[VIDEO] Scriabin Etude Op. 8, No. 2 in F-sharp minor

[jlh]

Another shot at the Scriabin 8/2 etude:

https://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-33223613335521562&hl=en

[rachfan]

Hi jlh,

I like this performance of Op. 8, No. 2 better than the earlier one.  It is even more lyrical.  You play with relaxed shoulders and arms, good upper arm impetus, and economy of motion with your hands.  I also appreciate your lack of mannerisms while you play.  You allow yourself to be a transparent medium of the music for the audience, while being in the service of the composer.  Good!

A couple of things: I notice that you sit high on the bench, such that your forearms are not only not fairly parallel to the floor, but are at a decided upward angle.  While you might attain higher velocity sitting higher, your tone would be richer sitting lower.  Have you experimented much with that?  It's more ergonomically sound too.  (I sit lower, so that's my personal bias.  I'm 6', so to avoid jamming my knees up against the case under the keybed, I kick my shoes off which helps a lot, along with lowering the bench.) 

Also, on the whole notes in the last measure, you raise your hands after the first beat while holding the notes with the pedal.  I mention this not so much for the perenial debate about whether it sounds any different being held by the fingers and the pedal together or by the pedal alone.  Rather, it's more about preserving the spell of the music until the actual end of the piece.  By raising your hands off the keyboard prematurely, you risk interruptive applause; instead, by not allowing the piece to be over until it's actually over, you remain totally in control.  Similarly, if this piece were to have ended in rests, then you would need to "play" the rests by hovering closely over the keyboard until you decide that the rests are over, and you are ready to break the spell by lowering your hands.  If this advice sounds wierd to you, ignore it.   
 
Again, I enjoyed your performance.

[jlh]

Thanks for the comments! 

Yeah I guess I should sit lower (and mostly do), but being so tall (6'1" with a longer torso than most people) I always have to lower the bench a LOT and sometimes I just don't feel like lowering it.  lol

My thinking for raising the hands is that of perceived sound... by raising the hands the perception for the audience is that the sound is going up and out rather than staying in the piano.  I dunno, it makes sense to me.

[rachfan]

Hi jlh,

I never thought of managing perceived sound in that way before.  You may have a point there.  I guess the cue would be that if you were to find that the gesture invites early applause cutting off your pedaled ending, then you might want to experiment with the other approach, where you can closely control the audience's reaction.  In any case, much would depend on the sophistication of a given audience.

[jlh]

Looking back over the video, I think the effect I'm trying to achieve is negated by the fact that my hands go to my lap before the sound stops.  I think I should keep my hands up until I release the pedal.