Scarbo

[elevateme_returns]

sorry acoustic is crap. comments would be appreciated!

[elevateme_returns]

also it was recorded live so please excuse the slips here & there

[rachfan]

Hi Elevateme,

Scarbo is one of my favorites, so I always listen to it.  I think you play this with a fully-developed concept, a sense of sweep, and wonderful technical bravura when required.  You have a full range of dynamic control, create wornderful moments of drama to underscore Bertrand's poem, as well as playing sensuous nuances.  I don't know how anyone can play this piece without a few wrong notes.  It never affected your concentration or continuity in any way,  so don't worry about it.  Just reexamine the choreography of those spots when practicing. 

You mentioned the poor accoustics (I assume you meant the hall), but I also sensed that the piano was not up to par for this piece--i.e., too mellow, particularly in the bass and lower tenor (a Bosendorfer, perhaps?).  Despite that, you play with fine clarity, and, in fact, I heard some inner lines and harmonies that I had never really noticed before.  You need to do some refining in a few places, but overall this was a very creditable performance in my opinion, and well received by your audience.  Great job!   

[jlh]

Bosies are usually clearer in that range, so unless someone screwed up the hammers (which a lot of techs do), I'd bet it's a different piano.

I'm listening to it now... I haven't studied this, but so far it sounds great despite the poor quality of recording!

[rachfan]

Yes,

Hammers in concert/recital grands undergo so much "doping" and needling over time to meet the wishes of individual artists, thus it's a wonder that they still work at all on some pianos.

[elevateme_returns]

its a steinway from 1905

[rachfan]

That's interesting.  Years ago I gave a recital at the King Hooper Mansion in Marblehead, MA on an old Steinway B, probably late 1890s or early 1900s vintage, and actually in very fine condition.  The only oddity was the keyboard compass--the lowest note on the bass bridge was C rather than A.  (I can't recall if the high treble was also truncated.)  Luckily, my program didn't call for anything at those extremes! 

[gruffalo]

wow, this is seriously amazing. this is now one of my fav scarbos. Your tone and colouring is phenomenal, especially for someone of your age. i really connected with this performance and i liked a lot of your ideas. can you re-up your ondine (either the last one or the one from this concert, i believe u performed the whole gaspard this time?). i lost your last ondine 

Gruff

[elevateme_returns]

wow thanks!! i'll upload all of gaspard on here and acidplanet after my gcses. so in july sometime. also i'll send you arrau's scarbo

[franzliszt2]

I enjoyed that performance a lot. It was very mature, and I loved the contrasts. Best bit's for me were the silences. Timed to perfection.

[gruffalo]

I enjoyed that performance a lot. It was very mature, and I loved the contrasts. Best bit's for me were the silences. Timed to perfection.

yea, i forgot to mention. those were priceless.

[elevateme_returns]

thanks so much i think the silences can only be pulled off when youre in the right mood & luckily for me i was !

[jlh]

Yes,

Hammers in concert/recital grands undergo so much "doping" and needling over time to meet the wishes of individual artists, thus it's a wonder that they still work at all on some pianos.

Also, from what I've learned from the Bosendorfer technician that came to the states directly from the company, a lot of technicians ruin Bosies because they're trained to work on Steinways and other pianos but not Bosies, so by working on them like that they actually ruin them.

Glad I was right about it not being a Bos... lol

[elevateme_returns]

cool lol

[opus10no2]

  Damn, this is impressive, it makes me wanna hug you alot 

[elevateme_returns]

erm       thanks   .. well at least its a comment about my playing ..

[tradge]

erm       thanks   .. well at least its a comment about my playing ..

Simon, that Scarbo makes ME want to hug you  =P lmao!

[elevateme_returns]

Simon, that Scarbo makes ME want to hug you  =P lmao!

im not touching you with a barge pole lol

[tradge]

im not touching you with a barge pole lol

In that case I want a divorce!!  lol

[thorn]

this actually sounds like a professional performance.

well done =]

im really impressed

*slightly disturbed about talk of hugs and barge poles though*

[tradge]

this actually sounds like a professional performance.

well done =]

im really impressed

*slightly disturbed about talk of hugs and barge poles though*

Oh don't worry, my friend Simon here has "issues" =P

[elevateme_returns]

funny. lol yes this is a bump

[tradge]

quite right too! this is an exceptionally musical rendition of scarbo!

[clavicembalisticum]

Clarity/Articulation: (somewhere between 8 and 9 but read the note below)
Score - accuracy: 8/10 (in ravel's music, a single note has a profound effect on sound at any speed that you don't pass over it easily, he is completely unforgiving of this :s)
Expression: 8/10
Speed: 9/10
Pauses: 9/10
Color Jumps: 9/10
Instrument quality: 7/10
Recording sample: 7/10

The point is this. This is definitely well played. Your contrasts are ok everywhere in there. The only problem has to do with the speed syncing up to them. There are some wonderful passages that because of the high speed may make their quality fly away from the listener; some pass less abruptly and other more abruptly. This is the only issue that I can find but it is also highly dependent on the instrument as well, especially if you played this for the first time in that piano.

Another thing I noted was an excellent control of the lower register, the rendering is colourful and to the point.

Despite we might have contrasted elsewhere on the rending of the Gaspard as a whole from different recording artists (my beliefs have not changed on this), your _live_ recording would definitely put some very notorious professionals to shame. On a better piano with the same recording quality this would definitely show up at least 20%+ because the technical potential is there.

Speaking out of my personal experience, the difficulty with this particular piece is studying every time slice you dedicate to each outburst correctly. It demands a lot from the instrument as well and this is why i believe that the leaps and bounds could have been better on another piano (by the way, didn't the upper register feel a little funny there while you touched the keys?)

I would love to hear a rendering of the L'escalier du diable, should you ever consider the piece.

A very good performance.

[tradge]

Amazing what a 16 year old can do, huh?

[clavicembalisticum]

Amazing what a 16 year old can do, huh?

No, amazing what a 12 year old can do:

In 1982, when only 12 years old, he played Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, a technically very demanding work for piano, at Carnegie Hall in New York, with the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mstislav Rostropovitch. He was wildly applauded, and his performance that evening was called one of the most impressive musical debuts of the century. "The boy is a miracle of nature, a musical phenomenon sent by God," said Rostropovitch.

From wikipedia, link here

That is the definition of impressive.

[tradge]

No, amazing what a 12 year old can do:

From wikipedia, link here

That is the definition of impressive.

that doesn't mean that being able to play Scarbo at 16 isn't, fool!

[elevateme_returns]

ugh i hate dmitri sgouros. but many thanks for the kind words & the detailed review, and thanks for the piece recommendation. i will be sure to look for it

[clavicembalisticum]

that doesn't mean that being able to play Scarbo at 16 isn't, fool!

Played it first at 14, so what does that make me?

Kind words, in anycase.

[clavicembalisticum]

ugh i hate dmitri sgouros. but many thanks for the kind words & the detailed review, and thanks for the piece recommendation. i will be sure to look for it

It is a ligeti etude, i think you will like it.

[mephisto]

It is a ligeti etude, i think you will like it.

I know he will hate it(I love it btw).

[elevateme_returns]

i heard it... i dont love it or hate it. more towards hate than love. but its interesting

[pita bread]

I would love to hear a rendering of the L'escalier du diable, should you ever consider the piece.

Funny you should mention that. My best friend has been programming Gaspard and L'escalier together recently.

[clavicembalisticum]

Funny you should mention that. My best friend has been programming Gaspard and L'escalier together recently.

I just love those two, and they match pretty well in concert. L'escalier also matches very well with Scriabin's Black Mass (sonata no. 9).

[liszt-essence]

I have to agree with all the others here: your performance is amazing..

You know what I like so much about it?

It's raw, it's pure and it's fast but not too fast; the essence is kept and expressed in a raw and fantasy full way. It's hard to describe.. but it's like you 'breathe' the essence of this piece, the musical essence of it into it, and are not restricted by technical and mental conditions about 'how it should be'.

I love your dark, raw understanding of the piece..

Could it be better? Yes, ofcourse. There is one thing that comes to mind. Sometimes, the clarity is lost here and there, it's your articulation or your pedalling, that can make it a bit blurry here and there. If you can give the piece more clarity WITHOUT LOSING WHAT YOU CAME UP WITH.. go for it.. If not; forget it and keep it this way.

I love it.

[elevateme_returns]

omg thank you so much!! only just seen this comment.

thanks thats exactly the effect i was going for.  not looking for excuses or anything but the hall acoustic played a key factor . lol

[jakev2.0]

I prefer elevateme's scarbo to any of Sgouros' playing.

Well done, man. Sorry for not believing your claims a few months ago. 

[elevateme_returns]

means a lot mate thank you xxxxxxxxxx

[annasantora]

Whilst searching for a recording of Sgouros playing the Ravel Gaspard I found a complete video recently posted to youtube:-

Listening to this great interpretation, I really don't understand some of the dismissive comments about Sgouros in this thread, which I unearthed at the same time!  Compositionally, Gaspard is a masterpiece of proportion and intelligence.  Sgouros plays with fantastic rhythmic dexterity, avoids the trap of being overly impressionistic, yet manages to express the seductive poetry and tonal variety in the most captivating way.

His virtuosity IS dazzling (see the youtube comment about his "astonishingly clear trills") and this phenomenal technique could trigger a knee-jerk negative reaction on the part of some.... 

But being able to play like this is nothing to sneeze at.  He doesn't come across as exhibiting his technique for technique's sake.  What's more, virtuosity and sheer velocity can themselves reveal new information about a work, unfolding new dimensions - at least in the hands of a master, as Sgouros undoubtedly is in this piece. 

I wouldn't compare his reading to the granitic solidity of say a Michelangeli, but Sgouros has his own highly individual take, which I truly admire!