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Topic: Schubert D537, 1st movement  (Read 3466 times)

Offline kelly_kelly

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Schubert D537, 1st movement
on: January 24, 2009, 11:32:48 PM
Disclaimer: I am not to be held liable for any distress (psychological, intellectual, or physical) caused by this performance. It was in one take without warming up; I probably should have re-recorded but I don't have time. There are plenty of mistakes, the most notable being a memory slip that caused me to repeat a section  :-[ And my piano's quite out of tune...

But if, despite all these issues, anyone could bring themselves to comment, I would greatly appreciate it. This is a work in progress and I would really like advice.
It all happens on Discworld, where greed and ignorance influence human behavior... and perfectly ordinary people occasionally act like raving idiots.

A world, in short, totally unlike our own.
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Offline pollydendy

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Re: Schubert D537, 1st movement
Reply #1 on: January 25, 2009, 12:18:38 AM
Hi, I was very happy to hear your piece.
So for critique:
1.  i felt that you became fatigued after the last grand pause.  When you practice, is that because you play it through from beginning to end or is it that you have learned it in sections and have  less play at the end?  Regardless,  You should play the last of it more when you  are not fatigued from the beginning, and get good at it too.  When you play this  you should play in its entirety as well as work in smaller sections, and back to front as well.
2.  I would like to hear more or exaggerated dynamics, after all it schubert:  tell the stories, and emphasize the contrasts and drama.
3. Work on bringing out the left hand when the melody is  there, th inner voice would be very interesting , and I hear more of the right hand octaves. 
4.  Don't be afraid  to speed up a little in the bouncy parts and slow down and emphasize  those big chords.  You did it a couple of times and I really liked that.
5. The ending...make it big.  It should say THE END  (taa daa!!!!)   Don't  chicken out there.  It should have completion in a big way
6.  You have done some really nice work on this piece .  A few wrong notes are  correctable if you mark each place when you play with a pencil, then later working out each one individually.    Additionally, this is painful, but very effective:  record yourself, and listen to the recording  while you look at your music  make notes as you hear yourself regarding things that you need to improve, change, and pay attention to.   

Offline kelly_kelly

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Re: Schubert D537, 1st movement
Reply #2 on: January 25, 2009, 12:55:00 AM
Thanks for the detailed critique! I really appreciate your advice. I agree that I lost energy/focus at the end. I was worried that my mother would come down and I would have to rerecord the whole thing, so I was somewhat anxious to get it done. And I know it sounds like a cheap excuse, but I honestly feel that I used more dynamics than are evident in the recording. But I will try to increase the contrasts nevertheless.
It all happens on Discworld, where greed and ignorance influence human behavior... and perfectly ordinary people occasionally act like raving idiots.

A world, in short, totally unlike our own.

Offline zheer

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Re: Schubert D537, 1st movement
Reply #3 on: January 28, 2009, 07:46:53 PM
This is a work in progress and I would really like advice.

  Not bad at all, you play it with a lot of musicality, I like the tempo but I think it ought to be performed a little faster. It is a really demanding Piece.
" Nothing ends nicely, that's why it ends" - Tom Cruise -

Offline kelly_kelly

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Re: Schubert D537, 1st movement
Reply #4 on: January 29, 2009, 02:16:53 AM
Thanks for the encouragement, zheer. I also agree that it could go faster. I seem to go back and forth on the tempo. For example, I think I played it faster today than I have before. When I recorded, I think I wanted to be cautious because I only had time for one take.
It all happens on Discworld, where greed and ignorance influence human behavior... and perfectly ordinary people occasionally act like raving idiots.

A world, in short, totally unlike our own.
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