. If you can, try getting two or three recordings of the pieces you are studying, ones that have very favorable reviews, then listen to what is done by people you admire. You may find out that the pedaling appears to go against the score but in fact actually captures the "spirit" of the music.

Gary