[official vid] Chopin Ballade No 1

[furiouzpianist]

One unedited take.

[furtwaengler]

I watched, I enjoyed. It is a more compact interpretation then many which has its place. There is a different view of the structure when it’s presented this way, it more a fable then a novel..still a narrative, but more to the point which has one punchline, but much action and great heights in getting there. I like your balance of textures and the highlighting the bass at crucial points, not merely highlighting, but singing. I also like the integrity of your textures and voicing, that you are more or less presenting a straight reading of the text without fancy novelties and eccentric quirks. There is much to be gained from studying your approach and this recording. I do think there is more to come in this, though...More opportunity to breath, more space for emotion, more tension and contrasts, less matter of fact opening to more poetry, more of the beauty of the singing bel canto line (to be deliberately redundant). It’s coming, and I’ll be it will still fit nicely into this structural frame. Great, great, great stuff. I need to be listening to more of you.

[pianoman53]

I agree almost completely with Furtwangler.
This is a perfectly fine reading, with nice moments and nothing is actually wrong.

Yet, there are quite many times when I felt that more could have been expressed. For example the beginning: you do a sort of hesitation already thr second octave, which then spoils the heartbreaking when one realizes that the a flat isn't the tonic.
Almost as a result, the empty b flat (after the e flat7 arpeggio) doesn't feel lonely, but as a perfectly normal note, which it certainly isn't.

But it can of course also be that we view music completely differently, which makes my comment seem very pedantic and "know-it-all"... I anyway wish you very best of luck with this piece

[visitor]

that was freaking awesome. and this is from someone that isn't all that hyperhyped on Chopin to begin with , but I do like certain works and will occasionally even seek out and listen to some of the standards, this was dope as heck. loved it. thanks for this; 

[furiouzpianist]

This is a piece which I learned back in 2008 but never performed in public, not even now.
I’ve always considered this one of Chopin’a finest work - the tightness of the structure and the incredible textural variety (and almost symphonic treatment of motives)

I would envision a somewhat more “quirky” reading but that might be deemed “unacceptable” by many, so I settled for something more “urtext”....

From a pianistic standpoint, it is extremely difficult - with an emphasis on non-percussive tone production

[furiouzpianist]

I like your balance of textures and the highlighting the bass at crucial points, not merely highlighting, but singing. I also like the integrity of your textures and voicing, that you are more or less presenting a straight reading of the text without fancy novelties and eccentric quirks. There is much to be gained from studying your approach and this recording.

Really a huge complement. I’m truly happy that the subtle highlighting of the bass in all the texturally important spots came off convincingly.

[quantum]

I think furtwaengler described this very well.  You have the singing tone needed for Chopin, as well as a sense of compositional structure with the ability to select which elements are in the foreground and which are in the background. 

You've got the speed in the virtuosic sections but there are places where I would have like to hear more shaping of the music.  This is more personal artistic preference, the version you present is convincing in its own right. 

[furiouzpianist]

I'm very happy that the tone came through as unpercussive, piano is a very difficult instrument to record naturally, imho

[furiouzpianist]

I agree almost completely with Furtwangler.
This is a perfectly fine reading, with nice moments and nothing is actually wrong.

Yet, there are quite many times when I felt that more could have been expressed. For example the beginning: you do a sort of hesitation already thr second octave, which then spoils the heartbreaking when one realizes that the a flat isn't the tonic.
Almost as a result, the empty b flat (after the e flat7 arpeggio) doesn't feel lonely, but as a perfectly normal note, which it certainly isn't.

But it can of course also be that we view music completely differently, which makes my comment seem very pedantic and "know-it-all"... I anyway wish you very best of luck with this piece

Who are your favorite Chopinists?

I, for the most part - prefer Friedman, Moiseiwitsch and Cortot in Chopin

[visitor]

Who are your favorite Chopinists?

I, for the most part - prefer Friedman, Moiseiwitsch and Cortot in Chopin

those are great ! My short list of favs usually has Michel Block and Sydney Foster hanging out in top 3 or 4 , usually Block floats up to no 1 depending  on the particular piece

[furiouzpianist]

Sidney Foster is a TITAN

[pianoman53]

They happen to be some of my favourites too, but it really depends on my mood. Sometimes Sofronitsky can do some very interesting things too.ĺ

[furiouzpianist]

I like Sofronitsky but many of his recordings are marred with a poor piano or sound engineering or both