Bach-Brahms Chaconne

[furtwaengler]

Hello, and welcome to classics by request (Emil)!

Not to say too much at this late hour, but I simply adore this piece. I love the original violin partita (Check Nathan Milstein at the Salzburg Festival 1957 is your want your mind blown by the raw beauty and power of this masterpiece). It is certainly up there with the greatest pieces ever written in history, period. On Bach's birthday last March (wow...I'm not even realizing it's been nearly a year) I heard a great violinist play the 2nd Partita in a resonant space, and if you've never had the pleasure it's hard to communicate the power of the violin in Bach's writing - a huge sound that fills and shakes the soul.

Many know Busoni's transcription which is a pianistic marvel. Brahms' version is not so bombastic, and is more true to the character of the original. Written for the left hand alone it is also truer to the challenges the violinist faces; at least it inches the pianist closer to their world. Something of the purity and spiritual force of the original is captured in Brahms' score, and it is amazing what he is able to do with 5 fingers, long before WWI solidified the niche for the genre, not that folks like Godowsky would not have gone there anyway as Alkan did before him.

Same day of performances as the Szymanowki posted earlier, and same format, the wonderfully resonant space of the Museum at Cheekwood with it's gorgeous Steinway D in the morning, and the struggle of controlling the piece on a Yamaha C7 in Huntsville in the evening (I mean right in the harshest register of that harsh instrument!).

Oh I adore this piece!

[awesom_o]

Magnificent. So much closer to the real piece!

Very tastefully done. You really conjured the violin beautifully. Not an easy feat!

Some wonderfully expressive voicing!

[brogers70]

Fantastic. You manged a beautiful tone all the way through. What a great piece. I think the Busoni version is over the top; this one doesn't bury the music in fireworks. I've played it on the guitar, and it's hard, but this left hand version, which I've also tinkered with, is even harder. You made it sound completely fluid and struggle-free.

[furtwaengler]

Thanks a lot, guys. I'm glad you enjoy this transcription.

[emill]

Hello Dave!

Thanks so much for uploading!  It is one of my more favorite pieces.  Even with my untrained ears it comes out to be "cleaner", with the melody being more fluid and flowing if compared to the Busoni transcription. And the way you play it makes it more enjoyable to listen to.   THANKS!!  Hope you will be posting more soon...

btw Dave, what equipment was used in the recording?  in-house equipment?  at what distance from the piano where the mics .... from how it sounds it must have been from some distance. THANKS!!

stephen (emill)

[furtwaengler]

Thank's Stephen. I always enjoy reading what your ears have to say. I've learned some of the most valuable insights into music from lovers of music who cannot themselves play an instrument, so never take your thoughts for granted.

btw Dave, what equipment was used in the recording?  in-house equipment?  at what distance from the piano where the mics .... from how it sounds it must have been from some distance. THANKS!!

My own Zoom H2, but recorded on a compressed setting to save space on the card. I think I was to play two hours that day. Though it's an indoor museum, it's an outdoor attraction (gardens) so this even was effectively rain out and I had the whole place to myself. I recorded some stuff with the lid cracked and the Zoom near by, and I also opened the lid totally and tried to capture the resonance of the room, which is what you hear for the this chaconne and the Szymanowski. Of course I didn't know what I was going to get. Here is an example of the closer recording below.

[emill]

My own Zoom H2, but recorded on a compressed setting to save space on the card. I think I was to play two hours that day. Though it's an indoor museum, it's an outdoor attraction (gardens) so this even was effectively rain out and I had the whole place to myself. I recorded some stuff with the lid cracked and the Zoom near by, and I also opened the lid totally and tried to capture the resonance of the room, which is what you hear for the this chaconne and the Szymanowski. Of course I didn't know what I was going to get. Here is an example of the closer recording below. 

hi Dave,

Your recording of Chopin's "Raindrop" turned out very well .... I think it captured the excellent piano sound and the character of the empty concert room without any exaggeration even when it came to the louder passages. In fact the contrast between the louder and and softer portions was remarkable for me.  Of course the Zoom H2 is still a very good recorder. 

I have a Zoom H4n which I use for near mic(k)ing. I sometimes use the 4 mic configuration with the 2 auxiliary mics about 15 meters behind. My favorite is 2 mics just beside the piano and I mix it with the audio from the camera which is usually at the mid to the back of the concert room. In that way it captures better overall character of the recital.

BTW, the Raindrop was excellently played!!   THANKS!!