I've been trying to put some time aside to record more pieces from Bartók's suite For Children.

I have recorded no. 11 but have plans to re-record the pieces I submitted earlier.

Here is no. 11. I tried to play molto sostenuto and the rest of the markings.

I also tried to fiddle with the ID3 tags using windows media player. I don't know how to check it as it doesn't look any different on my computer. I guess I would need to download it to my mp3 player?

I also made a video with the recording:

Here is the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slJ-xemyJ20

and the soundtrack:




Riley

Not sure if and how Media Player does ID3 tags. Fact is, there's no tags in the mp3. I'd recommend using iTunes.
As for the filename, that should be bartok-forchildren-1-11-tucker.mp3, no accent on the o.
Performance is ok but could do with a little more feeling and flexibility, it's rather too solemn.
One thing I note is a habit of accenting notes in strange places, like the 4th note in the beginning. Not sure that is by design, or just your touch being uneven. This is something you'll need to listen for carefully, and treat it as an error.

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the feedback. About the accent in the strange place, I was trying to build to the quarter note in the first beat of the second measure (dunno if that's the same in your text). There is a hairpin crecendo that ends there so I tried to make it gradual, but its hard. I guess one way to do it is to make each eighth note a little louder than the last. I agree the phrasing could be faster, that might fix it feeling so solemn.

About the naming error, I take it the 1 means the first book is the Hungarian book?

I have been practicing and recording since you responded. Here are the first two in the set:

1. Allegro



2. Andante



I tried to incorporate the slurs in the first and softer dynamics in the second.

Hi Riley,
I watched your video just now. The photos are nice and fit the music well. As far as the music and your playing - I don't play much Bartok or even listen to it in fact, so I can't really say that much here, except that in the middle section when the melody goes to your left hand - your hand right should be a little quieter.


Regarding tags - I use Windows for all my stuff, but it's not Windows Media Player, it's just plain Windows; the music library within the Windows libraries (hope that makes sense...)

Monica,

Thanks for the feedback. I am still working on making the melody in the right hand more prominent than the left hand.

About the tagging, you must have a newer version? I only have Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, I don't know about a music library in the windows library do you mean windows explorer? Arg microsoft.. Maybe I should get a Mac. I hear they are a lot more easy to use

Macs are for wimps. Real Men Use Windows

I'm not aware of a music library in the Windows libraries, but in Windows Explorer, you can do Right Mouse Click on an mp3-file, then choose Properties and then Details, then you can fill in ID3 tags.

I must be unreal then. And you won't catch me on a Mac either.

If one is going to use an audio editor such as Audacity anyway, even if only to cut the start and end silences down to size, then it too can be used to fill in the ID3 tags.

It is Windows Explorer where there are the libraries, ex. music, photos, videos, documents. I'm running Windows 7 on my computer but when I was using Vista on my old computer, I had the same icon on my task bar. It's looks like a manila file folder. The music library is very easy to use - much easier than iTunes because all the stored mp3's display all the tags (which can be added and/or changed), whereas in iTunes I think you have to click something that will bring up the tags (it's been awhile since I used iTunes). In the Windows Explorer music library, everything is right in front of you and easy to manipulate. Plus, you can customize it to display only the tags you normally use.

iTunes does all that, too. The only nag I have about it is that it keeps tags in separate memory/storage, and does not notice when you change something in the tags.

Hi Riley,
I have listened to your version on YouTube, a nice performance in summary. If you don´t mind, I would like to give some little tips to you: there is missing the legato from bar 2 to 3 and the holding bow from bar 10 to 11. The pp 9 bars before end is too loud. I think, in such a simple composition the details should be very well elaborated and you have mananged that to a big part.
I have enjoyed to listen to your performance!

I will send you my composition in brief, since I´m quite healthy again.

Best regards
Andreas

Hi Andreas,

Thanks for listening and the feedback. I accept the holding bow criticism and the too loud dynamic but I must disagree with you about the legato from 2 - 3. I see only phrasing marks bracketing meas. 1 - 2 and 3 - 4 (at least for the right hand). You made me see that I mistakenly rearticulated the d in the left hand in meas. 3. I'll have to redo this someday. I have dreams of one day playing the set through perfect. I know this will take me a while.

Glad you were able to enjoy it despite the problems! Let me know in pm when you have sent the score. I am planning on reserving a bigger piano for the time after I have learned your pieces to record them

Good that you are feeling better,

Riley

Pianoman342 wrote:


I think, we may have different editions, I used one from imslp.org. (Sometimes I do that, though I have the score, but I´m just too lazy to go downstairs to take it out of the shelf. )



That´s a good aim. I have the dream of completing WTC II one nice day (after having completed WTC I), and this also will take me while, I´m quite sure.



That´s very kind of you. I will set a download-link today (first I have to scan the score) and send you the link in a pm.

Thank you, Riley, and best regards!
Andreas