Overall, some nice finger dexterity and generally clear playing. I'd just question your use of rubato at end of bar 2 and similar places - Ravel said "do not interpret my music, just play it". Although obviously you can use rubato for expression, I wouldn't go overboard especially where he hasn't marked anything and it is only the 2nd bar into the piece when we have a rather marked tapering off.Make sure you hear all the demi-semi's in the second beat of the 'theme', they seem to get 'gobbled up', i'd keep the start rather metric. Yours gives me a bit of a heart propulsion when there's so much more to come.I have a decresc in the LH at bar 6 in my score and a pp at bar 7 - I see you dim till the end of bar 8, but tis not what he wrote.bar 9 demi-semis again and in fact most other places whether that figure comes up.bar 13 and 14 you're going into a weaker register, start softer so you can cresc on to the ff, at the moment tis a bit flat.Bar 21, observe hairpins (especially decres) and note cresc doesn't start till bar 23.bar 24, can you somehow incorporate the LH more, perhaps here you can give it more propulsion. Try playing it melodically, maybe with hairpins in each figure.Bar 27 onwards, can we hear each RH individual note - the water is splashing around - was it a slip up on the day?Tiny thing bar 29, the d# in the LH doesn't speak as clearly as the rest of the line.bar 34, could we have better voicing, there's some great harmony in there.great finger work through this section, it's a b!tch.can you work bar 37 into 38 better. Or perhaps not take off so much in bar 38, it's only p and there's a bit build up to come. ah - I see you pull back where he writes the f - I think his way would work to I use to cresc through the tremolo bar 48, just an idea.bar 51 and 52, can we have some RH bottom voice for the harmony.bar 56, did you have una corda down?Would like to hear a bit more G# just to pin the harmony over the pedal, in fact through msot of this section, harmony is swamping the pedal point.bar 66 no G# sounded?the cadenza, keep the RH in the picture - tritone harmonies on top of each other, it's a lot more F# LH atm.bar 73, watch semis in LH, ted to skip over them (like start)Lent - follow the LH harmony for voicing and support.It's hard, but can you no accent the last RH chord.Just some thoughts.
Mikey, those are great comments. I think to sum it up, a closer attention to the score is needed, and less rubato.
Ravel composed the piece in strict poetic meters,
and when you turn it into a pseudo-Chopin nocturne, all the poetry is sucked away. It sounds much better with a longer phrase, and for this Richter is absolutely king.
Really? Richter is absolutely king in playing Ravel? I saw a video on youtube - it was the ugliest Jeux d'eau I ever heard - played by Richter. If you are serious in saying that you expect Ravel to play that way - then... NO THANKS, no further comment needed
Alright, who do you think plays it better/best?
Hey, here it is again less rubato - oh my god...
Ravel composed the piece in strict poetic meters, and when you turn it into a pseudo-Chopin nocturne, all the poetry is sucked away.
A pseudo-Chopin nocturne If you play Ravel, people say: Ravel is not Chopin, so don't use so much rubato and pedal.Finally - if you play Chopin, people say: Chopin composed in a very classical style, so don't use so much rubato and pedal People should listen to midi-files, if they are so happy with non-rubato, non-pedal and anti-emotional music.
As I said, Richter's is the ugliest of all.So almost everyone plays it better.And iliaul plays it very, very good!
Right. So what's your favorite performance of this piece?
My own
Why don't you post it then?
I guess you could improve the way you sit. You bend your back - it should be straight and you should use your eyes to look down at the keyboard(not by using your back or neck) - If you don't do you will probably get an injury and a hunchback in the end.
Perhaps I will someday - and I already know, what ramseytheii will say
I guess you're learning something!Walter Ramsey
As I said, Richter's is the ugliest of all.So almost everyone plays it better.
I'd like to hear you play it better than Richter and Gieseking.
Seems that you didn't understand a word from what I wrote - sorry
During the early-20th century, I think a couple of things happened regarding interpretation. The two things were Sergei Rachmaninoff and Josef Hofmann. In the generation of pianists prior to them during the Romantic era, there were many excesses--extreme rubato, maudlin sentimentality, actual alterations of scores in performance to facilitate articulation, slowing of tempos in difficult spots, playing the left hand harmony before the right, and more quirks. Both Rachmaninoff (who was an immediate success in touring the U.S. once he came here) and Hofmann dispensed with all those excesses [...]
That being said, there are some opinions which are better than others
And this is the kind of sh*t anyone with some personality gets!How could two persons compete about being the best, when the don't even have the same opinion on what's good??
Rachmaninoff went Ravel's response one better. When Gershwin went to Rachmaninoff's home to discuss lessons, the two sat down and chatted a bit. Then Rachmaninoff asked Gershwin if he would mind divulging how much money he made in the prior year. Gershwin told him outright. Rachmaninoff looked down at the floor as if in deep thought for a moment. Then he slapped his knees, stood up, told Gershwin he really did not believe he could help him to be any more successful, shook his hand and showed him out the door!