Liszt Sonetto 123 del Petrarca

[kelly_kelly]

The extremely high quality of performances in the Audition Room inspired me to go back and listen to all the recordings I have made... of course, it just made me cringe more than usual! Luckily, I think I have finally accepted that there are some things I will never reach...

If any of you remember, I made a series of recordings several months back in preparation for an exam. This piece was an obvious mess in that session, as it is in this one, made slightly later... but maybe a little better? Every time I hear myself playing this piece, I get frustrated, but my teacher and the examiners liked it, so apparently I do something right sometimes? Just always off microphone... Oh well, enjoy if possible!

[becky8898]

You Rock Girl.  whats with all the doom and Gloom. Your teachers liked this.  I like it. what else do you need. Give yourself a break. Things take time.  And dont compare yourself to some of the recent posts in the audition room, especially lady Pianist.  Will all go crazy if we do that.  I am so happy you finally posted something at least while I have been here.  Now for something brillant to say.  Damm dont have anything. IM sure soon the really smart people around here will chime in.

Seriously though, I did enjoy listening to this and hope that you adopt a more positive attitude about your playing and posting and accept that its our privledge to hear you post.

Plus - we girls have to stick together - dont we .

Cheers, Becky

[rachfan]

Hi kelly,

I think you play this Sonetto 123 VERY beautifully.  There are a few minor finger slips, but they are not enough to detract at all from your fine performance.  You're very thoughtful in your approach to this music.  

A few observations, if I may:

In the opening, the melody is in the LH, so it's important to feature it over the RH accompaniment, that is to say, keeping the melodic line more in the foreground, and the accompaniment more in the background there. The other complication is that the accompaniment is in the tenor register of the piano which naturally has more volume that the weaker lower treble where the melody wants to be heard.  As it stands now, there is a competition to see which will prevail.  Over on page 5, bottom line at the reprise, I believe you handle the same situation more successfully there.  All you need to do is to transport that same technique back into the beginning.

At the bottom of page 1 which is marked p, here again the top quarter notes played tenuto in the treble staff are melodic and espressivo.  The off-beat notes are merely harmonic, so should not be equal in volume, but instead quieter--pp to start and light staccato in the RH part.  If you can, the idea is to maintain that relative difference in dynamics all the way through the crescendo.

On page 2 I like your control over touch, the way you play portato, for example.  Also you keep the rolls unobtrusive such that they blend right into the rhythm and line.  Nice!  On the second line of this page, first measure, first beat, you play the voice leading between the F in the RH and E flat at the top of the roll on the third beat so well.  Beautiful!

Page 2, third line, first measure, the B flat octave before the rolled one: If you take the C flat octave with 1-5, next the B flat octave with 1-4, and then the rolled B flat octave with 1-5, I think you'll feel more secure and will obtain better accuracy there.  Anytime we're dealing with legato octaves, the 4th and even 3rd finger can help connect the octaves, even more so on black keys.  

On page 2, bottom line, notice the LH scale: First measure, G flat, descending to F then E flat in the second measure, and finally D in the last measure there.  Scales take on a special significance in music and need to be heard. These are really strategic harmonies too. So no need to be shy about emphasizing those bass notes more.

Page 3, beautiful playing!  You bring a lot of excitement and then at the piu lento, much lyricism there. At the bottom line there, second measure in, what's happening is that you're taking a new pedal at the beginning of the measure, holding it down all the way through the beginning of the fourth beat, and holding the E-G in the LH and the C in the RH.  From the prior third beat the F# sound is still resounding as a neighboring tone and clashing in the pedal with the those notes just mentioned. And what is to be held there is not really the notes, as the fermatas are actually positioned over the rests that follow with no pedal. Notice too that the E-G in the LH has a staccato marking under it as well, so cannot be held in any case.  Here's my suggestion to avoid that discordant blur: Take the new pedal as you do now, hold it through the third beat only and play the fourth beat with the fingers only, observing the staccato in the LH.

Pages 5 and 6 are lovely!  On 5, top of the page, I like your unobtrusive arpeggiated appogiaturas there--they fit right in perfectly.  

On page 6, line 3, measure 2, I know there is a lot going on there, but you could probably make more of the perdendo--a simultaneous decrease in tone and time.  In the coda I like the way you play it a piacere--lovely and so lyrical, especially the sigh motifs.

I guess that's it, kelly.  Again you play this piece very well, and it's not an easy one to play.  Liszt includes some treacherous passage work, and you handle it like a pro.  

Brava!

David
 

[ladypianist]

How wonderful Kelly. You did very well. How strange you should pick this piece. it has such special memories for me.  The First time I heard I was quite young and it was my teacher Professor Sofronitsky who played it.  He was such a glorious pianist.  After he was done I came up to him and said that was very beautiful professor. He smiled and said, Little Nina always tell a  story when you play. Those where the words that I heard 67 years ago and I pass them onto you today. When you play always tell a story.  I have included a link to a recording of Professor Sofronitsky playing this piece. Do not compare yourself to it, but use it for inspiration and listen to the Story that Professor Sofronitsky told as he played. 

From one lady pianist to another.

[birba]

There was some very fine playing here.  There was some very fine artistry.  At one point, it was as if everything stopped and was suspended in the air - just like the last few lines of the sonnet describes!  Did you, by any chance, learn this sonnet?  I remember once I recited the petrarch sonnets before playing the pieces because it's SO important that the audience knows the connection between the written word and the music.  I loved the modulation to the minor - and, again, the pauses were so pregnant with meaning.   Rachfan has given some detailed valuable help here.  I imagine he, too, has played them.
Brava!
That sofrintsky recording is awesome.  It's like he's talking!!!  Unbelievable.

[emill]

Hi Kelly!

it is lovely and quite expressive ...  i really don't know why i am seeing and
hearing your anxiety from many here in pianostreet ... this tendency to
self-depreciate?   Perhaps the attempts to conform to the structure and
elements of the piece as prescribed by the composer creates a type of
requirement to fulfill and may cause the anxiety I often read.

Since i am not a pianist nor is schooled in music I rely a lot on
my ears and soul to feel  what the pianist plays .. and frankly this piece
you play feels good to me. 

[kelly_kelly]

Thank you all! I would have replied earlier, but exams got in the way...

Becky: Thank you for being so positive, as always. I wish I had had your attitude when I was your age... for that matter, I wish I had it now! Don't change

rachfan: Thanks you so much for your detailed comments! It's been a few months since I studied this piece "in detail", but I'm sure I will come back to it in the future. I'm working on Sonetto 104 now (hopefully will get a preliminary recording up sometime in the near-ish future) and I hope to someday perform all three sonnets together... Your suggestions (particularly those pertaining to the first page or so) are very valuable, though I think the pedalling on page 3 was something my teacher explicitly advised... definitely something to think about!

ladypianist: I'm glad you enjoyed my playing Sofronitsky's performance is divine - it was actually one of my "references" when I was first learning the piece, but it's been a while since I listened and I'm very happy you posted the link. It must have been incredible to hear him play live and study with him! For this piece, Petrarch has given us a "story", but in good poetry, like in good music, there are so many ways to look at what is written on the page, so the storyteller's work never ends...

birba: Thank you as always! I did not learn to actually recite the sonnet (for one thing, I don't know Italian...) but of course I studied translations. The idea of reciting the sonnet before playing is a good one, and if I ever manage to perform them it will be something to try. And yes, I love the Sofronitsky recording. It's funny because just the other day my mother was telling me that she didn't think a piano was as well suited to "sing" as some other instruments (this was after my orchestra had performed with a flautist and a violinist) - Sofronitsky certainly belies this!

emill: I suppose musicians are just self-critical people... in any type of art, in order to excel you must be your own harshest critic, because it is truly your own work, and nobody else can know what you are trying to say. This unfortunately can go too far and lead to unhealthy self-deprecation. Learning how to deal with it requires maturity which despite my nominal "adulthood" I don't quite have yet - but like anything I think it will come with time. At any rate, I'm glad you enjoyed listening