Liszt Eb Concerto Live with Orchestra

[pianiststrongbad]

Hello everyone,
I posted some Godowsky Transcriptions last time I was here.  Here is something competely different.  Performed this last Saturday.  This was my first experience as a soloist with an orchestra.  Kinda scary.  The audio is taken from a camcorder, so it is not the best quality.  I may upload the video at some point.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

[rachfan]

Hey pianiststrongbad,

I had wondered why youl hadn't posted many recordings until The Swan and Trout quite recently.  You've been preparing this virtuosic concerto, a very large effort at that.  Good for you!!

I listened to your entire performance and enjoyed it a lot.  This concerto was one of Liszt's top favorites in his own ouevre.  You displayed a very good musical and technical command of the concerto, as evidenced in your soaring cantabile lines, exciting bravura sections, sensitive balance with orchestral solos, and excellent execution of the cadenzas.  Orchestra and piano stayed together for the most part too--good!  A few missed notes, but that's totally understandable, given your nervousness, this being your first engagement with orchestra.

If I were to make one suggestion, I would comment on your nuances, which, by and large, add a great deal to the lyricism your overall performance.  In a couple of instances though during the first movement, the freedom of ad libitum becomes slightly excessive in duration, in my opinion, thereby impeding the sense of continuity and fluidity.  (I only have the score for the Concerto in A here, not the E flat, so I can't direct you to those specific spots without going back and doing it on a timing basis.  Perhaps you'd want to listen to the out take and decide for yourself whether you would want to tighten those up just a tad.   As you know from that time that you, donjuan and I compared our renditions of Liszt's Petrach Sonet 104, which was a lot of fun, you often make a lot of a particular turn of phrase, whereas I tend to give it some emphasis and due, but in a slightly more straight-forward manner than you--so it's simply a different approach to interpretation.  Anyway, that's the only point I would make.  Sounded like you had a very enthusiastic audience there.  Congratulations on this very significant accomplishment!  I hope you get to play with orchestras more frequently in future.  Great job!!!   

David

[pianiststrongbad]

Hi Rachfan,
Thanks for the great feedback. 

I have played the whole thing so many times that changing the speeds of various spots in the first movement just seems strange.  Its true that I do use rubato more freely, as I remember we discovered from our recordings of the Petrarch Sonnet.  I have listened to recordings of the Concerto and they sound similar, so I am curious as to specifics.  Odds are that I am just so use to the phrasing that I am completely missing it.  I will definately keep it in mind for when I come back to the piece.  I am curious if anybody else thinks that there is a lack of continuity in the first mov, or in any of it for that matter. 

Again, thanks for the feedback!

To the Downloadees: would it be easier if I broke it up into four smaller files, rather than one large file, let me know.

[pianistimo]

you are strong and bad.  this is definately your 'thing.'   

when the harmonies multiply - like at the beginning - i'd clear the pedal just a bit more - but wow -you're really speeding along! 

[pianiststrongbad]

Finally got around to putting up the video of this, its in 4 parts:
part 1: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ns-tTkAm2N4
part 2: http://youtube.com/watch?v=jDT8HCg3lks
part 3: http://youtube.com/watch?v=3ux3gTBXwP4
part 4: http://youtube.com/watch?v=WJ8L1LZZN8Q

[nicco]

TROGDOR!!!!!!!!!

Well played