Out with the old, in with the new. This thread is for everybody!

[birba]

Rules:  When you post a new recording, you must erase the old.  (That means "modifying" and substituting the old one with the new one.)

[costicina]

Che bello!!!!!!!!
Fire, passion, energy; you are dynamite, really...such a joy to listen
Mi hai lasciato a bocca aperta, diavolo di un Birba!!!!!

[49410enrique]

[candlelightpiano]

I like the way you present your thread, Birba, by not mentioning the name of the piece.  So when I clicked on your link, I felt like I was tearing off the wrapping to uncover the gift ...and what a lovely surprise!  I've never heard this Rachmaninoff piece before.  I confess my ignorance and tell you that the only Rachmaninoff I know is the C sharp minor Prelude.    But I was captivated by your performance of this powerful piece.  Loved the melancholy left hand melody with the bell like quality of the right hand.  There was such a majestic feel to it.  Had a revolutionary feel to it.  Thanks for introducing this piece to me.  

[pianowolfi]

In with the old, yes!

Listening to this I feel like you want to go more in depth with this Prelude and that this is the reason for you to take it up again.

Let me share some ideas that I have about it.

To me it is primarily a very soulfoul and very deep piece with many different voices, and layers, as well rhythmically as dynamic-wise.

We are facing a huge temptation when we play it. We tend to make a huge pile of sound and very fast notes out of it. A bravissimo kind of crowd-pleaser. Which it is not. In fact it's a deep and soulful song of joy, melancholy, struggle and triumph. Subtleness and p or pp are as well a part of it as f and ff.

A fascinating piece, a truly magical piece.

[birba]

I'm there with you 100%.  It's very difficult to back away from the "show piece".  But I know what you mean.  You always hit it right on the nose, wolfi.

[zeusje]

Well done, I enjoyed your video!

[birba]

old

[pianowolfi]

This is very very touching, to me!   (it's a stupid emoticon in this context, I know, but it's true.)

[costicina]

I'm madly in love with this Etude. It has a sorrowful, song-like quality that moves me deeply, and your interpretation is SUPERB.  The intense beauty of the 'counterpoint' becomes at times a two voiced lament.....
Grazie di cuore per questo gioiello, mi sono davvero commossa  

[birba]

This is very very touching, to me!   (it's a stupid emoticon in this context, I know, but it's true.)

I don't know why it's a stupid emotion.  It's very touching to me, too! (the etude, I mean)

[pianowolfi]

I don't know why it's a stupid emotion.  It's very touching to me, too! (the etude, I mean)

Yes that is wonderful, and your playing has moved me to tears, that's what I mean, and if I really have these feelings the emoticon seems somewhat stupid, in comparison with the real thing.

[costicina]

No, Birba, Wolfi meant the emoticon , not the emotion: he is too intelligent and sensitive to call stupid an emotion....

P.S. ...it seems our replies have intersected each other  

[pianowolfi]

No, Birba, Wolfi meant the emoticon , not the emotion: he is too intelligent and sensitive to call stupid an emotion....

Yeah

[birba]

I was feeling VERY stupid that two non-english-mother-tongue speakers knew a word that I didn't know.  I had to go look up "emoticon".  It seems it's a word from 1985.  emotion + icon = emoticon which is that smiley face (in this case, teary face) used in computers.
Can you believe it?  Where do I live?!?!?!

[pianowolfi]

You are not stupid, of course. I think you are wise . I never heard that etude the way you play it, it's intense.

[costicina]

Where do I live?!?!?!

In your hyperuranium of music, of course!!!! 

[candlelightpiano]

You live in a world of wondrous melodies, Birba! 

As usual, I plead ignorance as I've never heard of this piece before though I LOVE Chopin.  But by the time you're done introducing your lovely repertoire to me and I hope it never ends, really, I should have acquired a pretty good appreciation.  Loved your performance of this very sad melody.  When the right hand came in, it was exquisite.  Even the two silences were filled with sorrow.  The fast scale passage added to the overall color of this melancholic piece.  I hope to one day be able to play this piece and thanks once again for introducing me to yet another lovely composition.

[birba]

Even the two silences were filled with sorrow.  

Now THAT'S what I wanted to hear!!!!  (Wolfi's an expert at that.)

[ronde_des_sylphes]

I listened to this earlier today. Despite the sound quality not being great, this is quite a performance! Full of life and emotion. Most enjoyable.

[candlelightpiano]

Now THAT'S what I wanted to hear!!!!  (Wolfi's an expert at that.)

I loved your sound of silence .....

[birba]

I listened to this earlier today. Despite the sound quality not being great, this is quite a performance! Full of life and emotion. Most enjoyable.

I don't like the sound either.  I'm going to try moving the camera back.  It's too close.  I use an extra mike, but it still sounds so tinny.  Of course, the piano isn't all that great, either.

[johnmar78]

10/10 next.......

[starstruck5]

I can't say anything profound about the Chopin Etude -I have never studied it -but those who have suffered understand the dark emotions better than anyone -there is the silence before you are even born -life -and then back to silence.  This is what you played so eleoquently and this is what I heard anyway. 

[49410enrique]

splendid, simply splendid, you managed to make that melodic lines sing like cello (which is how i have always heard this in my mind).

[rachfan]

Hi birba,

Marvelous playing!  You balance the melodies in the two hands beautifully, often making the cello melody in the left hand predominant as appropriate.  Your rendition was also very deeply felt in the playing.  I really enjoyed listening.

David

[ted]

I can listen to your playing, birba. A lot of classical goes in one ear and out the other with me, but there is some quality or other in your playing which is different. It was the same with the Liszt Db study. Haven't quite put my finger on what it is yet. The nearest I can get to describing it is that you sound as if you were improvising it - something to do with phrasing I think. Might be peculiar to me of course, idiosyncratic listener so to speak, but I rarely hear it in the playing of famous pianists.

[birba]

h

[candlelightpiano]

Enchanting!!  It began with romance in the air with the two voices -love the repeated bass chords and tender melody in the treble and bass.  Then, and maybe my imagination is too fertile here but I feel as if  I'm in the enchanted forest and fairies and mischievous pixies are cavorting by the light of the moon.  The two lovers are here, among the magical creatures as the romantic melody returns and they all dance and have a grand time.  The woods are alive! Love the boisterous finale! 

And also like the camera position where we can see your hands as they dance over the keys!  It's part of the magic!

[costicina]

WOW!!!!!!
After the passion of Beethoven, the meditative sorrow of Chopin, here is the agile grace of this delightful piece....A brilliant performance, truly enchanting.

The least I can say is that you captured in all its nuances the meaning of the Italian adjective "capriccioso"....
Che spiritello malizioso e giocoso nelle tue dita, maestro!!!
E quella camicia bianca.....

[49410enrique]

*sigh i love that Mendelssohn, I think you did a superb job of making that andante theme really sing, i think the tendency is to perhaps play it a bit slow my most folks but i rather like the way this moves, it is after all 'antante' or like walking, not dragging your heels in the mud, funeral march....and the quick sections really dances, he afterall had originally composed that section i think with some intent as an etude, so the regularity of the rythm and quick clean articulations really come through.

it was magical man! like sprinkle me on some pixie dust, lets fly magical

[zeusje]

Nice Mendelssohn Birba, Tx for uploading, I always enjoy watching your videos.

[emill]

Dear Birba,

You play this beautifully and in a singing manner!! I have always wished that Enzo would play the middle portion in a slower mode but with poetic expression, but could not come up with a "model" to show what I meant .....  but now, here it is!!!   THANKS.....

Just to show you what I meant, although this was some time ago; call it the exuberance of youth or am I wrong??  THANKS AGAIN....

[birba]

There was nothing wrong with that!  He played like his age.  and his technical facility is remarkable. Did you mean to stop it in the middle?

[emill]

hello Birba,

Oh well I thought it was "inappropriately fast" and I just felt that the middle portion would be better to listen to in a slower more deliberate and musical fashion, like what you did.  Perhaps I am just getting old! and tend to have more conservative taste in tempo .... sorry for this distraction in your thread.

[birba]

h

[49410enrique]

birba what a wonderful breath of fresh air.  rare is the pianist capable of conveying the simple elegance of mozart convincingly (think how many times we are treated to really great mozart as an encore for example? you could pull it off).

i had some great commentary but alas i hit the wrong click on my mouse or keybaord the the stupid browser backed up and i lost all my text. you have my praise, you'll no doubt recieve more.

if my ear wanted more of anything i can only (without really listening to repeats of sections over and over again) is in the 1:45-about 2:00/2:15, (and this might be due to editions, you have an urtext so perhaps this isn't on your score but i like this notation and the beginning should have an 'improvissatory feel' so i wouldn't see this as atypical of mozart) some more variety in the articulation/touch of the RH section with a bit more emphasis on the dissonat interval and more 'up' motion on the resolution, "TEEEE-dah"  "TEEEE-dah",. hmm this is tough , here this is what i'm referring too:









also, again depending on edition if yours doesnt have staccato, never mind, but remember Dr. Schumann's comments on my masterclass recording? she mentioned applying a 'sticky' touch to the staccato almost like there's wet bubblegum on the key so it's short but not tooo short, and dry but not without just bit of moisture but some definite 'space' on the backside of them , just a little smidged of time on the release? yeah i think i would like that way that sounds, i don't know try it out and let me know if you think it works (i'm trying to take concepts i learn in other works and apply them broadly when appropriate so i can 'internalize' them for myself in the future). but again this is just fun things to try on something that's already there.

really, this was such a great 'sunday morning' treat,

[costicina]

I’m in love with this Fantasia since childhood. You perform it exactly  in the way I dreamed I would be able to play it some day... And you made me appreciate the Allegretto, too, the section that I  liked the least: playing it with such a pure grace, and beauty, and consistency with the whole...
 I’m not ashamed to confess that I cried listening to your Mozart. It's this capacity to move, to transmit deep, pure  emotions that makes you a true, rare and great pianist.

Grazie con tutto il cuore, mi hai regalato una gioia bella, e purissima...

[birba]

   Wow,  I didn't expect that!  Thanks costicina.  I, too, have been playing this since childhood (we won't go into how long in light years) and I just wanted to sort of extemporize something doing things different.  My big dream is to play like Kempff.  I know that's very presumptious of me.  Not that I want to play LIKE him, but play the way he interprets.  Like improvising.  Not thinking about the staccato here, the dim. there, etc. etc.  Forgetting all about that - after HAVING learned it, of course - and just being there in the moment.  Easier said then done. Especially when you're being spied on by a video camera.
Thank you enrique!  I know exactly what you're talking about.  Next time, I'll try to emphasize them more.

[49410enrique]

 Wow,  I didn't expect that!  Thanks costicina.  I, too, have been playing this since childhood (we won't go into how long in light years) and I just wanted to sort of extemporize something doing things different.  My big dream is to play like Kempff.  I know that's very presumptious of me.  Not that I want to play LIKE him, but play the way he interprets.  Like improvising.  Not thinking about the staccato here, the dim. there, etc. etc.  Forgetting all about that - after HAVING learned it, of course - and just being there in the moment.  Easier said then done. Especially when you're being spied on by a video camera.
Thank you enrique!  I know exactly what you're talking about.  Next time, I'll try to emphasize them more.

you're welcome. i'm glad you caught was i meant. it wasn't a  how to make it better by ____ by any means just a suggestion on how to make it go from one type of 10/10 to a 'different' 10/10. either way ,superb superb superb.

[candlelightpiano]

Haunting!!  Some parts of this piece gives me the shivers.  I feel as if I'm in a haunted mansion as it begins dark, serious and melancholic but is interspersed with moments of sheer brightness and joy, as if sunlight were filtering in through the windows. The pauses are full of longing and after the long pause, the Chopin like melody begins with the repeated bass chords  (at least, I think of it as something I've heard of in a Chopin piece) a young lady in a long white gown slowly ascends the wide spiral staircase.  When she reaches the top, sunlight streams in to break the gloom from below and she dances to that lovely melody. To me, this piece is dark and tearful but there are many moments of sheer happiness and joy.  A soulful and captivating performance!  I loved it!!

[rv]

I want to listen to the other ones too. 

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Oh my god that was so good!

[j_menz]

Bravo!!

[birba]

Haunting!!  Some parts of this piece gives me the shivers.  I feel as if I'm in a haunted mansion as it begins dark, serious and melancholic but is interspersed with moments of sheer brightness and joy, as if sunlight were filtering in through the windows. The pauses are full of longing and after the long pause, the Chopin like melody begins with the repeated bass chords  (at least, I think of it as something I've heard of in a Chopin piece) a young lady in a long white gown slowly ascends the wide spiral staircase.  When she reaches the top, sunlight streams in to break the gloom from below and she dances to that lovely melody. To me, this piece is dark and tearful but there are many moments of sheer happiness and joy.  A soulful and captivating performance!  I loved it!!

You make me think of my first real teacher, a student of Breithaupt in Berlin, who always wanted me to describe in words what I was playing.  It was SOOOOOO difficult for me.  I always thought that music was indescribable.  Some particular "feeling" or sentiment.  Claudio Arrau always insisted on putting  a story into his interpretations.  And I think there's something there in this way of looking at music.   It sort of solidifies what you're "feeling".  It gives it a "name", so to speak, and makes it more tangible.  I certainly didn't see the young lady in a white gown, but the fantasy has moments of contrasting colors - dark and tearful, and sheer happiness and joy.
I always enjoy reading your impressions of the music.  They're very spontaneous.

[candlelightpiano]

Thank you, Birba.  When you perform, I am transfixed and these images come to my mind.  So you have the power to captivate, hold spellbound and move the listener and that's what makes you a pianist of the highest caliber.  I also want to say that your thread has become my favorite on this forum because of the enchanting pieces you have introduced to me.  

EDIT:
I was just thinking that it takes a brilliant and expressive pianist to create vivid pictures with music and you obviously have the remarkable ability to do that.

[sueyin]

I was just thinking that it takes a brilliant and expressive pianist to create vivid pictures with music and you obviously have the remarkable ability to do that.

Yes!  Yes!

I enjoyed the Mozart Fantasia in d very much and I want to learn it.  I'll think of the haunted house and the lady in the long gown going up the stairs when I'm learning it.  Wonderful image! You're such a super duper good pianist.

I wanted to watch the other videos but you had replaced the links with Mozart.    Can't you keep them there so that latecomers can enjoy them?  

[starstruck5]

I don't think Kempff could have played the Mozart better to be honest.  Different clearly -but not better -This piece makes me think that there is some kind of understanding geniuses have of the cosmos that we mere mortals do not begin to glimpse -the Yin and Yang is so much a part of this music -and you conveyed that well -if the first part was gravity the second part was air -bravo.

[birba]

Wow.  I don't think I can say anything more.  Wow.  Thanks!

[birba]

I