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[m]

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[communist]

Hello Marik,

I have heard by numerous people that you are a fantastic pianist, and it shows here. at 0:40 my first impression was you did not bring the melody out enough (and at similar times) until I realized that that makes sense since if you brought it out it would become tedious. I enjoyed your E-flat minor very much, great job!

Your E minor, your articulation of the left hand was phenomenal, I think it would make the right hand more interesting if you accented the second chord. At about 3:43 I think a large dynamic increase would be affective (of course with a crescendo to it). I thought the dynamical difference on the main theme and recapitulation were to small, I would try to make the first time it appears a little more hushed and the recapitulation more hammered. Besides that it was really fantastic.

Your no.5, you don't need to do this, but I bring out the left hand more in certain spots to make a polyphonic effect (remember, almost every composer has some influence by J.S. Bach) besides that I thought you could have used a little more rubato. Very very good!

Your no.6 was perfect!

excellent playing.

[aslanov]

The 4th Moment is by far my most favourite, and you played it (as usual) phenomenally.
If i have a few nicks about it, it would be the following: at the second fortissimo marking, the section where there's the eighth-note melody alternating between the left and right hand, i find that i cant really here the echo-ing sound (if u will) of the left hand, it seems hushed up with all the 16th notes ( this is not the case however in the repeat). Another thing i noticed is that you try to create a certain effect by playing the right hand melody sometimes piano, but there came a point (i believe after the part i mentioned with the 8th notes) that the left hand almost drowned out the right, and the melody was on the brink of being lost. I dont know if thats some effect u wanted to create, but thats wat i noticed.

otherwise, this was definitely a fantastic performance. congratulations.

[rachfan]

Hi marik,

Thanks for posting the recent mp3s from your recital.  Your playing is brilliant and poetic--extraordinary!  Bravo!

[kard]

amazing stuff. thanks for sharing!

[m]

Uploaded re-mastered version.

[rachfan]

Hi marik,

I love the sound of the new re-mastered recording!  The sonics are extraordinary.  Your artistry is at a pinnacle in these works.  You're attentive to the voicing of every note, expressive in every exquisite nuance, and brilliant in executing the virtuosic demands.  Absolutely splendid!  Anyone will find these recordings inspiring.

The very quiet Moment No. 5 takes the form of a barcarolle, of course.  Back when I was playing it, it struck me at the time that while I had encountered barcarolles in 3/4, 6/8/ 9/8 and 12/8, I had never seen one in 4/4 as in this "Moment".  It goes to show once again that there was nothing that Rachmaninoff could not accomplish!    

[highcrappile]

marik, your playing just lets me discover more of and make me fall deeper in love with my old flame piano music.
Thanks!
hcp

[m19834]

Electrifying .

[furtwaengler]

Electrifying .

^It's really all that I can say, though I have this abiding urge to be able to express something, to throw words at things rendering me speechless. Maybe its not words...just whatever it is to express a reaction.

I'm so happy you reposted this...For the past couple months I've had that world-stopping force of nature Vladimir Sofronitsky in my head, a recording of two Moments Musicaux in the order, D-flat major, E-flat minor. It fueled a desire to try to find your performance, to experience what you did, the choices you made, as much as can be told in a recording - and here it is posted in great sound. Thank you! It amazes me, the inexhaustible range of expressive and dramatic possibility dormant in the score of every one of these pieces. Maybe this gets back to "what is the meaning or message of music?" And words cannot suffice. In Sofronitsky it is unrelentingly powerful, thick, dark, full bodied, intensely dramatic, catastrophic; in Marik it is deep, poetic, majestic, lyrical, positively elegiac. Sofronitsky is a massive orchestra, and Marik is an intimate song. And this is Rachmaninov, through and through. Marik I want to mention your technique, because it goes hand in hand with integrity and maturity...it draws absolutely no attention to itself (not that this is inherently bad...but how much more technique does it take to cover the awareness of the mechanism in favor of the musical expression!). It is a towering achievement; you sing...it's extraordinary, and I don't know how to say it.

I'll take this opportunity for a mention in remembrance...your Corelli Variations are the best I've ever heard. You convinced me completely and revealed something deeply seeded in Rachmaninov that I had not known, and this has opened another door in understanding all his music. I mention this here, because whatever I've discovered has been something you've known, and it is very much present in these Moments Musicaux. Thanks so much for everything you are as a musician, and for posting and reposting this *electrifying* performance. 

[claude_debussy]

Marik - I was stunned by the beauty of your playing - thank you.