Hungarian Rhapsody no.2 (Full) by Franz Liszt

[ubermc721]

Recorded via Roland Hpi7F (GOOD digital piano ~$7,000)
I've been playing for about 6.5 years (I'm 13, started when I was almost 7). I've practiced this piece for 11 months (About 250 hours). I'm not finished yet, but I'm posting this out here to see what I can improve on. It's a fairly accurate reflection (I messed up on the spots I typically mess up on).
Give me some good suggestions below! 

[lostinidlewonder]

I think you are doing a fantastic job keep at it! You may find you will benefit a HUGE amount playing this on a real piano. Your pedaling of phrases overall feels a little too legato for me but pedaling on a digital is never really good anyway, perhaps be a little more stingy with the sustain to give your phrases more character.

[andrewkoay]

Second lostinidlewonder's suggestion on playing it on a real piano. Your level of playing really deserves a proper acoustic piano to record yourself on. Is that your practice piano?

[thesixthsensemusic]

Don't let anyone tell you you need a better instrument at your level. It's just nonsense, this recording is fine and actually sounds better than a 7k upright piano or a decent second-hand baby grand would sound like.

Regarding your playing: my ear tells me there's indeed wrong notes in places, but it never impairs the musical quality of your playing, nor does it make me, as a listener, disappointed. Most people in a typical audience are not even amateur musicians like myself, but just listeners amazed by the power of the music and the skill of the pianist they see.

You're probably just seeing this as 'messing up in the places I tend to mess up in' because you, having studied the piece for months, recognise these errors and are irritated by them. But, on the other hand, I feel you are not distracted by them while playing, the rhythmic flow never gets interrupted, which is proof that you are always in full control.

Please, in case you think you need to re-assure yourself in this regard, check out any given live recording of this piece by a pro and you will see how comparatively flawless you DID actually play. Even Marc-André Hamelin makes the odd mistake live.

My advice would be to stay as focussed for the next 6 years as you have been for the past, and you will notice how much quicker studying these complex pieces gets over time as you build up experience and insight.

Your brain has got at least 8 more years to fully mature and with the right dedication and guidance you will become a much better pianist as your understanding of how music works, expands with every new piece you learn.

Can;t wait to hear more of your work in the future. Great job!

[ubermc721]

I think you are doing a fantastic job keep at it! You may find you will benefit a HUGE amount playing this on a real piano. Your pedaling of phrases overall feels a little too legato for me but pedaling on a digital is never really good anyway, perhaps be a little more stingy with the sustain to give your phrases more character.

The digital piano does sound better than a typical upright. It's probably the fact that I had to upload it and then download it from free file convert that made the sound worse (My piano could only record files as WAV).
Sorry, but I don't really get piano jargon. What do you mean by "be a little more stingy" and "character?"