Bach p+f in E, Scriabin etude op.8 no.2 (audition recording)

[schubertiad]

Here are the first couple of pieces for my audition:
I'm reasonably happy with these recordings i made today (is the bach prelude too boring???) and thankfully they were all single-takes. I do have time to make new recordings, so i'd appreciate any comments or advice in case i decide to redo. My other pieces (a chopin study, a haydn sonata and a poulenc piece) i'll post up as soon as i've done them.
Anyway, enjoy!
Schubertiad

[rachfan]

Hi schubertiad,

I listened to the Scriabin etude, and I think you played it with fine phrasing, articulation, control of  dynamics, expression and clarity of line.  Good job!  I don't think the piano is at the same high level of your playing though, but maybe it's the quality of the recording.  Somehow, it sounds like it's drowning under 10 feet of water.

[schubertiad]

Nearly 30 downloads and only 1 comment
Thanks for the feedback rachfan. I think i many have overdone it on the reverb. The recording level is the same as the bach, which sounded a bit too dry unedited. So i think i'll leave the bach as is, but make the scriabin a sound less aquatic.
I am going to try and record the final pieces tomorrow. Hopefully i'll have something to show for it then. Anyway Rachfan, your advice was appreciated, as is advice from anyone else who has listened. I'd be interested to hear what anyone thinks of the bach.

[the_duck]

love you mister

fingers crossed

[chozart]

Hi! I know this is a late reply but I don’t go on here often much more, and now that I did, I noticed this thread. I played the same P&F for my auditions

Here are my comments for the prelude (better late than never, right? Haha )
It’s ok, but I think you can take it just slightly faster to give it more movement, and more internal dynamics would help with that as well… your voicing is fine, but the overall – for me, at least – is that it was kind of ------ to use one of my friend’s expressions on baroque (he’s not a fan, but I am very much so ); ie, stagnant. It’s not a hard prelude, but you cannot show that (it sounded a little like lala ok so this is not really that hard my fingers are going.. you were much more focused in the fugue), and don’t let the listener become aware of that (at the same time, don’t romanticize it either!).

Fugue – nice job with bringing out the voices at appropriate times! I know that this is a really tricky fugue to play fast, especially when recording, but I think you could take this a little faster as well. Don’t think of it necessarily as upping the tempo, but as giving it more character. Although I thought you played the fugue much better, giving it just a little more “oomf” would make it more thrilling and anticipating for what’s coming next. Your dynamics are alright, but if you can give even more but with a deeper touch (something I advocate highly), you would get a great rich sound that I, personally, think is suitable for Bach. I generally play him rather robustly. I’m not encouraging you to necessarily do so if it doesn’t appeal to you, but it would help. Because the fugue is fast, this might seem kind of hard, but you should practice it VERY slowly with deep – almost exaggerated – placement, and you will notice the changes that naturally fall into place once you play it a tempo.

Anyway, nice job all in all