if you can command the Beethoven without fuss then you should have the capability to play Balakirev's Islamey and learn to control some keyboard acrobatics you will face in it.
I have loved this piece many years for a number of reasons, but resisted learning until recently as I finally feel 'ready' to devote to playing it. (After just having learnt Beethoven's Appassionata, I realize this may be a bit of a jump in technique, but am willing to work hard to achieve it.) I would greatly appreciate any suggestions / tips on how to approach it, if it is a piece that you learn from beginning to end, what to look out for, or any other insightful things about the piece that you may have discovered or read about. Thank you!
This peice can be easily played if you slow down the tempo, but the real challenge is to find a good EXCITING tempo. Personally I think little of a pianists abilty if they take this peice too slowly, listen to how Kissin plays it, thats how you should play it once you really own it.
...but as difficult as different parts of the first section are, they are nothing compared to what's to come. If you can start after the slow section and actually work it and make progress, then go back to the easy part and you're done. Otherwise, you'll give yourself a false sense of security and be pissed off cause you can't learn the 2nd half of the piece.
I'nm not quite sure how Islamei is any more 'shallow', musically, than Schumann's Traumerei
Personally I think little of a pianists abilty if they take this peice too slowly, listen to how Kissin plays it, thats how you should play it once you really own it.
I didn't know Kissin played it - do you have a recording? his technique is totally flawless
Ask imbetterthenyou.He claims he can play this piece.ihatepop
No, he can't play fast enough to be considered flawless.
This may be slightly off-topic, but if you want to hear (In my humble opinion) the most accurate, technically and musically interpretation of this piece, you should look for Boris Berezovsky's marvelous live rendition from the Tchaikovsky Competition Finals. That one is my favourite, followed closely by Kissin's version from his Amsterdam Recital.Best,Alex
Here a video of a 17 year old guy playing Islamey:
I actually think the middle section of Islamey is a far better moist than Traumerai. Traumerai is a cheap piece of music, imo.
Here a live recording of Kissin playing Islamey (played live in Amsterdam 2002):https://download.yousendit.com/11136C9034B23296
I believe Kissin can play it faster if he wanted to easily. Islamey is often played to fast, it is a piece of MUSIC. My teacher goes mad at people who play it fast, he says they are just destroying the music and making it an excercise. What is the obsession with fast Islamey's? It sounds pathetic at a stupid tempo, nothing adds up. The opening always sounds faster than the 2nd half becasue it's easier, Beresovsky plays opening super fast, his 2nd half is slower, it makes no sense at all. Freddy Kemppf plays so slowly, that the presto at the end sounds riddiculous. I havn'y heard Kissin's so I can't pass judgment on his, but I think any claim that he can't play fast enough is stupid and really immature.
This is one of my favourite songs!! Its too advanced for me, but I plan to learn it by the time I turn seventeen!!