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Topic: two chopin etudes and a nocturne (Read 6674 times)

le_poete_mourant

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two chopin etudes and a nocturne

on: October 26, 2006, 01:31:40 AM

Here's a couple cuts from a live session last month. Ingle Auditorium. Baldwin Concert Grand. My modest attempt at these wonderful pieces of music: Etude Op. 10 No. 4 and Op. 25 No. 6; Nocturne Op. 9 No. 1 in B-flat minor. Hope you like.

12 Track 12.mp3 (2186.7 kB - downloaded 299 times.)

11 Track 11.mp3 (1970.46 kB - downloaded 175 times.)

06 Track 6.mp3 (6167.34 kB - downloaded 221 times.)

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lava

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Re: two chopin etudes and a nocturne

Reply #1 on: October 26, 2006, 09:30:19 PM

Your etude 10.4 is so good!

Especially the left hand.

You could spicy it up a little bit more by some "con fuoco" as is indicated. Accentuate more on the beats, make greater crescendos for instance towards the last beat in bars 13,14 and 15-16.

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le_poete_mourant

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Re: two chopin etudes and a nocturne

Reply #2 on: October 29, 2006, 02:57:15 AM

Thanks! That was actually the best one of three takes I made. The others weren't bad, but I wasn't as happy with them as this one. It was also the first one. It's interesting to me how it happens that way sometimes. You'd think that when you play it a second or third time, it would be better just because you know what you want to change from the first itme.

I think probably the greatest challenge for me in this piece is making it musical. The dynamics, the voicing. The icing on the cake, so to speak.

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pianistimo

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Re: two chopin etudes and a nocturne

Reply #3 on: October 29, 2006, 06:47:33 AM

i also studied the op. 10 #4 and found the same difficulties. perhaps the idea, after a while, is to make less choppy and less harsh accents. do you think? and, smoothness through difficult sections. really hard to learn this piece without having a sort of ghosting over the keyboard with your hands to follow the paths of least resistance (possibly reminding yourself of those places) and then using those direct paths. for instance, heading for the high sharped notes - angle in and use the middle of you pinky for hitting the notes a bit crosswise. sometimes we try to be so precise. i'm learning that it's not about precision with notes as much as hand comfort and angles and 'flow.'

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pianistimo

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Re: two chopin etudes and a nocturne

Reply #4 on: October 29, 2006, 06:50:30 AM

sorry to be a little bit of a bugger, but in the nocturne your left hand follows the rubato of your right hand. i though chopin wanted the left hand to be steadily keeping the beat (not too steady, but you know what i mean) and the right hand to be the flex. but, you surely put a lot of beauty into your feeling. occasionally notes jump out at me, but for the most part it's really nice!

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le_poete_mourant

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Re: two chopin etudes and a nocturne

Reply #5 on: October 29, 2006, 08:57:08 PM

Quote from: pianistimo on October 29, 2006, 06:50:30 AM

sorry to be a little bit of a bugger, but in the nocturne your left hand follows the rubato of your right hand. i though chopin wanted the left hand to be steadily keeping the beat (not too steady, but you know what i mean) and the right hand to be the flex.

I must respectfully disagree with this. I interpret Chopin's intentions slightly differently. I would point to the fact that this is the longest right-hand alone introductions to any of the nocturnes. (The pickup measure leads 3 beats.) I believe that this suggests that Chopin wants the right hand to lead the left hand; as opposed to Op. 27 Nos. 1 & 2, E minor posthumous, where the left hand obviously sets the rhythm. I would even say Op. 48 No. 1 does the same, on a less dramatic scale, by putting the left hand alone on the first few down beats.

Quote from: pianistimo on October 29, 2006, 06:50:30 AM

but, you surely put a lot of beauty into your feeling. occasionally notes jump out at me, but for the most part it's really nice!

Thank you.

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gyzzzmo

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Re: two chopin etudes and a nocturne

Reply #6 on: November 04, 2006, 04:52:44 PM

Both of the etudes and the nocturne sound great, nice technique!
But, i hear only little dynamics in the pieces. Is that an effect of the recording method, or is that something you might put a bit more attention on?

Gyzzzmo

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1+1=11

le_poete_mourant

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Re: two chopin etudes and a nocturne

Reply #7 on: November 04, 2006, 09:26:44 PM

Quote from: gyzzzmo on November 04, 2006, 04:52:44 PM

Both of the etudes and the nocturne sound great, nice technique!
But, i hear only little dynamics in the pieces. Is that an effect of the recording method, or is that something you might put a bit more attention on?

Gyzzzmo

Thanks. I know the piano was mic'd very close with a couple different mics, but I'm not sure how all that works. It is quite possible it was the mics but also equally possible it was me.

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Women and the Chopin Competition: Breaking Barriers in Classical Music

The piano, a sleek monument of polished wood and ivory keys, holds a curious, often paradoxical, position in music history, especially for women. While offering a crucial outlet for female expression in societies where opportunities were often limited, it also became a stage for complex gender dynamics, sometimes subtle, sometimes stark. From drawing-room whispers in the 19th century to the thunderous applause of today’s concert halls, the story of women and the piano is a narrative woven with threads of remarkable progress and stubbornly persistent challenges. Read more

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Topic: two chopin etudes and a nocturne (Read 6674 times)

Piano Street Magazine:Women and the Chopin Competition: Breaking Barriers in Classical Music

Piano Street Magazine:
Women and the Chopin Competition: Breaking Barriers in Classical Music