I don't mean to be rude (if this can be seen as rude). Is that you jeeves?
but the poster should very feel proud of this performance.
Thank you for posting this, it's so nice to hear somoeone else getting the point of this piece.
I'm sorry, but that line seems to convince me it IS jeeves. NickC - Ignore Jeeves... His performance of Moonlight Sonata was more abyssmal than yours. This doesn't mean you should give up. Your performance wasn't bad, but it can be better. Don't be fooled into thinking that massive amounts of Rubato in a piece like this (because the Rubato did sound deliberate instead of slow due to sight-reading). It obstructs the sense of flow. Sure, of course music isn't set exactly to xxx bpm, but it should have the gentle ebb and flow, the up and down of gentle hills... not of the grand canyon. I'd add: don't be fooled into allowing others to tell you how your rendition should sound. Just because they have the wrong idea about a piece and your rendition doesn't "fit" theirs doesn't mean you have to let them try to tell you how they should hear it. You obviously identified and "felt" the two-figure theme and built your "story" around that. I can hear it, I don't think others can, or ever will to be honest.You know, because Beethoven writes pieces about Moonlight shining on a lake, perhaps there is a boat rocking gently back and forth. You know, this "flow" business people are talking about. I must say, LVB is a bit of an odd character to tell us to play it with the pedal down as if we fell off the boat and everything is supposed to sound muddled and distant because we're underwater. It's a damn voice in his head you people, not a boat or a moon or any of that nonsense.Hence my comment, make it sound convincing. People probably hate my rendition because of how "intentional" it was, and they think I am either stubborn or just musically inept.You see, a few people in the past have tried to use excessive rubato as a cover for not being able to feel the inner flow of the music. It's the same with people who use too much body movement when playing simple pieces. They think that if they look like they need an exorcism, they're just really emotionally connected with the piece... however, that's bollocks. Oh the irony in this.He claims people like me can't possibly gauge the exact mindset of someone else. Now he's telling us that if a pianist is "engaged" with the piece, he or she is likely putting on an act. You can't do that sir, you have no idea what these people are thinking or feeling. Just because their gestures don't fit into your person idea of a piece doesn't mean theirs is wrong. In fact, I'm sorry to see you miss out on so much. Every piece of music has a moving shape associated with it. How one "engages" with this shape is none of your concern nor does it have any bearing on the quality of the rendition. Next time you "see" someone flaunting about, close your eyes and listen to the MUSIC.
Jeeves...Jeeves...JeevesI:I must give you some respect for defending the OP and his interpretation of this piece. No one has an exact and accurate description about how a piece should be played; not because we have no hand written note from Beethoven but because art and especially musical art is not constricted by such immature notions such as rules and constants. We do have a written note from Beethoven. It's his music. He gave explicit direction on how his piece is to be played. I feel the problem is, rather than people sitting down themselves, reading the note THOROUGHLY before even attempting to play it, thinking about it, asking qustions, they immediately allow their brains to "default" to other recordings and fall into the trap of saying "well whatever my vision is, it needs to end up sounding like this because this is how others play it." Not only is this lazy, it's boring. I've heard the "moonlight" rendition of moonlight hundreds of times, it's getting old for me.However it is a good idea to listen to the advice of pianists who have spent a great deal of time in the hobby that you or I have just begun. The grass is not the slave to the wind but when the wind blows the grass bends, When a more experienced pianist speaks it would be wise to listen and seriously consider their advice. Even if we plan to throw it away later.If a lawyer tried to sell us legal advice, citing his track record of handling over 1000 cases in the past, we're inclined to respect his opinion. If we look and little further and determine that not only did he seem to put no effort or actual "thought" into his cases, he actually lost almost all of them. He's a (on paper) professional, he wears a nice suit and tie, knows how to get his opinion out there and solidify it in any way possible. But at the end of the day, I see through these people, and ultimately either ignore them or try to make them see things from different perspectives. Nobody can blame me for the intent to do so, as they can simply ignore me, and no harm done.II:We do not hate your rendition. We dislike it because it is not convincing. It sounds aporetic.Stubborn? Yes. Musically inept? No. Just young. As afterwit goes I am sure this will become clear.The word "convincing" presupposes that there is a clear vision of what this piece should sound like. Individuals such as myself perhaps realize that the typical "moonlight" people are used to, is a great deal away from what Beethoven really intended. That is why, in your mind, it's doesn't sound convincing, because you're presupposing I'm aiming for a "Moonlight" version of Moonlight, when actually what I'm doing is just repeating "O Ludvig" in a cynical way, because I believe it to be a voice in his head, hence the pedal and adagio/soft direction. I selectively use the word "believe", because God forbid if I claim to know something, a fairy falls down dead somewhere. Perhaps I may be treading onto unwelcome territory by saying this, but I wish people could muster the ability to look at a piece from a different perspective before raising their hands and convincing us about why their opinion matters.III: This last point I tend to agree with you on. The eyes cannot give an accurate report on musical content. However...the problem with this is pianists who have no musical ability and who also thrash about like a cat caught in a blender. Now here, musical ability is arguably subjective. Of course there are objective ways to determine whether or not a musician is "trained", such as keeping rhythm, technique etc. But that's not what music is about, music is music, technique is technique. Our physical bodies are unfortunate conduits that connect our emotional experience to the experience the lister has. Some people "bypass" the physical restrictions or body places on us through technique. What one hears as a beautiful work could sound like complete nonsense to another. I believe that the most popular pieces are .. popular .. because of how "accessible" they are. How well they were written. Even if you suck at the piano and played meticulously according to the direction, you'll still reach an audience and get an applause. There are pieces out there that nobody touches that are, in fact, works of genius.So when there is musicality in our poor feline it is veiled by its convulsions.We are all cyptoscopophiliac, not literally but musicaly. But when our wish comes true we may tend to dislike our view. This too must be accounted for in the critique of others musical ideas.
but the moonlight sonata... that's always a telltale sign..it's like trying to pass for 21 at a bar and ordering a foo-foo drink (after much debate) like a Pina Colada--that just tells the bartender right away--"amateur and likely under-aged --check ID"moonlight sonata is a pina colada... lol.
You are totally correct. How could i have been so stupid and so blinded to such an obvious truth. perhaps there Are things in the ether that cause the common man to turn into some Stupid beast. we should start a committee to help the rest of these poor fellows. they shouldn't be forced to live in the dark anymore. and maybe, just maybe their ignorance can be reversed without their knowledge. how can we accomplish this jeeves??
in spite of the midi musicality of his compositions and the softer character of his posts... the pina colada and the timely comment = as the one who has the experience as a casino dealer---folks let me give you the odds. actually the lay in this case5 to 1 it's the jeevers. anyone care to place a bet.. I will fade this action no problem...lol.
This is turning out to be an interesting discussion. I'd like to offer a different take. Different day, different mood.I'm a jazz pianist and a composer... so I look at classical music through a totally different window. I view music as raw emotional communication via organized sound. My previous version was the musical equivalent to surrealism in visual art. An example being the Mona Lisa, if we take that and put it into a surrealist environment, it would be praised (or not.. who knows). But if we do the same with music, the result can often be so harsh that it can be shocking... which is great (just not always for the performer)https://outbackart.com.au/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/mona-lisa.jpgI'm playing on a keyboard and I have no soft pedal... which doesn't help my performance but it is what is.
I am lighting candles for the blind am I not?
We are not the same person. This is who I am. I'm sorry you can't hear the musical differences between our performances.
5 to 1 it's the jeevers. anyone care to place a bet.. I will fade this action no problem...lol.
I'd add: don't be fooled into allowing others to tell you how your rendition should sound. Just because they have the wrong idea about a piece and your rendition doesn't "fit" theirs doesn't mean you have to let them try to tell you how they should hear it. You obviously identified and "felt" the two-figure theme and built your "story" around that. I can hear it, I don't think others can, or ever will to be honest.
I must say, LVB is a bit of an odd character to tell us to play it with the pedal down as if we fell off the boat and everything is supposed to sound muddled and distant because we're underwater.
Now he's telling us that if a pianist is "engaged" with the piece, he or she is likely putting on an act. You can't do that sir, you have no idea what these people are thinking or feeling. Just because their gestures don't fit into your person idea of a piece doesn't mean theirs is wrong. In fact, I'm sorry to see you miss out on so much. Every piece of music has a moving shape associated with it. How one "engages" with this shape is none of your concern nor does it have any bearing on the quality of the rendition. Next time you "see" someone flaunting about, close your eyes and listen to the MUSIC.
You see, a few people in the past have tried to use excessive rubato as a cover for not being able to feel the inner flow of the music. It's the same with people who use too much body movement when playing simple pieces. They think that if they look like they need an exorcism, they're just really emotionally connected with the piece... however, that's bollocks.
Next time you "see" someone flaunting about, close your eyes and listen to the MUSIC.
Just hug it out and be friends already.
I sure hope you didn't play in that casino. Maybe that's why you got out of there?
Topic: Sonata Quasi una Fantasia "Moonlight" Mov't 1 -First Impressions ( A sight Read) 