Chopin Preludes 4 and 20 (the easy ones!)

[steve jones]

Hi,

Made recordings of the two easiest preludes. My piano sounds awful so please try to ignore how bad it sounds!

In particular Id like comments on the interps. I tried to really up the tension and drama with No4 without going over the top. I think I rushed the stretto passage unfortunately, it sounds too quick. But other than that Im pretty happy with it.

No20 I find a difficult one to work with. Other than the tempo and dynamics there is little to play with it seems! If I could improve on this I think its in the voicing. I have trouble bringing out melody lines above chords. You can hear it a bit, but not as well as you should during the p and pp sections.

Again, thoughts would be much appreciated!

Cheers,

SJ

[asyncopated]

Hi,

In general well played!  I can hear the melody in the No. 20 perfectly well.  No. 4 is pretty good as well.

Just some minor comments.  For no. 4. The balance is very good.  You are right about rushing the stratto -- it's way out of proportion.  The other thing is to think about longer lines.  At the moment I hear two bar phrases... if possible your phrases should be much longer.  Also the melody is quite repetitive.  you play almost the same notes 3 or more times, in different parts of the piece.  The difference in the coloring is implied from the left hand but must also be expressed in the right.  The triplet at about 0:49 needs a bit more care. 

For no. 20.  I think you could start with a less heavy touch.  The touch in the second section is much lighter and at the moment, I think it doesn't transit well.  the top voice is fine.  You can give more shape to the phrasing. When you do repeat section two, although you are saying the same thing, you have to say it differently.  You play it slightly softer, but there is not enough contrast in my opinion. The final rubato into the last chord should evaporate. 

Sorry for just commenting so much.  I do mean it when I say you play well.  The tone is good. The mood is in general beautify.  The sound is pretty good, can be refined a bit more, but good nonetheless.   The stuff I am suggesting is really just fine touches.  I'm sure that you agree that although the notes are "easy" the music sure isn't.  Emotionally, these are difficult pieces to pull off.  Somehow chopin likes to reach into your heart and tear it out... much like in indiana jones .... although i doubt he saw or was influenced by that movie.

Hope this helps.

PS.  I just realised how bossy I sound.  It's three here and I'm shooting this off before I go to bed.  Please forgive me for that.

[steve jones]

No, thats perfect! I appreciate you critic.

See, I dont have a teacher, so its great to have more experienced pianist's listen and comment. I hadnt considered my phrasing in No 4 at all until you bought it to my attention! But I totally see what you mean - I am phrasing it in 2's! I kind of knew the stretto was too much. During the performance I just wanting it to be so dramatic, but it was rushed unfortunately. Will try again another time.

Regarding No 20...

I dont think I was too heavy at the start. Thats just the piano, it sounds nasty above forte! And the mic set up doesnt help. I wasnt hitting those chords as heavily as they sound, trust me.

But I have totally taken your other comments on board. Particularly regarding the change between the two p and pp sections. This is tricky! I sometimes play the first one more romantically, with more rubato... but Im not sure yet. I must admit, this is a difficult piece to interpret really!

Cheers, much appreciate the input.

SJ

[asyncopated]

No, thats perfect! I appreciate you critic.

Regarding No 20...

I dont think I was too heavy at the start. Thats just the piano, it sounds nasty above forte! And the mic set up doesnt help. I wasnt hitting those chords as heavily as they sound, trust me.

I think you are right.... also my speakers are bad (pc speakers).

One suggestion with the pp.  Have you considered the soft pedal?  Try it and see if you  get a sound you like.

BTW I'm not a teacher, so if a teacher comes along to critique, in contrary to what i say, ignore me and believe him/her.  Also you should get a teacher

I remembered some questions that helped me with the interpretation of no. 4... I think you might find these interesting as well, if you haven't already encoutered them.

1. There is a single "arrival point" in the piece.  Where is this and why?

2. The piece is very much about creating, holding and releasing tension. In which bars are you doing any of the three things mentioned here?  how does chopin do this with the composition?  How can you emphasise this in the sound?

3. Another way to think about this piece is with movement and stillness.  He plays alot around here with this concept, some parts seem to require that you move to create or emphasize the moving current, and some parts require a tranquille sad stillness.   Which bar implies movement and which bars stillness and why? 

4. What is the role of the last three chords?  why did he stick them in?  What do they mean to you?

5. if you were someone telling a story through the music, what would the story be?
 

[zheer]

  Very nice, the c minor prelude has improved ,though i noticed the prelude slowing down slightly when the dynamic is soft ( might be wrong )

  The e minor prelude was very expressive, great tempo ect ect, the only thing that was not so great was the climax section, usually one holds back  but you did the oposite, but if thats how you like it...... fine.

  I guess the b minor prelude is next. All the best.

[steve jones]

No, dont like that one much.

Im working on No15 and No1 right now. No1 is pretty tough! The middle section has some really uncomfortable positions, eek! But its coming along.

You know, I do agree with the climax in No4. I think I went about that quite wrong. I did want it to be BIG and dramatic, but it was too quick without doubt. Must do that again.

SJ