Hummel Capriccio Op. posth. 6

[cygnusdei]

I've wanted to record this for a long time. If I had a recital, I'd open with this.

Some technical details: piano was Steinway completely closed (don't know which model), recorded with Audio Technico PRO 24 (battery powered condenser mic) connected directly to laptop computer. I had to increase volume by 15 db in post-processing (probably should've increased mic gain in the first place) and do noise reduction.

Comments and suggestions welcome! (both performance and recording).

[arensky]

I'd never heard this piece before and I really enjoyed it. Much of Hummel's music strikes me as facile but this was different. I wonder if it's an early or late work.

I felt the recorded sound was muffled, next time open the piano and lower the recording levels via mike placement, your recording equipment or after the fact with Audacity or whatever editing software you use. Raising the gain always sounds artificial to me. You play very musically but some passages seem insecure and sound uneven. Some more time spent with the technical elements of this piece should solve the problems. Except for that I enjoyed listening, your interpretation is very good. Thanks for sharing this. 

[rachfan]

Hi cygnusdei,

I have to admit that I'm not very familiar with Hummel's piano output, so this piece was new to me.  Even at that though, I believe you play it very well.  I really enjoyed hearing it.

[cygnusdei]

Hi arensky and rachfan - thanks for the comments and suggestions! I'll keep them in mind the next time I visit the practice room.

I'm not sure about the chronology of this work, but I saw a facsimile of the manuscript. It looked as if he wrote the whole thing in one sitting, without editing whatsoever.

[i heart xenakis]

ARE YOU A PROFESSIONAL??

[cygnusdei]

I wish .....