Beethoven, Op. 129, "Rage Over a Lost Penny"

[vmishka]

My contribution (at this point) to the Beethoven year (250th anniversary of his birth). This whimsical piece, “Rondo alla ingharese quasi un capriccio” (Rondo in the Hungarian [Gypsy] style, like a caprice), Op. 129, is usually known as “Rage Over a Lost Penny” (a title not given to the piece by Beethoven).

The word “ingharese” does not actually exist in Italian. Beethoven apparently misspelled “all’ungharese.” It is thought to have been written between 1795 and 1798 but not finished. It is said to have been completed and published in 1828 by Anton Diabelli, after Beethoven’s death.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk1XdHXpJhk

[perfect_pitch]

I'm going to say this, but it sounds like this is a MIDI file - there is something too perfect about the notes, the timing, tempo and the dynamics and balance seem to artificial.

Did you physically play this piece at the speed in the video? I know that seems harsh, but there's something odd about your recordings that I hear.

[vmishka]

Thank you for listening, perfect-pitch.

Things are not misrepresented in the YouTube recordings/videos. Yes, I can and do play the notes at the speed in the video. I am not a professional and the tempo in this recording is not as fast as that taken by many professionals and more accomplished amateurs.

I understand that different people have different perceptions. I have received comments about other recordings that the listener got a distinct impression that I was holding back on the tempo in places. My teachers have often told me that the dynamics, balance, rubato, or agogics are not "correct" in their opinion and it can take a lot of work to make improvements.

My own perceptions when I listen to my recordings are quite different. I constantly hear all of the imperfections in note length, dynamics, and tempo (e.g., I often get the impression that I rush in places or could take a bit more time between phrases).

[emill]

hello Sergei,

Although I am not a pianist, I could swear the sound was too clean for an acoustic piano and I could "hear" some DSP mixed to it ....  so I checked your recording at YT and it said:

"Recorded on a Yamaha digital piano and rendered with Garritan CFX Concert Grand".

That explains the digital very clean sound !!  adding a bit to the "confusion" that the piano on the post is a K. Kawai.

BUT ---   B R A V O  for the your rendition!

btw,  after recording with the digital Yamaha grand what program did you use to render with the Garritan CFX Concert Grand?  THANKS...

[perfect_pitch]

Things are not misrepresented in the YouTube recordings/videos. Yes, I can and do play the notes at the speed in the video.

See... that's the odd thing - I'm not commenting on the holding back, in fact the funny thing is I had no real problem with your tempi. If you are playing at this tempo, I would bump you up to professional as it is a really good performance.

What made me think this wasn't legitimate is that there's no real breath in the performance - a lot of the ralls and accel's seem strangely linear in their execution. This, and the fact that while the trills are very fastly performed - I've never known a good Digital piano to really capture the notes that cleanly and fast.

My teachers have often told me that the dynamics, balance, rubato, or agogics are not "correct" in their opinion and it can take a lot of work to make improvements.

I constantly hear all of the imperfections in note length, dynamics, and tempo

Again, to me - that's wrong. I don't really hear any imperfections in the way it's played - in fact it almost seems too perfect - that's what makes it weird.

Maybe it's just me.

[j_tour]

I believe 100% that's a real person playing.  The variations in tempo alone seem too complicated for someone to type in using a DAW.  I certainly wouldn't have the patience for that:  it would take less time to just play it, IMHO.

The piano sound is gorgeous:  far different than the dark, heavy tone I can get out of my Yamaha (or any I've played on or heard).  I happen to like the stereotypical Yamaha DP dark tone, but this is better for this kind of music.  Nice reverb effect added. 

I think the trills could be articulated even on my VERY old-school, ghetto-style Yamah P-80, held together with gaffer's tape after how many years of dragging it around.  I mean, I don't know, but they can certainly be physically performed on the typical Yamaha action.  I think the clarity is down to how good the Garritan softsynth with the verb is.

More importantly, believe it or not, I've never ever heard this piece, and now I have something new to play for myself.  Although I think I could see myself getting a little bit tired of the rondo characteristics.  Just like the rondo from Op. 26:  it's fun to play, but it can be a little tedious with the repetitious nature of the rondo form.  But it's still something new to sight-read, which is always good.

So, I should say a hearty "thanks!' and thank you for a bit of inspiration.

I'd probably offer to sell it to Garritan as a demo of their tech, if it was me.

ETA Question:  is the reverb part of the Garritan piano, or is it a different effect you added downstream?  Seriously.  It's been a long time since I used VSTs, and I really don't know what's out there recently, beyond reading the magazine TapeOp.  It's a gorgeous sound, and the reverb is what sold it to me. 

[vmishka]

emill: The Yamaha Clavinova is connected to Cubase Pro 9.5 running Garritan CFX.

j_tour: The reverb is built into Garritan CFX (which was recorded in Abbey Roads Studios). Nothing is added downstream. I am using settings that were developed by a very good pianist who records on a digital piano too and was taking lessons from the same teacher I was using at the time. There are many "spaces" to choose from in Garritan CFX. This recording was using "Traditional Symphonic Concert Hall."

By the way, I owned a 9-ft. Yamaha CF from 1979 to 1990 which is shown in the picture of me at the piano near the beginning of the videos (probably taken in 1989 when I still had color in my hair). When we moved to Europe for 8 years in 1991, we decided to sell the piano. I always say that while I can probably afford to buy another concert grand, I definitely cannot afford the house big enough to put it in these days. Therefore, I stick with my Clavinova.

[perfect_pitch]

I've conceded. In that case, then my advice to maybe just breath in the piece is all I would say. It's so clean and precise that it just needs a little relaxation in between sections that they all don't completely dissolve into each other, since this piece is so chaotic in its section work.

[vmishka]

That is very good advice, perfect_pitch, thank you.

[quantum]

It is an incredibly good sounding sampled piano. 

I think your fast passage work can be almost too literal, impressive clarity nonetheless, to the point where someone may question if it was played by a human.  However, the inflections of tone and tempi sound too complex to me to be programmed.  It may be the combination of an excellent sampled piano plus the literal execution of passage work that appear perplexing to the listener.

You need to breathe more and think in phrases.