Chopin Prelude Op. 28 No.7

[samthegreat4]

Hey Guys,

I'm quite new here, so I'll introduce myself briefly.
Hello, I'm Sam, 17 years old(male), and I live in the Netherlands.
I started of by playing Alto-Sax, then I went on to play the piano some 5 years ago (self-taught).
I also play the guitar, but that's not of much relevance as this is a pianoforum..
How's that for a brief intro!

Here goes my first post: Chopin's prelude Op.28 No.7
Now I listen to it, I find it played a bit too fast and the grace note played a bit too loud in the penultimate measure. Also maybe the bass should be a bit quieter. But that's things you find out when you listen to it after recording ..

Greets,
Sam

[ramseytheii]

It's nice.  It's not too fast.

Why does everyone think this prelude needs to be played at the speed of a funeral march?
(At least everyone on pianoforum.  Yes, everyone.  I linked to all their recordings to prove my point several months ago.)

Walter Ramsey

[stevebob]

I agree with Walter.  That was nice (and most definitely not too fast for the prescribed Andantino).

[rachfan]

Hi sam,

I like your rendition.  Very nice!  One of its merits is that you play the repetitive chords in each measure with equal volume which is correct.  Some pianists make diminuendos of them.  Had Chopin wanted that effect, then he would have written it into the score.  Your tempo sounds about right to me.  You brought out the harmonic changes in the left hand quite well too.  This is not an easy piece to play.  During his lifetime the great pianist Moritz Rosenthal then in his 60s said he had been studying this prelude throughout his life, and was still gleaning new insights.  One thing is for sure: Chopin leaves the pianist no place to hide in this piece.

[samthegreat4]

Thanks for the input guys.
@Rach: yeah I read the Rosenthal's comment somewhere too, it's interesting.
The piece seems simple, but it's indeed kinda hard to balance everything the way it needs to be.

[zeusje]

Well played,

guess I listened the preludes as played in a sequence on recordings a lot, was expecting the next prelude...

groetjes uit Amsterdam

[gyzzzmo]

Nice tempo, i myself play it abit faster, but yours makes sense too. Try to emphasize the melody a bit more; think with your pinky

[birba]

Too fast?!  I think andantino is one of those terms that can encompass many tempi.  It's slower then a moderato, but faster than an andante.  Or so they say.  Anyway, here I feel that the phrases are grouped into 4 measures each.  So that, perhaps, a little bit faster would work better.  But I did like your sound and touch control.

[gyzzzmo]

Too fast?!  I think andantino is one of those terms that can encompass many tempi.  It's slower then a moderato, but faster than an andante.  Or so they say.  Anyway, here I feel that the phrases are grouped into 4 measures each.  So that, perhaps, a little bit faster would work better.  But I did like your sound and touch control.

Ehm, who here says it is too fast?

[birba]

Ehm, the guy who recorded it... 

[gyzzzmo]

Ehm, the guy who recorded it... 

Ehm, 'oops'

[littletune]

It's really nice, I liked it a lot!  

(sorry I just want to say something unimportant and stupid, but that "ehm" was really funny, because me and my friend have two little imaginary friends and one of them always says eeehmm before he starts talking ... specially when he wants something to eat  and he wants to eat all the time anyway    ... so he's like: eehmmm all the time...  so that was really funny  ... ehm... sorry for talking about my stupid childish jokes...  ) 

[gyzzzmo]

Ehhhm..... Whaa?

[littletune]

Ehhhm..... Whaa?

Ehm... that whaa? is like Jack Sparrow!      I posted a picture of my imaginary friends once maybe i will do it again, but not here... cause this doesn't have anything to do with this thread... really sorry!