Szymanowski, Chopin, Bartok and Debussy - Live

[fnork]

From a concert recently. On the program:

Szymanowski - Metopes op 29
Chopin - Mazurka op 56 nr 3
Bartok - Etude op 18 nr 2
Debussy - Etude "pour les accords"

[birba]

Is there any way you can divide these pieces?  I have now heard the szymanowski ad nauseum.  everytime I "pause" it goes back to the beginning. And you can't go ahead with it.  My computer doesn't accept windows media player, unfortunately.  I got to the chopin.  Liked it very much.  Stopped a moment to go to the kitchen, and now it's back to szymanowski!  I refuse to go through it again!  I'm very curious to hear the bartok and the debussy!

[liszt85]

Is there any way you can divide these pieces?  I have now heard the szymanowski ad nauseum.  everytime I "pause" it goes back to the beginning. And you can't go ahead with it.  My computer doesn't accept windows media player, unfortunately.  I got to the chopin.  Liked it very much.  Stopped a moment to go to the kitchen, and now it's back to szymanowski!  I refuse to go through it again!  I'm very curious to hear the bartok and the debussy!

+1, exactly my predicament.

[rachfan]

Hi fnork,

When the player option stopped after the Szymanowski and then replayed it, I thought it was a problem with the player, so I next used the download option instead.  Same problem.  It might be better if you re-load these as separate pieces.

David

[fnork]

well guys, thats strange, because I have no problem myself with listening to the recording I posted, and taking all the way to the end of it. anyways. I have the competition with this program tomorrow, I´ll just post that recording once I have it. Be patient

[rachfan]

Hi fnork,

You're a real artist, so we just want to be sure we hear it all. 

David

[furtwaengler]

***For what it's worth, this file presented me with no problems at all. I heard everything on the program.***

Fnork,

Thank you, thank you, thank you for playing some of the greatest music ever penned by a composer who knew how to pull the most exotic, exquisite, gorgeous sound world out of the piano. I adore this music. Never could I do justice to much of what he wrote myself for the fact my hands will always be as small as they are...while I lament this, I rejoice in hearing somebody who certainly can do justice to this most special piano music.

And how well it goes with the Bartok Etude! Excellent choice! Actually, the Chopin, too - of course the Chopin! And the DebussyThis is a very well chosen program...complements of both the sound and the heritage of Szymanowski. You are certainly an artist of artists and I hope your career continues to progress.

Very interesting handling of the tenutos (tenuti?) in the Bartok. I don't think I've heard it played quite that way.  (One of many reason I love live performances). Actually your emphasis throughout the Bartok brings in a refreshing newness.

I was certainly excited to hear all this...just seeing Szymanowski in this room!

[fnork]

Furtwaengler, thanks for the very positive comments and feedback. Yes, Szymanowski generally presents problems for the small-handed pianists. Leaving out notes or arpeggeating them is not always a sensible solution either, unfortunately, unless you´re able to somehow do it in a very imprerceptible way (I remember for example Alicia de Larrocha commenting that Ravels left-hand concerto never caused her much problems in spite of her small hands - she simply found ways to arpeggiate effectively. Haven´t heard her performance of the piece though)

One would imagine that the big problem with learning any of the bigger Szymanowski pieces is memorization, and indeed it was probably the last thing I felt "secure" with (if one can ever feel completely secure with pieces like this one). At the same time, the many difficult passages simply need a fair amount of work and are automatically memorized in this process, while other parts...well, let´s say it was a great deal of fun playing around with this piece and perhaps I did more of that than actually "practicing" in a way - that way, the music somehow got memorized, as well. But it did take time....Fortunately, I feel that the difficult part of the job is now done, and picking the piece up again in sometime I´m sure it will feel much less a pain in the ass than Gaspard or something similar.


Which tenutos in Bartok were you referring to, the ones in the opening bars...?