College Pre-Screenings Part I

[yohankwon]

Part II is coming in December!!

<----please ignore the missed note in the 2nd theme exposition LOLOLOL

[kalirren]

I listened to the Beethoven 1st movt. 3 or 4 times, because I know it fairly well. Here are my thoughts on it:

You have a precise technique that really shows through in the clarity and voicing of your chords and intervals, and you make interpretative decisions that show keen awareness of the harmonic structure of this work.  Bravo.

Sometimes one hand gets ahead of another in passagework - I blame nervousness, but it exists nonetheless.

You start the movement with good contrast, but by the early development you seem only to have two dynamic levels left.  Some of the fortissimos in my score are clearly missing, (e.g. - 8th measure of the development, where the broken chords start, or the final dominant seventh in the development leading into the recap.) and I wonder if these are differences between editions that we are using.  Unfortunately, I do not get a good sense of the difference between forte and fortissimo at any point past the repeat.

You consistently interpret Beethoven's "downward-point"-markings of as some sort of marcato-tenuto, in order to distinguish them from the plain staccato.  Because of your admirable consistency throughout the movement, I believe this is a choice that you have made. Nevertheless, I disagree with it.  In imagining the likely string-orchestration of this movement, (remember that Beethoven was a string player too!) I find that those markings are pretty clearly intended to signify a martelé bow-stroke, a stroke best simulated on the piano with a quick release after the attack on the keys, without pedal.

When you play the "diddle-diddle-dot-dot" rhythm sforzando, you're using the pedal to execute the sf. I would not do this - you end up slurring the two "dot"s every time you do this, and both the sforzando and the staccato on that first "dot" need to be respected.

(Oh, I see...I think you're using the pedal to do the martelé too...that explains a lot.  I understand the impetus, but I don't think it works.)

In the 2nd theme, your RH is wonderfully lyrical.  Your LH could be just as lyrical.  This is also true in the 8 measures with octaves in both hands leading up to the transitional theme in the recapitulation.

Hope this is helpful!