New Video Chopin op10-4

[johnmar78]

Ladies and Gents,
here you go, just did this at 1am today.

Again, pure capturing of piano sound with no sound editing or cut/paste.

I played the entire etude virtually with no pedal as am trying to simulate Chopin's Pleyel piano which was less resonant than modern piano  now.
I hope you like it....

Ps, I could go  a bit faster, but I take it safe

Apologies for nail ticking noises, that I could not avoid(very short already, blame Chopin)

[starstruck5]

You definitely have beautiful supple hands and fingers -you got around most of the challenges in this etude with a fair amount of ease -Very good  playing.

I think you would agree though that it needs to be faster -and have more boiling momentum. I always think this etudes is a swarm of super busy insects -something has disturbed them and they are out to get revenge! They swarm and fly in angry waves -just my view!

Were you wearing any clothes in this video by the way -

[rachfan]

Hi johmar,

I think you've brought this etude along quite well.  I agree with startstruck that probably a faster tempo would be appropriate. However, consider this first: Sometimes your articulation becomes a bit uneven or ragged resulting is some little hesitations and speed-ups.  Also there are some places where you could add more drama to your rendition.  At the moment I would do some metronome drills with the piece to smooth out the flow of the musical line.  Start slower than the tempo you now use to play it, then progress upward from there, but ONLY as long as you can maintain full control and accuracy, no further. If in that gradual process you can exceed your current tempo, then consider that a victory.  This process cannot, by the way, be done in an hour--it takes time.  These Chopin Etudes are a lifetime study, which is why they stand so tall in the piano literature.

David

[johnmar78]

thanks guys, Dave,do you know how easy that was done with the recorder after all the hard work I put in. I could not beleive it myself. My ultimate goal was to play it with ease that the listeners can hear that I played it with no efforts, which I beleive I have acheived. Next is my artiulation, there are few parts just recorved from my corrections, but not good enough.
 
And the room temp is 25C, I had a bowl of fried rice with chili sauce, and Startstuck, you are very clever you must have some kind of  6th sense, that ONLY part of my face was shown.

This is just the begining, my next aim was put more aggresion in it with out butching this etude.
I want do some revenge......

Thanks agin for listening.

[danhuyle]

Great advice as always Rachfan. I'm playing this etude myself and it's very tempting to play as fast as possible.

In bar 27 and 28, is it better to use fingers 14 5 2 3 for those 2 bars? I couldn't make out the fingering you're using John. I've tried 13 4 2 3 however that doesn't get the legato whereas 14 5 2 3 you get the legato flowing. Although 14 5 2 3 is the ideal fingering, it's hard work, but as Rachfan mentioned, Chopin Etudes are a lifetime study.  Either I take the challenge or walk away?

[johnmar78]

thanks Dan, I take onboard, will have a close look tonight. By teh way, I did speed drills this week, and I managed to do 2m 10 sec, or just under 2.05. Whicjh I slashed 30sec of my current recording. Iwill upload sometime next week.
Looking forward to hearing your version. check your pm.

[quantum]

Good work johnmar. 

In addition to what has been said above, I think that you could do with more control of tone.  There are times when strings of consecutive notes all have wildly varying tonal characteristics.  I know it is much more difficult to concentrate on tone with pieces that are as "busy" as this etude, nonetheless it is an important facet in polishing up a piece.  Listen very carefully to the tone of your sixteenth note passages: are there any notes that stick out like a sore thumb, are there any notes that sound timid, are there any passages where tone sounds inconsistent and not congruent with the musical intention.  There certainly is a place for contrasty tonal characteristics, but such occurrences need to be musically viable within the fabric of the piece and executed with intent. 

[johnmar78]

thanks Quatum, affirmative, I will pay attention to detail in my next...

[emill]

Hello!
I don't pretend to know how to play this piece, for one i am not a pianist, but in the innumerable times I have heard this played I seem to have been impressed that there should be some more command and forcefulness in the expression of certain portions and some more speed in tempo. .. but perhaps being 1 am made you play it softer?  Don't mind me ... I just go by what I feel and have heard others play in the past.  Overall .... good piece .... GOOD playing considering its level of difficulty.  THANKS!!

[virtuoso4]

Thanks for showing your playing..johnmar78 , a very challenging piece indeed. Yes, keep polishing and tempo increase is a must ,you will get what you deserved.