Alfred Schnittke, Aphorisms nr 3 & 5

[daniloperusina]

Marked Lento and Grave, respectively. Please feel free to share any opinions, or just like it or dislike it:)

[rachfan]

Hi danilo,

I have to admit I'm not too much into contemporary music, but listened to both of these pieces of the Russian composer Schnittke.  They're both tonal, and somewhat dark and brooding.  His idiom contains interesting tone clusters and contrasts of figuration.  Even though I don't know the music, your performances are communicative and convincing.  I would think it difficult to memorize music like this, but maybe not.  Very nice playing!

David

[birba]

That was great piano playing.  You have an absolute mastery of the sound production and what you want to create.  I especially liked the lento.  There was that magic hanging at the end that  means something truly took place.  I really enjoy listening to you.

[nikolasideris]

Danilo,

First of all thank you for your PM!

Secondly, thanks for offering a few more from the set here in public.

Lento

I have nothing to say, or offer feedback really in this case. The piece was performed greatly. It sounded (and looked actually) very accurate and quite well thought out. Clean and right to the point.

I think that the 'message' (I actually dissagree there can be a tangible message in instrumental music, since music is an abstract art, but anyhow) came accross. Or at least your perception of what you thought of the work, which is always very important, especially if the composers' thoughts seem in line with yours!

Grave

Again it's very clear and performed brilliantly!

The only thing I could say is that I would expect greater variation (or difference actually) on the dynamics, but I get a very secure feeling that it's the camera and the recording rather than your playing, so you might as well disregard that.

Once again thank you for sharing the pieces. They are little gems and your performances help understand that better.

[daniloperusina]

Rachfan,
I worked at memorization the last one-two hours before hitting the rec button. Not so easy to memorize, but not extremely difficult either.
I'm very happy you find them communicative, as that's one of the things I really try to do.

Birba, very flattering, thanks! I'm starting to 'discover' Schnittke's piano music, not least by these studies of my own, and I begin to think there's greatness in the writing, which of course helps the performer a lot.

Nikolas,
First, this is how I recorded:
Separate video camera; separate condenser microphones going into a DAT machine. Sound and image was put together in windows movie maker. It's exactly as it was performed, the location is a church wich accounts for the reverberation. One Bösendorfer (2) and one Steinway (3&5). No editing, no sound effects. If it's bad it's not the recording, it's me!:)

In the Grave, the range is typically mp-mf-f-ff. ff's are usually followed by mf or mp. So, I try to achieve that rather than going to more extremes.

For example, at 00:33 a bar starts with a chord deep in the bass, marked f and cresc, ends with a comma-sign. Next bar starts at 00:37, marked mf. Out of respect for the score, and sensing that there' a structure here, I deliberately aimed for a more mf-ish sound there, rather than p or pp. The same approach in all the pieces, at all points. I must make sense of it, of course, and that's where you might not agree.

Cheers!

[goldentone]

It's been awhile since you posted a recording, hasn't it?  Great compelling playing, Danilo.
The second was my favorite of the two.