Intermezzo in E minor by Brahms

[pet]

Ok, so here's the deal....

Usually I play pieces from the Baroque and Classical Eras, so pieces from the Romantic Era take me a while to get (not the notes, but the musical aspect of it).  This isn't a great recording (compared to what I have heard on this forum), but hey, I'll get there eventually.  I played this piece better two weeks ago, but apparently I have played it too much and now it's sloppy..  This is also my first Brahms piece (I'm a Bach and Mozart person).

When you listen to it, don't put the volume so high because it has some kind of background noise that I can't get rid of...lol

And most important......be brutally honest!  I'm a big girl...I can take it..   

Thanks!

[teresa_b]

Hi pet,

I think you play very well!  You have the right idea, but IMHO you can make this more "Romantic"--especially more "Brahmsian".  I have found that Brahms improves with age, so the longer you play his pieces, the better they come out. 

My suggestions?  A little less "agitato" and more "dolce" in the first theme and its repetitions.  I think those repeated double sixteenths (are they sixteenths?) can be very muted compared to the melody. 

Your tempo sounds just right  in the lovely middle section.  All I would say is,  more flowing sound and less blocky on the beats.  Bring out the gorgeous bass arpeggios, etc--but think "horizontal" and "flowing" for the melody and the accompaniment. 

At the end, it sounds like the ritardando just appears out of nowhere--Maybe think more sostenuto as you approach the last line, and slow it more gradually until it sort of vanishes.

You have already done a lot with this--overall, it's beautiful--just needs that rich flowing quality throughout to unify it.

All the best,
Teresa

[pet]

Thank you Teresa!!  You gave me exactly the type of critique that I needed.  I will work on what you suggested!