Ravel Sonatine

[yiyiku]

yes i know there is a fatal mistake at the end of the 3rd movt!
comments welcome, as always, thanks in advance!

[furtwaengler]

"Fatal mistake" aside (this really didn't bother me!), I thought in terms of flow and musicality the last movement appeared the most successful and convincing. The first movement needs a more over-arching conception...I feel right now there is to much stopping to smell the roses (or that you are still making decisions?) and it impedes the flow of the piece as a hole. Also, the breathes in the theme...it seems like you return in a different line. I wonder if practicing sustaining the line across the breath would help, because there is a disconnect right now. It reminds me a this legendary shop teacher some had at my high school, Mr. Lamply. Mr. Lamply was 6 feet, 4 inches tall, weighed above 600 lbs...and was narcoleptic! I heard stories that he would be calling the role and conk out in the middle of someones name, and a few seconds later revive and finish the name as if nothing had happened. ("Yi-

***

-yi Ku?"). That's a funny and true story (Mr. Lamply is still going and has lost a lot of weight). 

That's the best (I mean the oddest) way I could use to express what I hear in those breathes in the first movement. It's like the theme is narcoleptic.

The second movement *is* beautiful, and can allow this time more expression. There is room...and I think it is the theme which starts in the left hand and builds to the climax. This can be more sung and exaggerated, and it will cause for greater contrast at that magical chord which you indeed play oh so beautifully. I like the melding together of the chords at the end, but in the break just before this last statement, there is again a little disconnect between statements.

You play so beautifully, though and hearing you play the Sonatine makes me want to go play it. It's contagious. What a beautiful. beautiful piece it is! Will you be giving these pieces your uploading in a recital soon? I wish you the best of luck. 

[yiyiku]

thanks, furtwaengler, for your very detailed comments. again, you always give such encouragement and constructive criticism which i appreciate immensely. i feel like i am getting a free piano lesson on this forum every time i post a video!

i don't have a recital planned in my calendar, but would like to work towards one. i have just been recording these pieces so i do not forget them and it keeps me motivated to keep practicing.

[birba]

I agree with Furtwangler.   the last movement works because you played it with little rubato and it flowed from beginning to end.  Ravel is one composer that demands that you work with the metronome.  He was VERY precise in his tempi indications and any added rubato can ruin his pure style of writing.  Just listen to how some pianists can distort jeux d'eau beyond belief.  Take the metronome and play the exposition like a machine a couple of times, ignoring the rits.(1/4 note = 72? I don't know, I don't have my music here)   Afterwards, play with the metronome, observing the rits and breaths, but working back into the original tempi.  It takes a while to get the hang of it, but it will help you in the end.  Because you have a wonderful sound and phrasing.  But the stop and go just doesn't make sense.
I feel the minuet just a little bit faster.  I don't remember if there's a metronome marking there.  But try to feel the measures as a single beat and not the 1-2-3 of the quarter notes.  I think you could experiment with a little more pedal, as well.  Here, again, your control of the sound in the chord playing is excellent.