Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 -- any feedback would be appreciated -- thanks!

[blazered]

After two years of incessant learning, I've finally tried a Chopin piece: Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2! Any advice on it?

Thank you all so much! Wish I had a teacher, but don't know where to find a good one.

[lowk-_-y]

Very expressive and sensitive playing. I especially like the consistent Rh singing quality that you present with a strong (possibly too strong at times?) support from your Lh. Especially considering your lack of a teacher, this is a very effective rendition.

Here are a few of my thoughts, hopefully they are helpful.

I mentioned your Lh and I think looking at the slurs in the score, Chopin possibly wants the last of every 3 beats to fade away which will get rid of any intrusive impression of stomping oom-cha-cha and instead the listener can be dazzled by the legato Rh.
Try isolated Lh practice and try to make it beautiful and nuanced by itself so that when you add the Rh, you are only making something lovely lovelier.


Now in terms of this Rh, while you do a lovely job of allowing it to ring out beautifully, I feel your overall phrasing could be much more natural/flowing and the easiest way to gain this is by singing yourself. Follow the phrase marks, taking a breath whenever a phrase ends and this will inherently also allow you to hear how by the end of each phrase the melody gets softer, simply because you have less breath, a natural and effective touch to a melody. In your playing it is quite consistent that the end of your phrases are just as strong as the beginning, which is a small thing, but quite obvious if you're listening for it. By singing, I also think this will allow your melody to have a quality of sincerity, particular in moments like B6 where I think reaching this top DFlat should be the result of hard work, as it would be if you tried to sing. But currently as you play, moments like this seem very simple and easy, by holding back a little here, the listener can really marvel at how beautiful this ascent is, just by the fact that you're giving the impression that it's taking you some effort to reach this level of expression. Very human.

The second option for absorbing the feel of natural, singing melody, is to listen to what inspired Chopin the most: Italian Belcanto opera.

You have probably heard of this but try to really pay attention to how Callas phrases, both in the long, lyrical moments and also (very crucially) in the fioritura sections, similar to this nocturne. Occasionally, I feel you can incorporate these fast runs more naturally into your rubato without completely having a pause in order to fit the notes in.

A few things just to check you're aware:
-Watch out for the rhythm in the middle of bar 5, the E flat should come on beat 8 not 9,
-check the Rh for B27 beat 7-9

Overall I'd say Chopin definitely sounds beautiful in your hands, no sense of harshness here, just delicate expression.

Thanks for sharing, hope you post more Chopin!