Transcendental Etude #4: Mazeppa

[david456103]

Like I did for Ondine, please give constructive criticism/advice on my playing

P.S. It's a little sloppier than usual(cause i was very tired that day and taped it only once), so please don't comment on that!

[thesixthsensemusic]

For starters, you are a REALLY good pianist. Not just for someone your age, but in general. I've heard Van Cliburn's rendition of this piece during the semi final of the Tchaikovsky competition he won, and I'd rather hear yours by a mile's difference.

BUT:
Try and keep your upper body movement under control. It is something I tend to instinctively mess up too, but if you, so to say, 'nosedive' in the piano at every beat that has loud chords on it, your playing will become less uneven. It also interferes with the efficient movement of the hands and upper arms, because it changes the degree of your fingers to the keys, which you will have to (subconsciously) compensate for by slightly adjusting your hand position.

Which makes for an extra, unncecessary, movement you will be forced to pay attention to during playing. This makes it both technically more difficult to play through hard parts and decreases the amount of control you have over the velocity with which you strike the keys and rhythmic fluency. It's fine to emphasise the beat even during forte passages, but use your wrists instead and keep your head and torso's angle to the keyboard the same, but in a relaxed way of course.

It's not like I would play this piece better than you, but I know that EVERY SINGLE TIME I saw anyone do this in forte passages in any given piece, in front of a teacher in a masterclass (of which I attended a fair number in the audience, and sometimes participated in) they were told to get rid of it, so it;s a pretty safe guess I reckon

[awesom_o]

Bravo!

I thought this was better than the Ravel, musically speaking. You seem more comfortable with the style. I think this is natural and to be expected considering you are only 16!

I think you did very well with this work. Some masterful technique you display in accurately navigating the hellish jumps. Well done.

I don't feel the need to criticize anything in particular here. Perhaps more upper-body stability would help you to put even more energy directly into the music. At this level, it's just about developing your 'reserve' of energy so that you never have to use all of it at once.... that way, the audience will think "wow.... that performance had more energy than anything I've ever heard... and I can tell he had EVEN more that he didn't have to use!"

Do you know what this piece is about??

[j_menz]

Excellent job, and very impressive -  especially considering your age, but also at any age.

I personally don;t think you're overdoing the movement. If it works for you, leave it. There doesn't seem to be any difficulties it's causing.

On the interpretation, I thought there was a bit too much Liszt, and not quite enough horse for my tastes in the actual ride, but you are clearly in control of what you are doing. I especially liked the coda, which I thought did the job staggeringly well.

[dima_76557]

@ david456103

Great job!

This is film music. That should also be felt in the more "acrobatic" parts. Near the end (before the heroic coda), Mazeppa's horse is exhausted from all that violence, but you seem to suggest that you can still run 10 times as long and at least twice as fast.
Take your time with slow practice to get meaning and intensity behind EVERY note without exception, and read the poem on which this story is based.