Medtner Fairy Tale Op. 35 no. 4 King Lear

[furtwaengler]

It was a windy day, which reminds me...

I recorded this earlier today, err yesterday (30th), on the same Yamaha in the same "live" auditorium as some other of my recordings (all improvs), but also with the same Olympus voice recorder as well...Medtner completely out muscles the voice recorder, but hopefully his music beats the recording and you will enjoy this little contribution. This was the best of three takes recorded during the course of trying on different music (my favorite thing to do). I do hope you enjoy.  

Lear:  Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!  
You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout  
Till you have drench’d our steeples, drown’d the cocks!  
You sulphurous and thought-executing fires,  
Vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts,  
Singe my white head! And thou, all-shaking thunder,  
Strike flat the thick rotundity o’ the world!  
Crack nature’s moulds, all germens spill at once  
That make ingrateful man!

[antichrist]

The playing was colourful and attractive
tempo can be faster if you want,berezovsky played it under 3:20

[rachfan]

Hi furtwaengler,

Bravo!  Although the recording equipment might have been less than optimal, nonetheless you're artistry shines through beautifully.  This is a very fine and exciting performance of "King Lear". I'm delighted too that you posted this difficult piece by the late romantic, Nikolai Medtner, whose music should be far better known today.  Rachmaninoff considered him at the time to be the greatest genius among living composers, and once exclaimed upon hearing Medtner play that "Nobody can tell a story like Nikolai!" This tale that you present bears that out.  I hope you will post more of Medtner's pieces in this forum.  

[quantum]

WOW!!  furtwaengler, this is beautiful!  Your playing deserves better equipment. 

Having played some Medtner myself I know how difficult his music can be. From listening, I am immediately drawn into the story. 

[pianowolfi]

Impressive! 

[goldentone]

It's great to hear you play something from the repertoire, Furtwaengler.  I really enjoyed this Medtner. I hope, too, you will post more Medtner in the future.  You definitely deserve a better recorder, but looking on the bright side, the limitations of the Olympus make you sound like a famous pianist recorded many years ago.  And that because of your playing, which is fantastic.  Encore!

[furtwaengler]

Wow, guys, thanks for the kind and encouraging comments!

I feel bad about the quality. This piano in this room has the capability of being so loud that it's hard to comprehend, which is great for such a huge vision as Medtner conceives in this short piece, but I feel sorry for that poor voice recorder, meant to record speech. It's kind of like the Geico gecko trying to catch his boss in that commercial. I've never invested in recording equipment, but then there's still so much basic stuff I need to learn (I'm a bit clueless to even transfer a tape)...and then I've never been an audiophile, which has been a great trait in listening to old and noncommercial recordings, but can be down right inconsiderate in a world of audiophiles!

So, Goldentone's fantastic comment made me laugh out loud because it's exactly what I do, "rediscovering a forgotten giant from the past."   Where do I mail the check?

Rachfan, I love your informative antidotes in this and other threads.  

Berezovsky probably does play this a notch faster, and he is capable, but I wouldn't want to go there myself. I'll say this about Berezovsky, though...whether you like him or hate him he brings a lot of good to the music world. It was a recital in Chicago that I first heard this remarkably effective piece.

Thanks again for the comments, guys; it's much more than I deserve.  

[lontano]

Exhilarating performance, absolutely thrilling! And like so much of Medtner it's a difficult work, yet you pull it off with delightful panache. May I ask how long you worked on this work?

You are way over-due for a recorder upgrade. When I worked as a music librarian/technician one of my duties was to record all student, faculty/staff, and guest recitals, and it was one of the most rewarding parts of my work, due in no small part to being funded for purchasing some very fine recording equipment (and several wonderful performance halls).

Initially, I used a gloriously warm (and big) Tandberg reel2reel tape recorder, and several sets of microphones to choose from. Sadly, after several years of producing some very fine recordings with this beauty, it was brazenly stolen, along with most of my recording equipment. But the silver lining in this tragedy was more funding, and this time I bought a new Sony Professional Portable Digital Audio Tape (DAT) recorder (at the time, it cost $2,500) along with some PZM microphones. This little unit, barely 6" x 9" x3" (deep) out-performed the Tandberg and was so small I could take it anywhere, and often did, on occasions when I was asked to record concerts off-campus, at other colleges and on several occasions at Lincoln Center.

My career came to a close in the mid-1990's and I have no idea what is available out there for the semi-professional audio technician, and I'd hardly expect anyone to fork out $2,500 but there must be newer technology that can do the job and doesn't require selling your soul. At the time DAT was a new format, and that Sony unit was a professional model. But seriously, a little voice recorder does no one justice. I really hope you (and some other people here in similar situations) find some way to upgrade your equipment, if only a little bit.

I would really enjoy hearing this Skazki, and any more Medtner you perform on something better than a dime store voice recorder!

I wish you well, and good luck hunting for a low-cost upgrade in the near future!

Lontano

[m19834]

Hi furtwaengler, great to hear this from you !  I'm not super familiar with Medtner nor his music, having heard a little bit anyway and read a little bit about him at different points through the years.  I have always enjoyed what I have heard though, and was surprised to read that he was something of a frustrated musician, feeling as though he were meant for something great but living in the shadow of Rachmaninov.

I enjoy your playing and will look forward to hearing more when you get the chance .

[lontano]

The playing was colourful and attractive
tempo can be faster if you want,berezovsky played it under 3:20

Speed isn't everything, and can ruin an otherwise fine performance.

[furtwaengler]

Exhilarating performance, absolutely thrilling! And like so much of Medtner it's a difficult work, yet you pull it off with delightful panache. May I ask how long you worked on this work?

Thanks very much, lontano. I familiarized myself with this Medtner in September and put it away. Meanwhile, I performed his 3rd Concerto with a community orchestra back on October 22. The Saturday before the Thursday concert I got the bright idea to put this Skazki together in case I could fit it in...this did not work out. I had it memorized in about three days, but I could not really pull it off until Tuesday the week after the concert. The Friday of this recording was about two weeks after the commitment to learn it. The other two tries were inferior to this one, which says something of consistency, but than this recording presented is far from perfect, which says something of quick learning. But still I was eager to present it even on a $60 voice recorder. 

I have much to learn regarding recording. I'll try to find an affordable upgrade. In the mean time I may post some past things recorded with other equipment. Thanks for the insight on your experience.

Hi furtwaengler, great to hear this from you !  I'm not super familiar with Medtner nor his music, having heard a little bit anyway and read a little bit about him at different points through the years.  I have always enjoyed what I have heard though, and was surprised to read that he was something of a frustrated musician, feeling as though he were meant for something great but living in the shadow of Rachmaninov.

I enjoy your playing and will look forward to hearing more when you get the chance .

Thanks Karli  As a pianist I think you'd really enjoy playing some of Medtner's scores...but if you still sing (!) he wrote over 100 songs which are FANTASTIC. You should give them a look. 

[m19834]

Thanks Karli  As a pianist I think you'd really enjoy playing some of Medtner's scores...but if you still sing (!) he wrote over 100 songs which are FANTASTIC. You should give them a look. 

Yeah, actually I agree that I, as a pianist, would probably enjoy him.  I think I read somewhere at some point, or heard about it or stumbled upon during research ... that he had written some songs (yes, I DO still sing (I think)), but I had completely forgotten about it until you mentioned it here !  Thanks for the reminder .  Cheers.

[ahinton]

I'm not super familiar with Medtner nor his music, having heard a little bit anyway and read a little bit about him at different points through the years.  I have always enjoyed what I have heard though, and was surprised to read that he was something of a frustrated musician, feeling as though he were meant for something great but living in the shadow of Rachmaninov.

I don't think that this offers an entirely correct picture; Medtner's work certainly fared considerably less well than did the better known pieces by Rakhmaninov for a good many years during and after both composers' lives, but then Rakhmaninov's own work as a whole was nowhere near as widely performed, broadcast and recorded then as it is today. Rakhmaninov, however, admired Medtner greatly and displayed his friendship and respect for him by helping him on a number of occasions. Rakhmaninov's works cover a wider range of media than Medtner's, including stage and orchestral pieces, but that's an observation, not a comparative value judgement. Each was a phenomenal pianist, though Medtner was arguably a less easy public figure than Rakhmaninov. Medtner's work has enjoyed a substantial and eminently well deserved renaissance in recent times.

Best,

Alistair

[ahinton]

I think I read somewhere at some point, or heard about it or stumbled upon during research ... that he had written some songs (yes, I DO still sing (I think)), but I had completely forgotten about it until you mentioned it here !

What? You'd forgotten that you sing? (!)...

To return to more serious matters, however - Medtner wrote some of the finest songs in the entire Russian literature, very different to but at least the equal of those of Tchaikovsky and Rakhmaninov.

Best,

Alistair

[m19834]

What? You'd forgotten that you sing? (!)...
Best,

Alistair

Nearly, Alistair ... nearly.  I was like this close :  [   ]  to forgetting !

[andhow04]

this is great.  your recording device is actually worse than mine, a $70 microphone that records directly onto the ipod.  i haven't heard many that come off worse...
but exciting playing!  i take this a little slower because i think the polyphony comes off better.  i still like this