Liszt - Totentanz (arranged for Solo Piano) WORK IN PROGRESS

[perfect_pitch]

Hey there...

Decided to focus on the Liszt Totentanz Solo arrangement... I'm learning it slowly, but wanted to put up what I've done so far... Any help you can give would be great.

I've only really memorised the theme and the first 4 variations, so for now - that's all I'm putting up.

[wilmerguido]

just wondering... how old are you? 

[perfect_pitch]

26... I've only been working on this piece for a little over a week.

[pianisten1989]

Careful with the voicing in the beginning . And you only make yourself look bad if your trying to speed things up already after a week. There's really nothing to say, you need to fix the voicing, some rhythm, pedal, coordination... So basically everything.

[demimondegirl]

Best ever transcription/paraphrase of the dies irae warhorse, each variation stuns.

Also, a solid one week rehearsal for your date with death! Bravo, ambitious friend.

[perfect_pitch]

Careful with the voicing in the beginning . And you only make yourself look bad if your trying to speed things up already after a week. There's really nothing to say, you need to fix the voicing, some rhythm, pedal, coordination... So basically everything.

Oh come on - it can't be that bad... Okay, so the voicing may be a little bit weird in the beginning, but where else???

What's wrong with my pedalling?

[pianisten1989]

No, it's not that bad, but it bad for being you.
I can be nice and say "Omg, all that in one week?! You are sooo talented!" But would you be any better? And I'm not really pro learing the notes in one week, but missing quite a lot of other things. Less is more, imo.

Okay so, (my speaker doesn't work atm, so I just take from memory) the beginning is too unclear. I don't know if you use too much pedal or just being lazy in your voicing, but I can't really hear either the tritonus or the melody well enough.
The pedaling is wrong in the way that the fast passages sounds uneven. Make sure it says clean, but not super-dry as now.
(The rhythm is in the slow variation, but i can't remember the details, so I come back when my speakers start working.)

[perfect_pitch]

Okay - you are right about the voicing been a bit unclear in the beginning - I will fix that...

I've got a piano lesson on Wednesday, so I'll get a little info from my teacher and advice on what I've done so far, and I'll hopefully do a new recording in the year 2011.

I think I'm just dying to play something after my last exam... and I've been wanting to play this piece for years... more than anything.

[crawf1ac]

It doesn't add up for me. You've wanted to play it for years, but you can basically learn and play it in a little over a week?

[perfect_pitch]

It doesn't add up for me. You've wanted to play it for years, but you can basically learn and play it in a little over a week?

Oh no... I've got much more to go... That recording was like a draft to see what needs fixing. I've got a number of variations to go, and it gets worse and worse and more difficult from here.

And I hope to actually put up a proper performance recording in about 7 weeks.

I was doing an exam up until October of this year, so that's why I've been waiting for ages.

[furtwaengler]

And you only make yourself look bad if your trying to speed things up already after a week.

I disagree with this. I'm a big fan of slow practice, but not a sort of graded practice which gets you up to speed in three months. I think it's quite alright to speed things up already, in context.

Aside from that, I think this is a really good piece for you perfect_pitch, and it's going to be really cool when you've got it all down!

[nanabush]

Ya, crazy stuff right there!  I want to hear the end product to this so badly.

[perfect_pitch]

Ya, crazy stuff right there!  I want to hear the end product to this so badly.

Well... after seeing my teacher - I'm even more motivated to completing it...   

I plan to upload a video of me playing it in about 8 weeks time.   

[pianisten1989]

How's the piece going now?

[perfect_pitch]

Unfortunately, I snapped a piano string 2 days after my last comment, and the one guy who can make a duplicate string has been on holiday, until tomorrow (10th Jan).

So when I get my string back, then I'll be able to continue practicing, but sadly enough - haven't been able to play a note in the last 3 weeks... so progress has halted.

 

[pbryld]

Any progress?

[perfect_pitch]

I'm still plugging along with the piece, however it's still not up to speed yet. I'm getting close. Hoping to post a recording in March hopefully.

I got my piano string replaced, however I've been told I needed to wait 8 weeks before I get the strings tuned again - to help the new G string I snapped, retain it's tautness.

[becky8898]

Hi Perfect: I think for a week this was pretty nifty. One of those pieces that sounds hard to get right.  But I have a question. When you do a piece like this , before you even play a note, do you do any prep work. Checking fingering, harmonic analysis, etc. Or do you kind of jump right in and work it out as you go. Im looking foward to see how it goes with this. 

Cheers, Becky

[perfect_pitch]

The finger work I do practically from the start... I'll go through the piece passages at a time and just go through the given fingering... then if there are passage I'm not sure off - I will spend the time to figure out all possible fingerings (if more than one) then figure out the best fingering. I did the same with the Stravinsky - That had bugger all fingering in the entire piece, so I pretty much did everything.

As I go through the whole piece slowly working out the fingering - I also look at the voicing too... Since this piece is basically a big set of variations - I also have to work out how to bring the melody out as well.

I also have perfect pitch... So working out the harmonies is as easy as listening to it once... maybe twice.

[perfect_pitch]

Well... It's been a while since I first started this piece... and because of a few disruptions I got side-tracked, but now that the school holidays are here, I plan to give this piece another go and hopefully finish it before the year is up.

This was a cold-run of the piece, in one single recording. I know it's a little dodgy in some areas, so if you've got any exercises, tips or tricks that you think could help me in particular passages - let me know.

I'd like to hear peoples opinions on it so far. I know it gets a little loose towards the end, but my fingers were starting to get cold.

[perfect_pitch]

Seriously... Nothing???

[kellyc]

Hey Perfect. Its interesting listening to this piece like this. Last year I had the privilege of conducting this piece with full orchestra. During our rehearsals we had a very specific problem that we had to deal with over and over again. Totentanz tends to be very active and then come to a very quick stop. KInd of like a car jamming on its breaks. Making those breaking moments work, is not easy. When your going fast it isn't easy to come to a complete stop and do it well. In listening to you play , that is exactly the same thing I'm hearing. Of course as a solo pianist its even harder than working with an orchestra. The rest of your problems are insignificant and will be mostly solved with more practice.

Hope this helps a little.

Kelly

[pbryld]

I think it is played much too slow (in some areas at least). It doesn't sound very exciting.

[perfect_pitch]

Hey Pbryld... I'm working on the speed, believe me. Which area mainly is it you think is too slow, the ending, the fugato?

Usually I got no problem coming to a stop... it's just having the energy to get through the faster more up-tempo parts that's the problem. I need to build up my stamina...

[pianoman53]

Hi, PP!

I think you're doing quite good. Maybe some of the passages have to be faster, but there is no need to try to rush it.
There are a few things I miss in your recording.

One is the voicing:
You probably have to overdo it in the beginning. Now they disappear sometimes, and then it doesn't sound as well as it could.

An other one is colour, and variation.

After the first slow variation, the theme isn't that interesting anymore. We've heard it like 6 or 10 times, and there are a few things that would be cool to put in the spotlight. Like the glissandos, which for me are way too modest right now.
Also I feel you play with the same colour the whole way through, more or less. Try to find diferent voicing, and maybe different phrasing. Aka, different sort of "attack" into the keys.

Very well done with the slow one in major. You just, again, need to do something about the voicing in the arpegios. For me, it's a notch too heavy. Play the "chord" a bit lighter, and the melody tone with a bit more care.

Most parts are also, for me, too dry. But I understand this is a work in progress, and then it's no use in adding loads of colourful pedal, when you have so much other things to think about.

[liszt1022]

Nice going, perfect_pitch! I have checked your Youtube, do you plan to make a video of this? How much did you keep up/ improve since 2011?

I've got my eye on this now.
This should be called "1001 Ways to Play Dmin and the dim7 Chords"
Not that there's anything wrong with that!
The score sure looks scary, but the more I dig in and try it out, the more reasonable it becomes.
So many fun patterns and figurations!
Did you enjoy your journey learning it?
I am sure I will be taking a slower tempo. No sense pushing it past what I can do accurately.