Piano Forum
Piano Board => Audition Room => Topic started by: piulento on March 18, 2016, 04:25:25 PM
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I started this piece about a week ago, but I somehow can't seem to get the right sound out of it, and I'm not sure why exactly.
Would like to hear your comments - what can I do to make it sound better? Are there any good recordings you can refer me to?
Please forgive the few mistakes and the poor audio quality.
Thanks in advance :)
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I think what this suffers from the most is the lack of variety in articulation. From my point of view, this is still very much "classical Schubert" despite the strong shades of romanticism. So instead of creating variety through dynamics alone I would suggest for you to be more adventurous with your articulation (staccatos for example) in the exposition, putting more thought into how to shape the musical phrases etc. Not just changing the dynamics from mf to fortissimo...
Also strong pedal works in some areas and it doesn't work too well on others. Aside from more articulation, the exposition would benefit a lot more from less pedaling and a gentler left-hand approach! In your first play through the exposition your left hand was quite harsh in some areas, but you improved on that aspect during your repeat. Was it nerves? lol
But yeah remember, in classicism you should refrain from overpowering your left hand...
Quite a bit of technical flubs during your recap, but i suspect its because you're not comfortable with it yet, since it's only been a week. Slower+rigid practice can cure that.
During the return of the main theme (the little quasi fugue section) the counter-phrases were overshadowed by your pedaling. I would make it a little bit more lighter and concentrate on making the voices more audible. Nice job on the ending, that's exactly where I'd inject the "romantic" side of me for this piece!
Anyways despite what i said I enjoyed your playing, you seem to enjoy it quite a lot. Hope you will post your polished version in the future!
Oh are you planning to learn the entire sonata too? If so that would be sooooooo cool.
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Anyways despite what i said I enjoyed your playing, you seem to enjoy it quite a lot. Hope you will post your polished version in the future!
Oh are you planning to learn the entire sonata too? If so that would be sooooooo cool.
Thanks a lot for your comment!
I completely agree that I need to put more thought into the articulations (especially that damn staccato). Also, you caught me red handed - strong pedal and left hand are some of my greatest downfalls... I recently started picking out pieces that will help me fight it, that's why I chose Schubert too (and Mozart, and Bach, etc.) so hopefully I'll gradually get over it :)
I still haven't decided if I'm gonna play the entire sonata. I really love it, but I'm sort of afraid It'll take me so long to learn that I'll grow tired of it half way through (especially that 4th movement, speaking of articulation issues...). Also, the fact that I spend most of my week in the army so I don't really have time to play doesn't really help...
Have you played it? Would you say it's too big of a bite?
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Schubert's sonatas are some of the most curiosity-arousing and thought-provoking compositions in piano. One must understand his circumstance and context at the time the sonata movement was written if can be.
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I can't say anything about you but for me the entire sonata would be a massive challenge considering that I dont have much experienced with larger scale works. Anyways if you feel cnfident about it you can always try! As long as you know how to practice properly you should be fine. I would recommend watching this video if you want any cool tips about learning long pieces properly:
Schubert's sonatas are some of the most curiosity-arousing and thought-provoking compositions in piano. One must understand his circumstance and context at the time the sonata movement was written if can be.
lol its schubert, how hard can it be? It was either:
1. "Crap I'm really poor right now. I need money..for food..shelter etc"
2. "Girl I like doesn't like me back" or "I'm too shy to tell her I like her"
3. "Holy crap I think I might be dying"
4. All of the above
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lol its schubert, how hard can it be? It was either:
1. "Crap I'm really poor right now. I need money..for food..shelter etc"
2. "Girl I like doesn't like me back" or "I'm too shy to tell her I like her"
3. "Holy crap I think I might be dying"
4. All of the above
Haha I actually laughed out loud at this
If I'm not mistaken this particular sonata is 1 + 3 ;)
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It's not bad, especially for only a week.
That said, there are a few things to work on:
- Pedal: Since this is still fairly classical/early romantic Schubert, you don't need to pedal it all that much. Not that you can't, it just often benefits from a cleaner sound.
- Articulation: As MJames rightly pointed out, your exposition is a little boring since your expression is coming mainly from dynamics, so work on that.
- Balance: Your LH is overpowering your right a decent bit.
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It's not bad, especially for only a week.
That said, there are a few things to work on:
- Pedal: Since this is still fairly classical/early romantic Schubert, you don't need to pedal it all that much. Not that you can't, it just often benefits from a cleaner sound.
- Articulation: As MJames rightly pointed out, your exposition is a little boring since your expression is coming mainly from dynamics, so work on that.
- Balance: Your LH is overpowering your right a decent bit.
Thanks!
I've been working on these things (and plenty of other problems) in the past few days and it already sounds better!
Right now I'm trying to figure out the proper legato-staccato balance in the first few bars of the exposition. It's really interesting, it requires a lot of thematic analysis.