Verdi-Thalberg Fantasy on La Traviata

[ronde_des_sylphes]

I think this is Thalberg's masterpiece virtuoso paraphrase and am very fond of it. However, it is also very tricky!

Test recording - Piano: Steinway Model D; mics: Rode NT5 pair, Rode NT4 stereo and U87 pair.

(further editing and noise reduction still to be applied)

Comments would be appreciated, especially on the sound quality.

[ted]

I find your touch in this particular type of romantic music very appealing. As in your improvisations, you produce a rich, full, golden effect which is a refreshing change from the crystalline but homogeneous brilliance of most popular classical players. I have listened and watched several times, as with the improvisations, but I cannot yet perceive the origin of this quality, which I would dearly like to acquire for improvisational purposes. Therefore it must be some sort of syncretic process, involving personal, internal haptic response as well as musical and technical considerations.

This is just my naive reaction to your playing. I know next to nothing about classical music or technicalities of recording. The others can comment on those things.

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Ted, thanks for your nice comments on the sort of sound I'm producing. I've had to think about what you said! Very difficult for me to attribute why I get that specific sound - of course in this recording, and in some of the improvisations, I am playing on very good pianos. Here I also have good equipment to record with, and some level of manipulation can be applied at the editing and mixing stage. Usually I prefer to listen to recordings by great romantic pianists of the past - Bolet, Cziffra and others - I probably do try subconsciously to emulate their sound to some extent but wouldn't claim to be nearly as good! I'm not keen on the sound of many modern pianists as I find them often a little dull, with a tendency to uniformity and sometimes lacking in nuance.

I have a definite characteristic, perhaps a fault even, with my touch, in that I don't endeavour to go fully through each note right to the keybed. I'm not qualified to examine the pedagogical aspects of this but I probably do play a little bit on the surface of the keys rather than fully into them: sometimes this can produce unevennesses. I fundamentally don't believe in thumping or using force - a child can make a very loud noise on a concert grand, so it's not a matter of applying physical strength or effort. Because I'm lucky enough to find certain aspects of piano playing quite "natural" (I practice, if that's the right word, technical exercises primarily through incorporating them into improvisation) I'm usually very relaxed when playing. Probably that helps with tone production. 

[rachfan]

Hi ronde,

Bravo!  This is a great paraphrase and an inspiring rendition too.  Congratulations on your wonderful recording!

David

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Thanks - glad you enjoyed it! I firmly believe this paraphrase to be well above the run-of-the-mill status of much 19th century fare in this field.