Chopin Impromptu in G flat op.51

[orlandopiano]

This is a semi-professional recording I made of the 3rd Chopin Impromptu (my favorite).  Enjoy...

[da jake]

Nice control and tone, but in all  honesty, I found it boring.

It sounds like a nocturne and completely lacked the improvisatory feel of...well...an impromptu. I think it would be a lot better faster and more off the cuff.

I think your interp. was perfectly acceptable...these comments are just a reflection of my personal taste.

Cziffra's Tokyo performance:

https://s6.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3RYJ0ZFRQBBFJ1U8R9XWFHD9QG

[orlandopiano]

Nice control and tone, but in all  honesty, I found it boring.

It sounds like a nocturne and completely lacked the improvisatory feel of...well...an impromptu. I think it would be a lot better faster and more off the cuff.

I think your interp. was perfectly acceptable...these comments are just a reflection of my personal taste.

Cziffra's Tokyo performance:

https://s6.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3RYJ0ZFRQBBFJ1U8R9XWFHD9QG

Cziffra plays it more like a fast etude, which does nothing for me.  The piece has too many notes, and it's robbed of its beauty when it's rushed through like the 1st Impromptu (although this is probably the more "correct" way to play it since it's marked vivace).  I much prefer this piece played by, say, Murray Perahia (as evident by my choice of slow tempo).

Thanks for your comments though.

[da jake]

I would agree with you if we were talking a Schubert Impromptu, but I think Chopin's just aren't  harmonically interesting enough or just plain good enough to be played as "deep pieces". Again, personal opinion.

[teresa_b]

Hi orlando,

I enjoyed your playing very much!  You obviously have a lovely feel for Chopin.  In all honesty I also like a faster tempo, although it is surely a matter of personal preference.  (For example, I have heard certain Mozart pieces played WAY too fast, and "too many notes" becomes an apt description.) 

I agree with da jake about the feeling of "Impromptu" in Chopin's parlance being rather tossed off and spur-of-the-moment.  I would disagree about the music not being "good enough," but perhaps it loses its spontaneity a bit when played too slowly and thoughtfully. 

Nevertheless, you play really well, and thanks for the listen!!
Teresa

[orlandopiano]

I would agree with you if we were talking a Schubert Impromptu, but I think Chopin's just aren't  harmonically interesting enough or just plain good enough to be played as "deep pieces". Again, personal opinion.

I am not so sure that Schubert's Impromptus are any "deeper" than Chopin's.  Well, if they are, they are definitely not any more harmonically interesting. While the harmonic structure of Chopin's may not be complex, they are wildly chromatic- in particular the one I recorded. The A section has some of those most exquisite and beautiful accented passing-tones in all the repertoire (no joke) but you don't catch that beauty when it is played at a frenetic pace, ala Cziffra (and believe me, I am the biggest Cziff fan this side of the 1970s).

Just because a piece was likely improvised by its creator, doesn't mean us mortals can't treasure every note and play it out like a lush, expansive tone poem.

[da jake]

There are some pieces that I think that this interpretative approach works with to great effect, but I think slowing down the Chopin impromptu is like slowing down the Wanderer Fantasy. The structure of the latter is phenomenal, but the individual parts aren't meant to be put under a figurative magnifiying glass.

That would be like taking a close up picture of Laetitia Casta's forehead. Though the individual parts that make the French supermodel up are quite nice, it's the beauty of the sum of the parts that we wonder at.   

[violinist]

I'm not so familiar with these pieces, but I love the way the music is masssaged.  We call it lots of mush and gush for violin pieces... nothing wrong with that.... very musical!