[VIDEO] Debussy - Clair de Lune

[bella_brito]

Well, this is me again, playing Debussy on the competition.

Comments are apreciated.

[go12_3]

Very beautifully played, bella!     I am happy for you!
And good luck in your next competition! 

best wishes,

go12_3

[communist]

Excellent, I must say. Some parts were so lyrical it was almost scary. May I as if you play the whole Suite Bergmasque?

[bella_brito]

Excellent, I must say. Some parts were so lyrical it was almost scary. May I as if you play the whole Suite Bergmasque?

Thank you! I'm reading the whole suite for next year. I think I'll do it fine. =)

[scottmcc]

overall excellently played.  the flub at the descending thirds section (immediately before the calmato marking) was the only thing that I noticed significantly wrong, and you recovered well from that.  I think I heard one other missed note somewhere earlier in the piece that didn't really detract.  excellent expression and tempo throughout.

the prelude is of similar difficulty to clair de lune, although it has a number of big, difficult reaches.  but it's very beautiful and fun to play.  the menuet is quite difficult, and the sarabande is somewhere in the middle.  but I only know the prelude and clair de lune, so I can't be of much help for the rest.

best of luck!

[goldentone]

I continue to be so impressed by your playing, Bella.  You possess some major coveted qualities--your tone, your expressive ability, your poise.  You play with great beauty.  You come across as if this is your life.  I think you play the way Menahem Pressler once described:

What has to be perfect in a concert is that directness in which you speak to someone.

Completely enchanting.

[atugores]

What is all that noise behind de player, is she playing in a supermarket?, very bad performance of debussy music, very poor, there is a lack of sensibility, this music must sound like something floating in the air, makes me nervous, I'm sorry.

[smcroberts]

Bella,
You blew me away! This is so beautiful! Thank you so much for posting this. I am trying to learn this piece for my mother (it has always been her favorite). My struggles with this make me appreciate your seeming effortlessness all the more. If I ever achieve half of your mastery I will be very happy.

[pianowolfi]

I also wondered why people can't be quiet, and it's even a competition. There seems also to be something wrong with the videocamera. I imagine it annoying, if not all impossible to play against that noise level. Under these conditions it's a quite good job that you did, Bella.

[prongated]

Thank you! I'm reading the whole suite for next year. I think I'll do it fine. =)

Just don't be deceived. The Clair de Lune is BY FAR the easiest of the suite. The rest (especially Minuet) borders on the ridiculously difficult - and yet they don't look or sound difficult!

Anyway, Clair de Lune! I only managed to listen to the opening, but...you have some nice musical intentions, but I would look at the rhythm properly if I were you - the duplets and triplets are in different speed, all the time, to begin with! Are you counting? You need to fit your musical intentions within the same meter. Think about it

[nanabush]

Wow this was very well played!

I envy anyone who can play so confidently in front of audience/judges.  I'm still struggling with that haha

[furtwaengler]

I would look at the rhythm properly if I were you - the duplets and triplets are in different speed, all the time, to begin with! Are you counting? You need to fit your musical intentions within the same meter. Think about it

I myself enjoyed the natural rhythmic freedom here displayed. It is a beautiful performance. If I could change one thing, it would be the accompanying figures in the middle section which come across a little "notey." Ah well, good to hear you play!

[bella_brito]

What is all that noise behind de player, is she playing in a supermarket?

It was a children/teenagers piano competition, the noise was mainly due to kids that the parent's couldn't make quiet, I know it sounds loud in the video, but when I played I was so concentrated I didn't even notice. What really DID annoy me was a lady taking pics of me while I was playing (I don't know if it was in this video, but it happened in this competition), it was lack of respect.

very bad performance of debussy music, very poor, there is a lack of sensibility, this music must sound like something floating in the air, makes me nervous, I'm sorry.

Well, I can say you're the first person with that impression about my playing on this video. I'm very perfectionist so I think I can criticize me the best, and I really don't think I played badly there. The Judges didn't think it was bad too, as they gave me the first place.

Just don't be deceived. The Clair de Lune is BY FAR the easiest of the suite. The rest (especially Minuet) borders on the ridiculously difficult - and yet they don't look or sound difficult!

Anyway, Clair de Lune! I only managed to listen to the opening, but...you have some nice musical intentions, but I would look at the rhythm properly if I were you - the duplets and triplets are in different speed, all the time, to begin with! Are you counting? You need to fit your musical intentions within the same meter. Think about it

I know Clair de Lune is easy, lots of people tell me that, but I won't stop playing pieces I love because they're considered "easy" pieces. The whole suite is more on my level of playing, of course it will be a challenge, new pieces always are, but I'm sure I have the skills for it.
Haha, it's funny what you said about the rhythm, my teacher says me the exact opposite! That Clair de Lune is not supposed to be a stiff piece, but something that flows, and that I can have some freedom on the rhythm. And that's the way I feel the piece. Of course, your opinion is very important for me, thank you.

Thank you guys for all the opinions here, it really means a lot to me, thank you!

[communist]

Just don't be deceived. The Clair de Lune is BY FAR the easiest of the suite. The rest (especially Minuet) borders on the ridiculously difficult - and yet they don't look or sound difficult!

Anyway, Clair de Lune! I only managed to listen to the opening, but...you have some nice musical intentions, but I would look at the rhythm properly if I were you - the duplets and triplets are in different speed, all the time, to begin with! Are you counting? You need to fit your musical intentions within the same meter. Think about it

It is technically the easiest, but it is very easy to make the Debussy harmonies sound cluttered, particulary in Clair De Lune. All Debussy is hard musically though.

[pianowolfi]

I know Clair de Lune is easy, lots of people tell me that, but I won't stop playing pieces I love because they're considered "easy" pieces.

You are completely right. I have written things that are ridiculously easy, but I know for sure they must be exactly as they are.

[prongated]

I know Clair de Lune is easy, lots of people tell me that, but I won't stop playing pieces I love because they're considered "easy" pieces. The whole suite is more on my level of playing, of course it will be a challenge, new pieces always are, but I'm sure I have the skills for it.

Oh, let me clarify...I think by no means is Clair de Lune easy...my earlier remark was to point out how ridiculously difficult the other 3 in the set are. Take it as a precaution of a sort because, honestly, this suite ruined my Christmas, and my January! (I expected to have it all learned within a week or two, but it frustratingly dragged on to January!) But of course, keep playing this gorgeous piece! I love it too and am playing it now

Haha, it's funny what you said about the rhythm, my teacher says me the exact opposite! That Clair de Lune is not supposed to be a stiff piece, but something that flows, and that I can have some freedom on the rhythm. And that's the way I feel the piece. Of course, your opinion is very important for me, thank you.

Absolutely agreed it needs to be free-flowing, but first and foremost, it has meter. Without the basic rhythm, it will sound random, which to me this performance does at times. Also, partly due to the slow starting speed, you sped up rather a lot in phrases that you want to flow more - nice idea, but not so great in terms of execution.

My suggestion is, why not try playing the first 2 pages in strict time just once? Afterwards you can think about how the music would move, shaping the flow of the phrases. Of course, you may want to start at a slightly faster speed than here. But most importantly, you may not want to try this at all because it will be quite a change in thinking this piece. But I thought I would suggest it anyway, should you ever feel like experimenting with this and in any case, I do like many things you are doing with it!

[ramseytheii]

I only want to mention a few things, because one hears them so often.  This may be more my own personal taste but perhaps you will find it useful.

I think it's very nice and sensitively played.  I think that the first page can be made more coherent, by observing the melodic progression in the bass, as well as in the right hand.  If you listen carefully to the bass notes, you will observe that they sound disconnected from each other - but you can get a much longer line by paying more attention to the left hand.  I think as a result, your first page feels too fragmentary.

At tempo rubato, when you reach the rolled chords, I wouldn't rush and tumble into them, but rather the opposite, hold back as you reach the high point.  And I think they should be rolled more luxuriously, and not on the cheap, by which I mean, they are rolled too fast.

I don't like the way most people play the un poco mosso.  In my ear, it should not be all of a sudden aggressive and brilliant.  It's marked pianissimo, and only has a crescendo in the en animant (inconsistent with his languages) going to a forte before the calmato.  I find it disruptive, to play the un poco mosso in this way.

Also I find it, and its correlating passage in the coda, slightly too note-clear.  There should be more atmosphere, less brilliance, and in the un poco mosso, less aggression (the coda is more balanced.)

I think it's fine piano playing, but I only feel compelled to respond because one hears these same issues so much.

Walter Ramsey

[ramseytheii]

Absolutely agreed it needs to be free-flowing, but first and foremost, it has meter. Without the basic rhythm, it will sound random, which to me this performance does at times. Also, partly due to the slow starting speed, you sped up rather a lot in phrases that you want to flow more - nice idea, but not so great in terms of execution.

My suggestion is, why not try playing the first 2 pages in strict time just once? Afterwards you can think about how the music would move, shaping the flow of the phrases. Of course, you may want to start at a slightly faster speed than here. But most importantly, you may not want to try this at all because it will be quite a change in thinking this piece. But I thought I would suggest it anyway, should you ever feel like experimenting with this and in any case, I do like many things you are doing with it!

I agree with you that there is a lack of flowing phrases, but I attribute it to something else.  Pianists so often forget that we control all the aspects of the music: melody, harmony, bass and whatever else.  If you listen closely to the bass, you will find that it doesn't move in a coherent way, that the notes themselves are not phrased with each other.  That definitely takes away from the musical line, and I think that is what gives the impression of disconnect.

Walter Ramsey

[tab1er]

 Lovely. I'm printing off this music this morning and dreaming that one day I can learn to play it as beautifully as you. All the best Jan

[bella_brito]

Thanks. 

[liordavid]

fantastic interpretation! so beuatifal that u would win even if the judges hated classical music.