Chopin Nocturne No. 1 Op. 48

[djokluv]

Hi! I'm in love with this piece and am about to perform it at an audition the day after tomorrow for college tryouts... unfortunately, I've only had this piece for a couple of weeks and I haven't received any input from my teacher or anyone else.  I've just looked up youtube videos of Valentina Igoshina and Yundi Li and a couple others, but their interpretations are all so different and I'm feeling very frustrated because I don't know how to get the sound I want! Any input would be GREATLY appreciated!! Also, if any of you have any background on this piece (I know it was dedicated to one of his favorite students, but besides that, I got nothing) so that I can better interpret this piece, that will be a great help.    
Just made the recording, sorry for the poor quality... and the wrong notes... I'm not looking for technical advice as much as phrasing input... thank you!

[j_menz]

Very nicely done, especially after just a couple of weeks!

A couple of points.  First, you're a bit heavy in the pedal. In the first two sections, you need to make a clear break between pedalled bits, you're inclined to make the change after you've played the first note of the new bit, and it blurs the effect. In the doppio movimento, you should consider either half pedalling, or pedalling more often than indicated. Piano's in Chopin's day didn't have the same sustain on the notes, and the indicated pedalling tends to make this sound too muddy.

Also, where the notes are marked staccatto, it is important to play them as such (pedal notwithstanding). It does make a difference.

In the doppio movimento, there are some really nice bits in the bass line which you should look for and bring out more - your bass line lacks some musicality (it just sort of goes up and down with the melody). You'll be surprised how much better it will sound if you work on this a bit.

I especially like your tempo - it seemed a bit slow at first, but it grew on me as the piece progressed.

In the middle section, you should play attention to which chords are marked as arpeggiated. You roll them all the same where you have to without distinguishing. The ones marked as arpeggios should maybe be a bit slower, and the others should be as quick as possible. The contrast will improve the flow of the passage no end.

As I said, great effort, and good luck in the audition.

[djokluv]

Thank you so much for your thorough reply, j! I will try to improve on those things. Thanks for the good luck!

[virtuoso4]

The recording quality is not too bad. I have studies and played this piece. It is very diffucult in the middle section.Your playing was very mature. What a wondeful perfromance.
thanks