Chopin Etudes Op. 25/2 & Op. 10/4

[mkaykov]

I recorded it just now (10.28.08) , just a run-through before my lesson today.
Please tell me what you think......

[michel dvorsky]

You're so brave to play these with such little pedal.  The 10/4 is really quite solid.  I found it exciting and totally effective. Well done!

However, there seems to be a little bit of unnevenness in the 25/2. The left hand could probably be made more interesting too.  25/2 also blatantly benefits from some creative pedalling.  A really good start, though.  Wish I had your chops.

[mkaykov]

yes, the Op 25/2 is a bit too dry... I tried to vary the pedaling with each recapitulation of theme, and add some inner voices in the left hand as well.........Still, its not polished....I am learning more of these Etudes....

I posted an alternate version of the Op. 10/4 which I recorded today as well. It is much lighter, so it sounds faster and more fluent. I prefer it to the previous one. Tell me what you think.

Thank you very much for listening and responding.

Cheers 

[rachfan]

Hi m,

These etudes are very well played!  There is fine accuracy and clarity throughout.  I wish I had 1/10th of your dexterity to play music in very fast tempo like this!

With such rapid passage work, and with the constant presence of passing and neighboring tones, it's difficult to use much pedal in my opinion.  So pedaling needs to be limited to the application of light touches mostly.  In places where the dynamic is softer and most of the action is centered in the upper treble, you might be able to get away with a bit more pedal in those situations, but it would still have to be very judicious so as not to detract from the clarity that you've worked so hard to achieve.  I play Op. 10, No. 6 with virtually NO pedal, relying on finger legato to avoid casting a haze over the piece due to busy passage work creating a similar challenge of maintaining clarity, even though the character of that etude is more leisurely and lyrical than these at hand.

Good job!

[goldentone]

Wonderful cascading clarity!  
I really enjoyed Opus 25, 2.

[mkaykov]

It sounds detached and dry in a room, but in a concert hall, everything will be blurred if I use a bit more pedal. However, in a recording of a live concert, done close up, everything will appear to be extremely detached, but it will sound differently in an audience recording. This is why Joseph Hofmann said that it is impossible to perform for both the microphones and a live audience without doing "violence to the music".

When I play in a slightly larger room, I feel that there is not enough clarity and finger articulation, even on one of those bright Yamaha C6 pianos that we have at Mannes.

What is a problem however, is that I do not connect the notes. This is bit different from articulation - I let go of the keys too soon. I just don't have a legato touch yet.........I have to work on more Chopin, I suppose.
I don't feel very comfortable with his piano writing, in terms of technique, to be honest.

[rachfan]

Hi m,

Hofmann also said that it's far more important to know when not to use the pedal than when to use it.  There are probably moments when we all forget that key point.  But in this case you did well to make very intelligent use of the pedal.  And you're right that every situation is different--the piano, the size of the room or hall, the particular acoustics, the percentage of seats filled by people absorbing more sound, the outside weather, indoor humidity, etc.  It all calls for rapid assessment in the first moments of playing and making necessary adjustments as you know.   

On your Chopin legato touch, I think we all have a battle with some quirk like that.  In my case, while of the Romantics I've played Chopin, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Brahms, I no longer have any desire to play Brahms.  Rather I listen to others play it.  There is something about his orchestral concepts as applied within some of his piano compositions that sometimes make his writing unpianistic.  I find the hand position changes too awkward and frustrating at times.  To get a Chopin legato, in his lyrical music, my own approach is to play the cantabile line as if it were being sung by a soprano.  I did a good amount of accompanying singers when I was younger, and have no difficulty hearing the bel canto in my head as I play.  That automatically translates to legato in the fingers without actually thinking about articulation per se.  This approach might not be practical for a fast moving etude though.

Again, fine playing!   

[pianistimo]

Wow!  This is awesome.  It's almost superhuman on the 10/4. I can't play with this much energy and have the speed at the same time.  You seem to be able to handle this and give good effort in the lh!  I had to soften it to make the lh seem even.  This is very very difficult.  The ending was very exciting.

Was Chopin ambidextrous?  Seems that he must have been.  Maybe that is my problem with Chopin.  And, yet some of his pieces 'sing' so that's alright.

[mkaykov]

the Chopin 10/4 alternate take has a passage (right before the recapitulation) where both hands are not together. This is bothering me, but I have to work on more Etudes and come back to it later. I start hating my recordings a week after I make them.....I'll have to take this down in a week.


Maybe I will finally conquer the Op. 25/6. It is the most difficult out of Op. 25, without a doubt.

Also - these recordings are not a final product, do not take them too seriously.