Schumann concerto with orchestra

[crazy for ivan moravec]

ok... i'm posting my performance with the orchestra of the schumann concerto. before listening to it, please prepare your kind hearts and be nice to us!

the orchestra is composed of non-professional musicians, meaning they work in other fields (bankers, math teachers, students, etc.) but know how to play an instrument, thus the MCO foundation put up the orchestra for these amateur players so they can have some sort of a good serious hobby.

as for me, i have no excuse... i'm studying to be a serious musician so whatever happens, i should always be in my best shape for a performance. hehe, sad to say i wasn't in that top shape for some reasons. listening to this recording, i can't forgive myself for that crap i made esp with the 3rd movement... BUT i'm so happy that finally i was able to play with orchestra and that's more important for me, well, for now at least.

so, enjoy!!!:)


- crazy

[troglodyte]

1st movement: I'm impressed. You play with great passion and make it really interesting. Otherwise I have always thought this concerto a bit boring but perhaps I have just been listening to the wrong recordings. You do a great job, especially in forming the phrases. I guess you use more rubato than normally done. There is a danger in it becoming disconnected but I think you pull it off beautifully. Also the orchestra is not bad - of course not always in exact time or tune, but in an honest attempt at conveying genuine feeling.

[zheer]

Well done IVON and congratulation, i hate to think haw much hard work went into that.

[crazy for ivan moravec]

thanks, zheer. yes, i did put much effort on it when i first learned it.

[crazy for ivan moravec]

i see, 47 downloads for the first movement because it is such a beautiful work by schumann, only 14 for the 2nd movement coz nobody likes listening to it, and the winner is the 3rd movement with 47 downloads because i said i messed it up... hahaha.

[mutedstring]

listened to the 1st mvmt, and now back for the 2nd and the 3rd

[musicsdarkangel]

excellent, I always love how much fire and passion you put into your recordings... you definitely have your own personality.

[crazy for ivan moravec]

thanks. but sometimes i also need to discipline that flame coz i always get carried away, end up playing wrong notes. hehe, my problem is how do i do that?

[Teddybear]

Uh.. wow. Ok. The first movement is good, I think. You're one of the very few if not the only recording pianist here whom I actually like to listen. It seems that you have a good sound and lots of musicality. Therefore I was quite disappointed with the second movement. You're not paying any attention to the phrases. You play every eight note separately, especially in the beginning. Frankly, it sounds awful.

About the third movement: it sounds hurried and panicky. I'd like to hear it a little more relaxed, because your musicality is pretty much thrown out of the window here.

Good job anyway, even if there was some fumbling. It wasn't that disturbing, well, maybe a little in the third movement. How long have you been playing this? I'm trying to learn the second and the third movement at the moment, it's a lot of fun.

PS. I wouldn't be this harsh if I didn't think you're doing really well already.

[crazy for ivan moravec]

yes i agree, with you. the 3rd movement is hurried and panicky... so now that you've said it, i have the opportunity to tell you the real story: the conductor suddenly decided to bring up the tempo!!!!!!!! f**k. how unmusical of him to do so. and after the concert he asked me, "so how did u like my surprise?" i was like "S**T! some musician u are!!!"
one frend of mine even commented that when it was my solo part, it would sound relaxed, but when the orchestra came in, they would push me to limits!:( and i was scared of pulling down the tempo coz i thought the conductor might not follow me. apparently, i knew from an orchestra member that he was so tired already that he wanted to get it over with. prior to my number were three concertos: flute, guitar and another pianist. he had to conduct 4 concertos in one night.

and actually, my tempo with the third movement should have been slower than usual... if you've heard Barenboim's recording of it, it's like that slow (he's not my favorite, i just heard it once). what i had in mind were clear eighths, u know, very germanic sounding, strict most of the time, eccentric rubatos at very occasional times, full tone for each note... but with that tempo, forget it. i was literally in panic!

about the 2nd movement, was i really chopping the phrase? are u talking about the portato eight notes in the opening? i really intended them to be short so as to bring out contrast to the long lines of the cellos in the next section... if you have time, please do elaborate on this. thanks..

don't worry, i've had far more harsher comments in my life. thanks for your time.

[crazy for ivan moravec]

i forgot to answer ur question. i played the schummann for my 2nd recital required of the bachelors degree, that was last year. i picked it up this january again for the concerto competition in february (while working on my entire graduation recital program, sheesh). for my graduation recital this coming april, i will be playing the brahms quintet in fm instead of a concerto. if you feel like it, do comment on it. the performance for the jury exam was recorded by my friend. it's in the audition room.

[quantum]

I haven't listened to the recording yet, but some advice.  There may be a conductor, but YOU are in control of the tempo.  If they speed up, make sure you give clear indications to your desired tempo.  Start counting really loud if you have to, or thump your foot on the floor.  The conductor and soloist should be playing as chamber music duo, and in constant communication. 

[crazy for ivan moravec]

yeah, thanks. that's what the assistant of my teacher told me after the performance as well.
playing with the orchestra for the first time really rattled me. you know, the feeling of a very big group which might not follow youif you decided to pull it down. but in fact it is only the conductor who will follow you actually.

thanks.

[pianistimo]

great job!  guess that you don't need criticism at this point, but just encouragement to go on.  the more you play it over - the more you'll refine everything.  just learning it all is a big accomplishment - yet i hear a lot of passion as someone else said.  with that, you can get away with small minor stuff.

the first two slow chords in the opening seemed too short to me - but, that's just my gut feeling and not a fact since i have not played the concerto.  i love that concerto, though!

i don't know how my teacher's recital went.  it was a bad day and it got down to 1 hour before concert- and i knew my hubby and i wouldn't make it on time and we ended up having to nix the idea.  things have been busy with three kids and lots of activities.  by the weekend, we seem to need more sleep than going very far.  if dr. cranmer perfoms it again at wcu - i'll go.  wcu is way closer than the other location.

why does it sound like the strings are falling asleep in the second movement.  you sound like you are trying to get them to move - and you are hopelessly stuck in a quagmire of toilet bowl soup.

schumann's concerto requires a really good balance in a piano, imo.  not too easy to play, and not too hard.  the too easy to play pianos sound 'flimsy.'  the ones that are too hard would be tiring.  maybe something in between with a 'color' of it's own in especially the high range.  i didn't like the piano you were playing on - but liked your playing.  another piano would have highlighted some of your notes better.

i especially feel this in the second movement.  that the piano could have been more responsive to you - and also, to not have a 'flimsy' sound.  ok.  you're ready for  abetter piano.  get one.  demand one.  you deserve it at this point.

also, sorry to say it, but you deserve a better orchestra. even if you miss a few notes - at least you're not going flat and you maintain the idea of where you are and where you are going.  the winds are deteriorating badly in the third movement.  i feel as though we are headed for impending disaster (not by you, but the orchestra).  no wonder you were feeling a bit uneasy about how the conductor was speeding things up.  he was trying to make up for the mess of the second movement.  move on to a better conductor whom you work with better and who will guide and teach by his doing and not by guesswork.  i think you'll find one who inspires you more.

[crazy for ivan moravec]

the first two slow chords in the opening seemed too short to me - but, that's just my gut feeling and not a fact since i have not played the concerto.

you're right about this coz i feel the same way, but i don't notice it when i play. i should listen more carefully to myself.

why does it sound like the strings are falling asleep in the second movement.  you sound like you are trying to get them to move - and you are hopelessly stuck in a quagmire of toilet bowl soup.

true. that's exactly how i felt.

schumann's concerto requires a really good balance in a piano, imo.  not too easy to play, and not too hard.  the too easy to play pianos sound 'flimsy.'  the ones that are too hard would be tiring.  maybe something in between with a 'color' of it's own in especially the high range.  i didn't like the piano you were playing on - but liked your playing.  another piano would have highlighted some of your notes better.

i especially feel this in the second movement.  that the piano could have been more responsive to you - and also, to not have a 'flimsy' sound.  ok.  you're ready for  abetter piano.  get one.  demand one.  you deserve it at this point.

it was a relatively old yamaha 6 foot... too small for the power of the winds, and the hall was jampacked and a lot of them were standing already because there were no seats left, basically, they ate our sound.

have you noticed that in the hemiola part of the 3rd movement, the tempo became already faster? the conductor probably thought he was doing the same tempo coz he probably didn't know the proportion as to how the hemiola should sound tempo-wise. that was the part where everything became faster.

thank you so much for your time to comment. it's nice to know what other people think about it because it makes me wanna work harder.

crazy

[electrafingers]

Hi, I just listened to the 1st movement, and you played very well. I've never been a big fan of this concerto but I really liked your performance. I will hear the rest of it later and tell you what I think. Anyway, the orchestra sounded quite awful, frankly. But I wouldn't call this a disaster in any way like you did, and I'm sure that in the future you will find better orchestras to play with.

[teresa_b]

Hi Crazy,

I listened to the third movement.  I thought you did extremely well!  I agree that the orchestra got too fast in the hemiola section.  Some of your playing sounded like you were trying to play too fast, and that's the fault of the conductor!  The orchestra nees to practice a lot more. 

I can totally sympathize with you over the tempo thing, because even though YOU are supposed to control it, a conductor can get going and ignore you--What are you supposed to do once you are actually in the performance?  Slow down and hope the orchestra does too, or try to keep up the breakneck pace, risking your own accuracy but at least not causing a breakdown! 

I played Mozart K453 a few years ago with local orchestra.  Despite me specifying my tempo in rehearsal, the conductor suddenly took the 4th variation in the 3rd movement MUCH faster than I had wanted.   I had to play the RH melody, skipping a lot of the LH notes in the Alberti bass because of excessive speed! 

keep up the good work, and have fun!  (And yes, you need a BETTER orchestra!)

Terresa

[crazy for ivan moravec]

thank you, teresa!:)

i do hope to play more concertos with orchestra, although right now, my interest suddenly shifted to chamber music. so much fun playing with a group esp that i can express my ideas more freely because everyone treats one another like colleagues, and not like maestro-soloist type.