Earlier this evening my teacher had a "studio" concert, with her piano pupils interleaving with the recorder ensemble in various combinations.
The recorders were refreshingly un-awful with a rather satisfying baroque sound that had to do with more than the mere music (the theme to the Muppet show as a baroque piece? All I can say is it seemed to work!).
The pianists were a very good advert for my teacher: The first half was mostly those below or at grade 8. One in the first half and all of the second half was her her post-grade 8 pupils (4 of us), with her (the teacher) playing one of the Chopin Waltzes Brilliante.
The other pupils (and my teacher) were excellent.
I played the Szymanowski Bb min etude and the Liszt Petrarch Sonnet 123. The Szymanowski was too fast, very nervous and too many mistakes but people seemed to like it. The Liszt was much more relaxed - I forgot the audience was there very quickly - I played very few wrong notes and managed to get the tempo changes and rubato, the dynamics and the pedalling really close to what I wanted, though still a long way from perfect. It was by far the best my teacher has ever heard me play it. Everyone in the audience seemed to enjoy it.
Much to my surprise I really enjoyed it. I will do more!
Full Version: Concert - Went Well
That's great news, Robodoc. And I'm glad you found the recorders un-awful. 
Well done, Robodoc! I'm sure relaxing and forgetting the audience is the way to go; bet your teacher was thrilled! 
You must be a true performer if you enjoy playing to an audience.
You must be a true performer if you enjoy playing to an audience.
Congratulations! I'm pleased it went so well and you enjoyed yourself.
Ambs x
Ambs x
Well done Rob. That sounds like a great achievement! Onwards and upwards.
Congratulations for Robodoc! 
That's really a great achievement. As I read the post, I even found myself thinking: maybe playing in public isn't so bad Congratulations!
I was having a look at the Szymanovski etude myself the other day (which I like very much), and found the position of the notes on the treble / bass clefs made no sense. When I tried to play the notes as indicated, my hands were so twisted around eachother, I couldn't play! Am I missing something?!
Congratulations!I was having a look at the Szymanovski etude myself the other day (which I like very much), and found the position of the notes on the treble / bass clefs made no sense. When I tried to play the notes as indicated, my hands were so twisted around eachother, I couldn't play! Am I missing something?!
QUOTE(Oldpiano @ Mar 31 2009, 05:30 PM) 
That's really a great achievement. As I read the post, I even found myself thinking: maybe playing in public isn't so bad
Congratulations!I was having a look at the Szymanovski etude myself the other day (which I like very much), and found the position of the notes on the treble / bass clefs made no sense. When I tried to play the notes as indicated, my hands were so twisted around eachother, I couldn't play! Am I missing something?!
MadTom is of the same opinion: this is a study in how to have both your hands in the same place at the same time . . . However: Once you get the overlapping hands sorted and the m.d. bits organized and realize that the tune is almost entirely in the 4th and 5th fingers of the right hand, it's not so bad. A lot of the time the organization is so that the right hand can take the melody like this, doubled with the thumb an octave lower, without being encumbered by harmony notes. Little or no pedalling is marked; do your own thing but try not to sustain notes that no longer fit, which often means a pedal change on every beat, or before the beat to catch the ornaments properly. Don't be tempted to play the f sections too loud - leave room for the ff's, the fff's and the crecsendo from fff. Lot's of Rubato - this is late Romantic music in full dramatic mode. Finally, a lot of the time the correct emphasis is on the second note of a bar. Have fun!
QUOTE(Robodoc @ Apr 2 2009, 01:20 AM)
QUOTE(Oldpiano @ Mar 31 2009, 05:30 PM)
That's really a great achievement. As I read the post, I even found myself thinking: maybe playing in public isn't so bad
Congratulations!I was having a look at the Szymanovski etude myself the other day (which I like very much), and found the position of the notes on the treble / bass clefs made no sense. When I tried to play the notes as indicated, my hands were so twisted around eachother, I couldn't play! Am I missing something?!
MadTom is of the same opinion: this is a study in how to have both your hands in the same place at the same time . . . However: Once you get the overlapping hands sorted and the m.d. bits organized and realize that the tune is almost entirely in the 4th and 5th fingers of the right hand, it's not so bad. A lot of the time the organization is so that the right hand can take the melody like this, doubled with the thumb an octave lower, without being encumbered by harmony notes. Little or no pedalling is marked; do your own thing but try not to sustain notes that no longer fit, which often means a pedal change on every beat, or before the beat to catch the ornaments properly. Don't be tempted to play the f sections too loud - leave room for the ff's, the fff's and the crecsendo from fff. Lot's of Rubato - this is late Romantic music in full dramatic mode. Finally, a lot of the time the correct emphasis is on the second note of a bar. Have fun!
I would just add:
I don't have an Urtext, but my edition, and all others I have seen suggest using the right hand for the harmony notes written in the bass clef in bar 2 and similar places. You can do it that way - in the end you have to make up your own mind - but I think that they are better played by the left hand - as suggested by the layout of notes on the page in the score - and as I suspect Szymanowski intended, because it leaves the RH free to shape the melodic line in octaves.
It is not so bad because most of the changes of hand position that you need to make (e.g. to switch which hand is on top) occur at breaks between phrases, so they actually help you to phrase the music properly.
When you have sorted out the overlapping hands the next thing you need to work on is the LH trills. They should sound effortless as they grow out of the scale-like runs in the bass.
QUOTE(Mad Tom @ Apr 2 2009, 07:09 AM)
QUOTE(Robodoc @ Apr 2 2009, 01:20 AM)
QUOTE(Oldpiano @ Mar 31 2009, 05:30 PM)
That's really a great achievement. As I read the post, I even found myself thinking: maybe playing in public isn't so bad
Congratulations!I was having a look at the Szymanovski etude myself the other day (which I like very much), and found the position of the notes on the treble / bass clefs made no sense. When I tried to play the notes as indicated, my hands were so twisted around eachother, I couldn't play! Am I missing something?!
MadTom is of the same opinion: this is a study in how to have both your hands in the same place at the same time . . . However: Once you get the overlapping hands sorted and the m.d. bits organized and realize that the tune is almost entirely in the 4th and 5th fingers of the right hand, it's not so bad. A lot of the time the organization is so that the right hand can take the melody like this, doubled with the thumb an octave lower, without being encumbered by harmony notes. Little or no pedalling is marked; do your own thing but try not to sustain notes that no longer fit, which often means a pedal change on every beat, or before the beat to catch the ornaments properly. Don't be tempted to play the f sections too loud - leave room for the ff's, the fff's and the crecsendo from fff. Lot's of Rubato - this is late Romantic music in full dramatic mode. Finally, a lot of the time the correct emphasis is on the second note of a bar. Have fun!
I would just add:
I don't have an Urtext, but my edition, and all others I have seen suggest using the right hand for the harmony notes written in the bass clef in bar 2 and similar places. You can do it that way - in the end you have to make up your own mind - but I think that they are better played by the left hand - as suggested by the layout of notes on the page in the score - and as I suspect Szymanowski intended, because it leaves the RH free to shape the melodic line in octaves.
It is not so bad because most of the changes of hand position that you need to make (e.g. to switch which hand is on top) occur at breaks between phrases, so they actually help you to phrase the music properly.
When you have sorted out the overlapping hands the next thing you need to work on is the LH trills. They should sound effortless as they grow out of the scale-like runs in the bass.
Ah, I see - that sounds intuitively right. Thanks very much!
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