Beethoven - Op.2 Nr.1, Mov.1 (Allegro)

[mikeowski]

Yes! Finally I can upload a recording here.
It's from a concert I played in lately, actually only my 4th ever, so I messed up here and there because of nervousness. But aside from that, I hope you'll enjoy!

[awesom_o]

Well played!
I think you have a good sense of Beethoven's style! I love how the vitality and crispness in your overall playing never gets in the way of the lyricism. I also appreciate how well-controlled your left hand is in general throughout-you seem to be able to really listen your left hand while your RH is playing wonderfully as well.

Considering that this is only the fourth concert that you have ever played in, I think this is a fantastic effort. I think the mistakes are mostly caused by nervousness-completely natural and not to be confused with errors made from incorrect technical process or misread notes. One small thing I think would help you out a great deal though-the trills in the RH near the end of the development section, just before the bridge into the recap, were a bit sloppy. In my opinion they would be much easier to play if started from the note above, and they would sound more stylish as well.

Great job and thanks for sharing!

[birba]

I, too liked that very much.  Your embellishments are impeccable!
I think you can speed it up just a bit and feel it more in "2".

[mikeowski]

@awesom_o
Thanks.
After my last concert was kind of a blunder (I played Allegro Barbaro and Rachmaninoff 23/5. I made it through, but Allegro Barbaro was littered with mistakes because I was a lot more nervous than this time; Rachmaninoff was ok), so I took up easier pieces this time and practiced a lot more to get everything 100% right. Still, I was surprised I played it this well.
When I play this piece as part of the whole sonata, I'll definitely take your tip with the trills into consideration. I just couldn't get them right in a playthrough no matter how much I practiced. It kept getting slightly better, but never reliable, so I'm actually happy I didn't mess up completly.

@Birba
Thanks, I assume with embellishments you mean the triplet sixteenths? If so, these gave me a headache more than once, and I would actually consider them, aside from those damned trills, the hardest part of this movement if you want them to sound crystal clear, which I believe is very important or the piece will feel sloppy.
I agree about the speeding up (my teacher and I decided on a final speed of 90 bpm, this recording is at around 80) but I just didn't feel confident enough and I think it was a good choice.

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it.