Chopin: Mazurka Op. 17 No. 4

[chopinlover01]

AJ and I decided to record this at the same time, so here's my take on this gorgeous piece!
I experimented a little with mic placement this time, so hopefully no shredded ears.
There's also a few errors in the piece, as I just brought this back yesterday after learning it a few years back.. forgive me!
I'll be doing another take for YT.
Also, have a funny blooper!

[ajlongspiano]

Wonderful stuff, Harrison. Really enjoying your general approach. You communicate your big picture well. My only critique is that I think there could be a bit more nuance and attention paid to small details within phrases. Sometimes your melodic lines can stagnate (not all the time though). Otherwise, this is great playing. Thanks for sharing with all of us!

Best,

AJ

[mjames]

Man you're really good at voicing your chords! The rests too, well placed - occasionally got felt the need to dance to it. Great sense of rhythm.

Also, this is definitely the more angst-depressed version of the two (you and Aj). It's like someone dumped you right before you decided to record. ;P

[chopinlover01]

Many thanks for the comments!
AJ and I actually had a brief skype call after we uploaded our recordings, and we came to the conclusion that we approach the piece in two completely different ways, haha. Generally, he approaches mazurkas with the same 19th century performance style he would the ballades (correct me if I'm wrong, AJ!), whereas I think of them more as 19th century salon pieces. The mazurkas in general suggest to me the scene of a rich Parisian nobleman enjoying a fine glass of wine and a cigar after a dinner with his various artistic friends, with the pianist entertaining the room off in the corner. Part of this comes from the history of the mazurka, as well; IIRC, they were originally written for the Mazurs, a group of Polish elite.

[ajlongspiano]

Right on, Harrison. 

James, I hope you've been well!

Best,
AJ

[georgey]

Well done. I enjoyed your performance. 

[chopinlover01]

Many thanks for the comments, friend! Hope your studies are going well.

[109natsu]

Hi guys,

What a brilliant performance! I like your "jazzy" "Parisian" mood of the performance! Your voicing was amazing. I see that you can find different colors that Chopin hid, and I admire the talent.

Some comments; (just because)

The tempo is....
(Attachment 2)

Lento ma non troppo! Slow but not too much! I think you went più lento. I lost the overall sense of movement, except in the cadenzas where you used rubato to keep us alive (Attachment 1) I think you need to think more about long term phrases, now that your short term phrases are excellent.

Don't get me long, I thought that this performance was amazing. The details were great. Now is the time to look for the overall picture of this piece.

*-*

Natsu Ozawa
Bloomington, IN

P.S: score is

Publisher Info.:
Friedrich Chopin's Werke. Band III (pp.16-24)
Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel, n.d. [1879]. Plate C. III. 10–13.
Copyright: Public Domain
Misc. Notes:
Publication date from Hofmeister's Verzeichnis.
Link: (legal in the United States) https://imslp.org/wiki/Friedrich_Chopin%27s_Werke_(Chopin,_Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric)

[chopinlover01]

Many thanks for your comments! I'll consider a slightly faster tempo.
Cheers!