Here's my next batch of Preludes to go with the four I've previously posted (Nos 4, 10, 12, and 21). Your comments and feedback are greatly appreciated! I'm working towards recording at least 1/2 of Chopin's Preludes...

Some quick thoughts on these three:

No 13 F# - For me, one of those deceiving little devils. Fairly straightforward rhythm, and not technically difficult, but for whatever reason it took me a lot longer than I wanted to be happy with a recording of it. In the end I tried to concentrate on the LH/RH balance and carrying forth the melody as lyrically as I could.

No 18 f - An interesting piece requiring a lot of finger power and attention to the rhythm. I pushed forward to record this one ASAP, since after weeks of practice my wife told me I need to put my headphones on if I intend to practice "that one" since it was giving her a headache. No appreciation!

No 20 c - Yes, I'm sneaking in this very familiar prelude here as it's too majestic to pass up, and it's nice to have a few of these shorter/easier pieces to help me along the way to my prelude recording goal!

Matt


Chopin - Prelude in F-sharp minor, Op. 28, No. 13 (3:13)
Chopin - Prelude in F minor, Op. 28, No. 18 (0:55)
Chopin - Prelude in C minor, Op. 28, No. 20 (1:30)

You play beautifully.
no 18.I think all that practice pays off here.Power and precision.I particularly love the dramatic last few bars, stirring stuff.
no 13. Love the mood you set in this one.Keep it subdued and draw the listener in, that's the way.I did find myself wondering if the pauses between the groups of six notes were slightly overdone in places.Still very enjoyable.
no 20.Very nice recording.I was daydreaming while I was listening to it and for some reason thought it was the Rachmaninov prelude op 3 no 2. I kept wondering where the agitato section had gone to .Believe it or not, the fact that I was daydreaming is a good sign.Good music has that effect on me.

Can you please correct the ID3 tags as described in this sticky topic:
http://pianosociety.com/new/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=5115&p=51530

Thank you for listening and providing feedback - it is VERY much appreciated. I'm so glad you liked these pieces.

Great - I was really trying for "dramatic", but was concerned about it coming out of nowhere and/or coming out "ugly". I'm glad to hear you like it so much. As a digital piano player yourself, I'm sure you also probably struggle from time to time getting the right depth in the bigger parts? It is something that frequently takes me several recording takes to find out how far I can push.

I actually ended up with three recordings (of many) towards the end and had a hard time picking which one to submit. Both of the others were less subdued and allowed for a bit greater range in dynamics, although they both had 1 or 2 places where I thought it was simply too "big". I went with the softest version after looking back at the score and thinking about this piece more. The truth is the whole thing seems very sad to me, and I can find no potential relief from it in the score IMO. To me it starts sad, middle section is downright depressing - although certainly more textured, and the last part seems to just give up on life so to speak.

I agree in places I may hesitate a bit too much towards the end of the 6-note phrase, and I think I was doing this unconsciously when I wanted particular attention to be paid to the upcoming downbeat note beginning the next phrase. Or maybe I'm just rationalizing - also a valid theory!

That's what I was going for exactly - to put people to sleep!!

Thanks again!

It's actually mostly very effective.It's only in one or two places that it seems to unduly interrupt the flow.I'm probably just overly sensitive towards it because I've been told off for doing it too much myself.

Sorry about that Chris. Here are the files uploaded again with the correct tags. Thank you for posting these!

Matt


Chopin - Prelude in F-sharp minor, Op. 28, No. 13 (3:13)
Chopin - Prelude in F minor, Op. 28, No. 18 (0:55)
Chopin - Prelude in C minor, Op. 28, No. 20 (1:30)

These are up. Do check if all is ok.

Thanks Chris - checked the links and they all work!

Hi mwyman1,

I've played Nos. 13 and 20, but not 18. In No. 13 I believe you created wonderful atmospherics there. Those hesitations after the 6-note phrases, however, were a bit over the top I thought, as it interrupted the flow a bit, but overall the prelude was very well played IMO.

In No. 13, I would have preferred the E natural rather than the E flat, but I realize I'm in the minority on that one. (One time we took a poll on it here.) Otherwise, I believe you very skillfully created the impression of a funeral procession through the layering of the dynamics. It's a very satisfying rendition.

Nice playing!

David

Thanks David for listening - I value your opinions here very much! I like how you referred to the No. 13's "atmospherics" - that's a good way to describe an important but often overlooked factor when playing. I must admit I struggled with myself a bit on this, as some part of me really wanted to bring some drama with the dynamics on certain sections. But I forced myself to stay subdued since every time I listened back to my more "dramatic" versions it always seemed out of place.

And I appreciate the thoughts on being "over the top" with some of the hesitations before new phrases. Since you're the 2nd person to mention it, I will probably put it on my list to eventually re-record down the road a bit.

It's funny, I wasn't even aware of this "controversy" with No. 20 until I read a few of the related threads on this site. Sorry to disappoint! Just a case of originally learning this with an edition containing E flat, and my ears got used to it.

Thank you for the nice comments on the dynamics. I was a bit worried submitting such a well-known, widely played piece so it's really nice to hear you call it a satisfying rendition!

Matt

Hi Matt,

I had a listen to these three preludes by Chopin, I like your phrasing and range of dynamics. I haven't heard the first two pieces before, but the third is, as you say, very familiar

Looking forward to hearing more preludes,

Riley