Brahms Intermezzo op.117/1

[dabbler]

Here is another Brahms. Even more than with the waltz, I'd appreciate suggestions and criticism here.

[dorfmouse]

Well, I've just found this after a long day at the chalk-face and will now drive home feeling very serene. Thank you.

[theswede]

The interpretation is very sensitive, the very slow tempo in the middle section was very interesting.

[teresa_b]

Lovely!  I really like your interpretation.  You got the lovely, rocking lullaby theme, and the slow middle section was very nice--I have played this, and it is not so easy to achieve the right feel while keeping it flowing. 

Great!!!
Teresa

[pianistimo]

i think it's very lovely, too.  however, i think it is slightly too slow at the beginning.  i would like to hear less of a dramatic distance between andante moderato and the un poco piu andante.  just as with dynamics - only a little change is really necessary for the ears - but it makes it have more 'motion' at the beginning.

also, really picky crit - but i think you changed pedal on the last three chords.  if not, forgive me.  i think they sound slightly disconnected.  maybe just leave the pedal down?  you have a delightful ability to play soft and very soothing - as someone else pointed out.  don't want to ruin it at the end.

i listened again and think you could exaggerate slightly on the last three chords - making the first one loudest, second less loud, and third the final finish to the harmonies.  sort of like what you are told about playing half notes vs eighth notes (to play the half notes louder so the sound carries) - same with chords that are to be held out over a longer period of time than the hands hold them.  you have the eighth note rests - but no pedal change indication.  so it seems - he means to  lift the hands but combine the chordal sounds.  someone correct me if i am wrong.  brahms was not an entirely 'pianistic' person - and some of his composing methods (ways of writing it down) were not as clear as other composers.

[pianistimo]

also - the adagio part seems too fast.  my reasoning:  the time signature doesn't change to 1/4 note.  it stays 6/8.  so the beat is really on the 1/8th notes.  also, you are setting up for the exact tempo you are going to take - basically one or two measures before you start the middle section.  it has to flow evenly with those two measures - as though you are leading into this tempo exactly. 

[dabbler]

Thanks a lot for your comments, Teresa and pianistimo! pianistimo, I will try out how it sounds if I speed up the outer parts a bit and slow down in the middle section. The suggestion to arrive at the tempo of the middle section before it starts is certainly a very good one. About the pedalling, I don't remember what I did, but I agree that it's better not to change here (btw, I'm playing on a digital, and the pedal is simply 0/1 which is very bad, but I'll finally be able to buy a grand this year, can't wait for it... :-)). Have you listened to Helene Grimaud's playing of the piece? I like her a lot usually, but I think she overloads the middle section with passion and gets really loud, while I think this should really be more of an introvert, dream-like passage.

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Very nice, sensitive playing. It captures the mood well. I can't find my score of this, so I'm going on my memory of when I played this, but one minor thing.. when you play the theme in the major sections, have you thought about the voicing? For instance, in the first line of the score, the right hand melody is in the middle part, and I can't make up my mind whether you project it enough. Obviously you don't want to overemphasize the line or you risk destroying the mood, which is very good as it currently is.

[dabbler]

Thanks, ronde_des_sylphes! 

when you play the theme in the major sections, have you thought about the voicing? For instance, in the first line of the score, the right hand melody is in the middle part, and I can't make up my mind whether you project it enough. Obviously you don't want to overemphasize the line or you risk destroying the mood, which is very good as it currently is.

You make a very important point here. Yes, I have thought a lot about the voicing issues. But for me it's very hard to realize in these sections what I'd like to do, because the melody is in the middle part (as you mentioned), but the hand is playing full chords and at the same time it has to sound very soft, flowing, and delicate. When I try to bring out the melody more prominently, I always lose the overall sound...    Actually, the recording that I posted was one of the better attempts of mine. I think I'll come back to this piece from time to time and try again.

[teresa_b]

Have you listened to Helene Grimaud's playing of the piece? I like her a lot usually, but I think she overloads the middle section with passion and gets really loud, while I think this should really be more of an introvert, dream-like passage.

Interesting, and I agree with you.  I haven't heard her play this piece, but I heard her play the two Op 79 Rhapsodies on the radio.  I did not like her Brahms that well--I thought she was too emphatic and almost "bangy" at the expense of the beautiful lines.

All the best,
Teresa

[pianistimo]

i like your interpretation of the middle better!  dreamy - as you say.  after all - he did mark it pp and not p like the beginning and ending.  very very difficult to play pianissimo and slowly at the same time - and keep the flow.  brahms is harder than it looks.  i learned to connect a lot with the fingers first and then add pedal.