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Topic: beethoven's second piano concerto last movement  (Read 2329 times)

Offline sumpianodude

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beethoven's second piano concerto last movement
on: January 14, 2017, 01:45:31 AM
so a bit of (unnecessary) background:(feel free to skip over this part)
my school has an incredible music program and i am lucky enough to be part of their symphony orchestra. we are paying a visit to a school in san francisco from LA and as a result we need to do some fundraising.
so last year when we tried fundraising for our carnegie trip what worked best was what was known as "an evening of eclectic ensembles" which was held by our orchestra boosters. this was advertised by our teacher as an extra performing opportunity with our friends because the program of the concert is composed entirely of willing chamber groups from the orchestra who played anything they wanted within a time limit. around 10-15 dollars got you dinner and entrance to the building where the program was held
i don't really have any good friends so i didn't do the program last year. this year i want to perform something and since i already play the violin in class, i figured that i would do something with the piano. i didn't want to do any accompaniments for soloists because as previously stated, that was too personal and i had no good friends.
so i decided on a movement of a piano concerto. i figured that this would be refreshing and impressive(i like performing and having the attention). beethoven was my favorite composer by a long shot and there was a 6 minute limit so the only piano concerto movement by him was no.2 mvt.3. i decided to give it a go despite the difficulty of organizing such a movement from just my high school peers.

now for the important info(for me at least)
our orchestra director stays out of these groups as they are usually chamber groups. so that means we will not have him as a conductor for this.
i have 2 months to learn the piece and put it together with the rest of the orchestra, the evening is on march 10th.

so the question is:
am i ready for this piece?
i am currently working on beethoven op. 81a. i got the 1st and 2nd movement down but am having trouble with some of the runs in the third movement. as far as my technique goes i can play waldstein 1+2 comfortably as well as appasionata 2+3(slight trouble with the coda though). musicality and expression is a whole nother topic lol
what are the hardest parts of this piece? i looked at the music and the only thing that really stands out are the minor third trills. they look monstrous, especially at that tempo.
the only previous chamber experience i have had with piano was with beethoven op.6 for four hands, but i am sure that this is at a completely new level of playing and communication(expeciallu without a director)
thanks!
excuse pleeze de gremmar and spelling and CapItALizaShuns
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Offline dogperson

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Re: beethoven's second piano concerto last movement
Reply #1 on: January 17, 2017, 11:44:59 AM
I was hopeful that you would get a response from someone more experienced than myself-- but maybe my reply will illicit better suggestions.
Per your post, you have no chamber experience, will be performing without a conductor and are concerned about the difficulty of this repertoire... that being considered, choose something else: something  that you have no doubts about playing.

You will have your hands full playing with an ensemble without a conductor.. make the piano portion EASY for you to play.  
Ensure success not possible virtuosity.
Again, IMHO.   

Offline sumpianodude

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Re: beethoven's second piano concerto last movement
Reply #2 on: January 18, 2017, 12:11:58 AM
I was hopeful that you would get a response from someone more experienced than myself-- but maybe my reply will illicit better suggestions.
Per your post, you have no chamber experience, will be performing without a conductor and are concerned about the difficulty of this repertoire... that being considered, choose something else: something  that you have no doubts about playing.

You will have your hands full playing with an ensemble without a conductor.. make the piano portion EASY for you to play.  
Ensure success not possible virtuosity.
Again, IMHO.   
its nice that you thought to actually respond considering it appears that i won't be getting too many responses with this post, and reading it, i have to agree.
that said, there have been some developments in the ensemble and in my playing. after a bit of practice it doesn't seem so hard (except a few minor thirds and broken octaves- but i'm sure there are thousands of posts and article online to help me with that). one of our classmates who plans of majoring in music accepted the conductor role, having conducted small chamber groups before.

this piece won't be easy(at all), but as the time passes it looks to be better. when i first picked this piece it really was the most daunting thing i have probably ever tackled(even more than learning moonlight third after a year a nonserious playing). it looks a bit better now.
that said, i really appreciate your advice. perhaps initally i was a bit too ambitious about this.
i'll have to see. advice(from you or anyone else) still welcome
excuse pleeze de gremmar and spelling and CapItALizaShuns

Offline dogperson

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Re: beethoven's second piano concerto last movement
Reply #3 on: January 18, 2017, 12:52:47 AM
It's good to hear that you are progressing-- but I would just caution you not to be over-optimistic about the progress.  You might consider setting a hard 'change direction' date in the very near future if you don't have the thirds and broken octaves nailed down. ..  and truly 'nailed down' not just better.

Just remember you will have the entire ensemble to contend with-- which will complicate the performance.   

No matter what you decide, best wishes... and let us know how it goes (and what you chose for your ensemble).

Offline sumpianodude

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Re: beethoven's second piano concerto last movement
Reply #4 on: March 11, 2017, 07:42:50 PM
It's done!
far from a perfect performance, but I'm pretty satisfied since its my first orchestral piano experience and all.
definitely many things to work on. As it is, my biggest mistakes weren't at the thirds or the octaves...  ;D
sorry for cutting the start. My mom forgot to record me until we had started...

here's the link. I couldn't figure out how to embed this.
excuse pleeze de gremmar and spelling and CapItALizaShuns
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