VIDEO - Chopin - Heroic polonaise op 53

[jamie_liszt]

Hey

I seen somebody recorded a video of this polonaise and I decided i will re-learn this today and record it, all went well, took me 4 hours to re learn it, however i couldn't memorize the slow part after 5:20 so i just sight read. Havn't played it in a year or so for any performances, but would like to in about 9 months time, so could you please tell me where i could improve and how,

 i already know about the following mistakes:

37 sec i stuffed up starting on the wrong octave notes, 2:56 i stuffed up the scale, 5:24 i made a slight mistake but continued, 5:37 i stopped because thats when i started to sight read and i forget where on the page it started and i stuffed up, i couldnt be bothered fixing this. And other small mistakes i made that will fade with more practice and memorization. i also known it could be played faster, i realized it was slow when i listened to it.
oh ps: the video stuffs up at the end with the timing. its still watchable
heres the link:

http://rapidshare.de/files/11781592/heroic_polo53.wmv.html

[instromp]

That was very NICE!!!! I mean i wouldnt be surprised if anyone wouldnt have mistakes with that difficult piece of music. That was a good tempo you kept it at to be just picking it up again. Bravo ,lol. Very nice performance.

[brewtality]

I'm currently trying to dload this, my internet is dodgy so it might fail. I will post my thoughts later. In any case, it seems like you know what your problems are. Btw, sorry, but are you actually Australian? your spelling is horrendously american. This is something I can't tolerate.

[drumstix]

whoa!  that's very good...even though you're just starting to pick it up again, you seem to have very good control over what you're doing.  (you probably saw in my video that i can hit most of the notes, but i don't always have the technique to hit them gracefully)  keep workin on that slow section; it'll come back after a little while, i'm sure.  i'd love to see where this is after a couple months of work!  excellent start, keep it up!

-kerry

p.s.  it's neat to see someone else play this; listening to recordings just isn't the same

[jamie_liszt]

Thanks for the replies, yes its been a while since I have played the full piece, after I practice this more I will post a better recording.

I just listed the noticable mistakes that will be fixed with more practice, and im asking for mistakes or anything that people picked up that i can improve (uneven notes, scales, wrong notes, wrong rhythm, etc..)

PS: Im Australian 

[brewtality]

PS: Im Australian 

Spell properly then! No one in this country spells correctly anymore. I blame American influence. Soon people will be spelling metre and centre as meter and center. UGH!

Btw, Sorry, I've got issues. 

Your playing was quite nice, you didn't bang it out which I liked, but it could have used a bit more energy. I felt like the momentum was dragging a little. Good work, be sure to post another vid when you get it polished. 

[gruffalo]

looks like you have it under your fingers well, considering that you havent played it for a long time beforehand. i could comfortably say that that would be ready for performance in a few months. keep it up.

Gruff

[steve jones]

Jamie,

Very good mate, you make it look effortless! I long for the day when I can play with such finesse.

How long did you say you've been playing (in total) btw?

[jamie_liszt]

Thanks! If you are asking how long I have been playing the piano for, I think i started lessons around 7 or 8, and I am now 16, but never took an interest until 14 almost  15

[tompilk]

Thanks! If you are asking how long I have been playing the piano for, I think i started lessons around 7 or 8, and I am now 16, but never took an interest until 14 almost  15

You are almost teh same as me!!! Except i started a little younger....  but im not as good as you i dont think....

[steve jones]

Thanks! If you are asking how long I have been playing the piano for, I think i started lessons around 7 or 8, and I am now 16, but never took an interest until 14 almost  15

Ahhh, it must be nice to have gotten the rudimentary stuff out of the way when you were a kid. I am having to go through those motions now (at 24) and wish I could skip to the good stuff (or should I say, the stuff I REALLY want to play)!

[donjuan]

Thanks for the video, Jamie!

Good for you..... I don't think I'd ever be able to play piano with a sweatshirt suffocating my wrists like that, so I must say congratulations. 

Hey, for 4 hours, I must say you really have most of it under your belt.  Obviously, it is still early and you seem a little hesitant and cautious, but the control is there (something I can't say about my own playing), and that is most important.  Without that control, your accomplishment in the piece in the future is bottle-necked because of not getting the elementary stuff taken care of (what happens to me most of the time).  This is not a problem for you I can see, so I really don't have anything bad to say.

It would be great if you could maybe spend another 4 hours ( or longer) practicing it and make another video so we can see how the finished version emerged from this early stage.

[I Love Xenakis]

meh

[invictus]

A crescendo in the beginning is VERY important, and it REALLY annoys me the fact that many pianists just ignore that and play it technically
Don't forgot about rit. before the melody pops up again, give it a sense of grandiose
Try playing it faster IMO

[jamie_liszt]

I never usually wear Jumpers, Jackets or Long sleeved shirts, but it was cold that day and I was trying to keep warm so my fingers could move (it didn't work though).

The mic was half to blame about dynamics, in that recording I played it at a comfortable speed just picking the notes up, I havn't had time to practice over the past 4 days, hopefully tomorrow I can work on it.

[hodi]

i must say, that the greatest and most beautiful part of this composition starts at 5:08 and u do it so well, so much better than many pianists that i have heard..

good job!

[letters]

you have a light springy touch that i like very much oo that rhymes
wow ur 16 like me i dont think i could play that! i started lessons at 5. thats great for 4 hours of re-learning!