Death by Liebestraum

[lukediv]

Hi Guys,

I know this work is played a lot but if you could have the patience to give it one more listen and tell me what you think, i would be very grateful. I'm playing this work for a series of concert nights and there's potential to win some cash if i play it well. Any thoughts on interpretation/style would be appreciated.

[birba]

That was really very good!  You convinced me.  And that's not easy with an over-played war horse like that.  It sounded spontaneous and technically it was great.  I would recommend when you do the octave jumps, stay a nano-second more on the octave.  It will be more secure and less likely to smudge it.  I'm curious, I might be wrong.  But in that last cadenza, when you come down you play an f-natural before going up again.  Isn't it an f-flat?  I especially liked your coda!  (senza offesa!)  Inbocca al lupo!

[lukediv]

Hi Birba,

Thanks for taking the time to comment. I have worked tirelessly to try and get it right! I have a dodgy internet copy which says F-natural so in an actual edition you're probably right haha.

Thanks again

[jugular]

This was a really good interpretation! Thank you for preparing this piece, I enjoyed listening to it very much as Liebestraum No.3 is one of my favourite works to listen to and play.

I'll just critique some tiny details that could increase your performance playing of this piece. The first thing I noticed is that you immediately put a crescendo in the second return of the main theme (0:24 in your video). It sounds unfitting to put the crescendo so early, especially after you've just descrescendo'd from the first phrase. Try putting the crescendo later into the phrase so that it peaks at the Bb dom 9th chord, giving you room to descrescendo at the end of the phrase.

I really like what you did dynamically two bars before the poco cresc. (0:40), using hair pin dynamics to set-up a more intense drive into the next section. Usually people just play those bars piano, but I like your interpretation better.

The next thing I noticed is that you weren't really bringing the melody out at 0:49. The first E you played rang out nicely, but all the ones after that were buried. The same goes for the rest of this section before the first mini-cadenza:  you need to make sure you're not losing the melody in the accompanying figures.

The same problem comes back after the second cadenza, when you return to the main theme (3:10). The melody is barely audible! I think you're trying to be too delicate with this section, which is causing the melody to become buried.

Overall this was a great performance; I very much enjoyed it. You have this work secured technically, but the biggest thing I suggest you work on is making the melody ring more.

[lukediv]

Hi Jugular,

First for all thanks for listening, being one of your favourite works im sure you've heard it many times and im glad you liked it

I see what you mean about the return of the main theme, not sure why i put one there haha.

and also about losing the melody in some other sections. Thanks for your suggestions