Chopin, Etude Op. 10. No 3

[nina.beatriz]

Hello everyone,

I've only recorded a little snippet of Chopin's Op. 10 No 3, but would love to get some feedback on it:

I am currently working on finalising the entire etude

Thank you!

[lelle]

It's too short of a snippet to give you a lot of good feedback!

Overall sounds good. You could tighten some of the legato up even more. I don't agree with all of your rubato but ultimately that's an artistic choice. I'd try less rubato (still keep some) and try to make the tempo fluctuations feel like they very naturally follow the flow of the music.

[pianistavt]

It sounds lovely, the dynamics and phrasing are well executed, nice tone too.

However, I'm surprised to see the RH lift off the keys the way you do on those sixths.  I have always approached it with finger legato - it's a stretch but it's definitely feasible and feels correct.  Or, I hold the upper note down while the lower note lifts so the hand can shift.

I wonder how Chopin played it and taught it.
Also wondering how other forum members play it...

If your hand is too small to manage those 6ths with finger legato, then you have to resort to pedal legato, and lift off the key.  That may be the case here.

[ahinton]

...and to think that Chopin originally marked this piece Vivace!...

[nina.beatriz]

Thank you very much for your feedback I truly appreciate it and will keep all of these points in mind!

[nina.beatriz]

Thanks!

[jim19130]

Hi.  Sounds nice.  But I thought this passage was a bit faster.  Are there also some grace notes? 

[essence]

I thought it was great, Be a little careful with pedalling eg around 32secs

[morrisjd]

This Etude has an ABA structure.  Your video starts with the first measure (1) of the B section.  I did not hear or see you play the grace notes starting in measures  3, 5, 7, and 9.  In measure 12, you play the right hand third G-B twice rather than G-B followed by B-C#, etc.   This is supposed to be an ascending progression of thirds based on an E minor chord with diminished 7th added.  It looks like you are doubling one of the thirds to substitute for the one that should be played.
You post another video where you play from the start.  One thing I notice is your right hand fingering.  In some places you play adjacent chords where the thumb (finger1) jumps to the next chord when the second finger could be used rather than the thumb.  For the most part, in the A section, the alternating chords in the right hand can be more smoothly played using the thumb and 2nd or third finger alternating on the bottom notes of the chord while the melody is carried by the 4th or 5th finger.  If done right, the notes in the right hand fit like a glove, which is characteristic of many Chopin pieces.  (Note that there are a a few exceptions in the A section that forces the thumb to jump.)
The A section is fairly easy to play and manage, and it is claimed to be Chopin's favorite melody.  It is truly an inspired tune, requiring a smooth legato style.  The B section is a different animal, particularly the cadenza-like diminished 7ths chords played with the left hand mirroring the chords played in the right hand. This section is not easy to play by any measure (pun intended).
Perhaps the edition you are using is different from the Edwin F. Kalmus edition I used when I learned this piece many years ago.