Martucci - Verdi "La Forza del Destino" (Video)

[storyseller]

Me again playing Martucci Concert Fantasy on Verdi's Famous "La Forza".

Comments are welcome

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Seeing this video is really strange for me as I was under the impression I was probably the only person who plays this piece Excellent taste in transcriptions; I really think it's an super one.

We clearly have differing ideas about some parts of the piece, and I wouldn't like to say who is right. I notice you play the full coda whereas I have tended to make a cut there. The Thalbergian Bb major section didn't work, it sounds rather like you forgot the chord progression (it happened both in the first presentation and in the repeat, but I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that) but in general you make some interesting musical points and have a nice variety of sonorities. In many ways hearing this gives me much to think about.

It's a shame that your audience did not seem very attentive; there was some talking, a phone going off, and it sounded like someone was doing a strings rehearsal while you were beginning.

If you're interested in hearing my version, there's a recording (with good sound quality) on this thread: https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,17248.0.html
I also have it on youtube, but the sound is much inferior there, even though I prefer my youtube concert recording of it to the pianostreet recording from a musical perspective.

Thanks for the post; it is very pleasant to see someone else with an interest in playing totally forgotten repertoire.

[storyseller]

Well, there are now officially 4 people alive in the world who play this piece: You, me, an Italian student at the Conservatorio di Napoli (where I first heard this piece) and his really old teacher (who was a pupil of Martucci himself!!!!).

Regarding my performance, yes, there were a lot of thing going wrong - i've been studying this piece for just 3 weeks when the video was taken so.....    I really killed that part.

Then again the camera was inside the hall's "technical room" and people kept talking and phones went ringing but thank god no string rehersal was going on! At least the people in the hall were realy nice and silent 

I watched your version - really good and refined and quite flawless - bravo! Still I would suggest more "leting go" in some parts.... you should see how they play pieces like this in Italy, and specialy in the south...  Still I envy you but i'm playing this piece again in a recital in June and this time it will be really different, more structured and symphonic i hore, or at least with less memory lapses.

Btw, why dont you play the entire coda? I see you skip almost 2 pages, and I think this part is really nice and working up to a big ff cadence that really gets the audience (at least it got me the first time i heard this played properly).

Send me your email, it's nice to find people working in this kind of repertory!

Thanks for your time.

[thalbergmad]

Well, there are now officially 4 people alive in the world who play this piece:

5 people, as i tried.

It is refreshing that people still play transcriptions such as these.

Thanks for the post, i hope you will do more.

Thal

[ronde_des_sylphes]

I didn't play the full coda because the first time I performed the piece, it was at a piano summer school final recital - there were approximately ten of us playing and time was limited, so I agreed to make a small cut which has subsequently become a little ingrained in my memory and conception of the piece. I've not been very convinced that the modulation to Db made musical sense - it seems a little random to me, but in your video it seemed more persuasive than I had previously found it, so I may well reconsider my cut.

I'll be very interested in hearing your performance of this in June (it is definitely one of my favourite operatic transcriptions), good luck with it!

[storyseller]

Thank you both.

Marucci's music deserves more attention, especially outside Italy.

Actually Thal, I suppose that you could say that we are just 4 people who really play Martucci's Fantasy, as the Italian proffesor I mentioned has stoped playing altogether.