My Recital- Ravel

[pianiststrongbad]

Hi all,
I posted video files yesterday, and today I decided I would post audio just in case if people had slow internet connections.  As mentioned in the other thread, any feedback would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

Here are two pieces from the Miroirs:
La Vallee des cloches
Alboarda del Gracioso

[pianistimo]

personally, i don't think ravel, chopin, and liszt are your forte yet.  but, they well could be later.  too many notes sticking out and not a 'whole' feel.  it's like a multitude of notes walking around by themselves.  sort of like nyc.  you have to have some notes shaking hands and interacting more.

very difficult pieces. 

the bass on that piano is too 'flimsy,' imo.  the 'tenor' voice in that last piece in ravel should stand out with good voicing on the piano - and it doesn't really have that kind of a sound.  the treble has a ragtime sound. 

maybe i'm way off - but, i'd pick a piano two steps up in terms of key pressure.  there is no brightness to the tenor voice that ravel is bringing out in the second piece.  he is contrasting it with the treble and the bass.  on this piano, all three sound the same.

[kriskicksass]

Aside from the technical comments pianistimo gave, you should also consider musicality. Alborada del Gracioso = Morning song of the Jester. Your tone is too harsh for this music, and there's nothing light-hearted about your interpretation. Ravel is classical at heart, not Romantic like Debussey, and it's especially clear in the Alborada that if you play with too much severity and sudden surges of emotion you'll just cloud the music.

Also, I know that the Alborada is one of the hardest pieces in the solo piano repertoire, but you can't use it as a frenzied show piece. You need to make it as light as possible, and any virtuosity required should be played as if it were no difficulty at all--obviously that's not always possible, but if you can make the right mental state the music will benefit.