This has happened twice to me. You need to update your Flash player and reboot your computer.

Kaila, besides listening, I have watched you on YouTube and my comments are as valid as the ones I made before, so I shall not repeat myself.

I always like to watch pianists, principally when they do as you do, showing hands, arms and feet. It is almost like a lesson in itself.

Thanks Richard for your advice, but unfortunateley, although I have tried many times to update my Flash player, I still have the same problem. I have spent hours going on forums and trying to fix the problem, without success ...

Yes Richard, I agree. It is always interesting to watch the kinesthetics that produce the results.
One can then choose what to emulate and what to avoid.

Regards and thank you again for your input,
Kaila

Francois,

The performance videos are posted at my website with mp4 download links (as zip files). My project manager set this up to make it
convenient for people who might have trouble viewing the streaming video on the embedded flash video players.

Kaila


Performance Video webpages (with mp4 file download links) @specialneedsinmusic.com:

1: Grave; Allegro di molto e con brio (10:25)
http://specialneedsinmusic.com/multi_med_less/piano_performance_videos/Kaila_SysII_Beethoven_Pathetique_1st_mvt_2012_1112_/SysII_Beethoven_Pathetique_1st_mvt.html

2: Adagio Cantabile (6:49)
http://specialneedsinmusic.com/multi_med_less/piano_performance_videos/Kaila_SysII_Beethoven_Pathetique_2nd_mvt_2012_1112_/SysII_Beethoven_Pathetique_2nd_mvt.html

3: Rondo; Allegro (5:18)
http://specialneedsinmusic.com/multi_med_less/piano_performance_videos/Kaila_SysII_Beethoven_Pathetique_3rd_mvt_2012_1112_/SysII_Beethoven_Pathetique_3rd_mvt.html

I finally got a chance to hear your "Pathetique". You have done a wonderful job. Your approach gave me a fresh, new listening experience to this old "war horse".

Scott

Scott,

Thank you for listening and for your kind words and thoughts on my interpretation of the Pathetique.

Regards,
Kaila

Chris,
We decided to edit a couple of places in the first movement. Attached is the edited performance file and I would like to
replace the first upload if it is ok to do so.

Thanks,
Kaila


Beethoven - Sonata Op.13 ("Pathetique") - 1: Grave; Allegro di molto e con brio (10:24)

No problem, it's been replaced. It was probably a good idea to iron out some of the little creases, minor as they were.

Thank you Chris.

Regards,
kaila

Your project manager had a bright idea ! Thank you, it was nice to see you playing this eternal music... Regards,

Kaila,

For me, it's always a pleasure to hear a Beethoven sonata, and I do enjoy many things about your performance -- there is at times a great nobility in your conception. Of course, also in a piece this famous, there's bound to be widely diverging opinions on how it should be played, and I admit to being opinionated on the subject. A few suggestions/details about the performance:

First movement: In the grave intro, I think the dotted rhythms are held too long and are creating a sense of ponderousness where there should be a sort of stark grandeur. IMHO your gesture is in the right ballpark, but there needs to be more tautness on the dots, as well as more balance and color to produce a greater dialogue between the bass and the suspenseful filigree in the right hand -- in particular, I would recommend playing the chromatic scale that leads into the allegro in a lighter way and with more abandon.

When the allegro gets going, the pedalling and sound seem bit thick. I very much like the way you begin the section with the cross over portatos in the right hand (my druthers would be to hear more melodic direction in the bass though). Overall, maybe just go a bit easier on the pedal; at least to my ears, it's drowning out some of the clarity (e.g., mm. 99-100 and 111-112 where those bass octaves are separated by rests). I like the way you accentuate the octave melody in the development, as well as your idea for bringing out the bass in the passages in chromatic broken sixths -- there you could just use a bit more bite and finger independence to bring it out and avoid the smudges. Your broken octaves do seem to struggle throughout a little evenness-wise, notably in the lead-in to the reprise of the portato section. I must say though it's perhaps a bit drawn out for my taste, I do like the sense of suspense that you create with the brief grave section before the coda -- very exciting.

Second movement: I'll be briefer here (the first movement seems to be the one that can be a devil for the details. ) Overall, there's nothing technical I object to here; your melody is quite well voiced. However, it seems like you need to make the phrases more your own; I find it rather pedestrian and lacking in nuance and rubato. I would just relax a bit more, have this be more of a love song than a chore and let the phrases speak the way you hear them (I do like your chromatic lead-back to the reprise at 28).

Third movement: Certainly not bad, but I miss a lot of the clarity and bite here; some notes aren't sounding as part of your triplets (to my ears), and I'd recommend being a bit more careful regarding the rhythm and tempo -- there are times you noticeably slow down and other times you're fine. There are also some noticeable problems with evenness.

It's a war horse, but it's also MHO a deceptively tricky piece technically, as is most Beethoven. I think you're on the right track but would ideally want to have a bit more technical security so that you can better accomplish what you want to do with the music.

Joe

Hi Joe,

Thanks for your comments. If I were to play this sonata today, I would most likely play the dotted rhythms more accurately in the opening section. I got very involved in the tone of the piano and I did not want to play them too sharply because I think it takes away from the character of the opening. It is not a baroque in style as some pianists might potray it, in my opinion. It is a cross between the classical and the romantic. But I fully agree with your point that the opening could have been more accurate in timing.

Also, I realize that some of the tempos are uneven at times during the performance. That could have been better.  However, I am not going to rerecord this piece now, because I think the opening does reflect an interpretive view that Beethoven was alluding to. Will I rerecord it in a few years? Probably. Hopefully. I will focus more on eveness of tempos in my next recording.

We all know that from time to time, it is important to take liberties with tempos. I once recorded the Debussy Toccata and intentionally took liberties with the tempo because I feel the character of the moment is missed by a lot of pianists. That piece is very mechanically played.
I recorded it years ago and so do not feel it is eligible to audition at the Piano Society. I would be interested in your comments about it.

As for your other comments, well, you may be right about a few things or you may have been a bit overly critical, or that is your view and you certainly are entitled to it. You certainly have given me a lot to think about and take into consideration for the next recording on that beautiful piano.

All the best and much appreciation for your feedback,
Kaila

Hello Joe,

I reread your comments and listened again to my performance and have decided to practice "The Poets's Harp" by Mendelssohn
without the pedal to improve the even texture of the harp pattern. Thank you again for your critical listening that is the catalyst for a
different approach to my current practicing.

Much appreciation,
Kaila

Hi Kaila,

I really enjoyed hearing your rendition of the "Pathetique". I've heard the introduction, Grave, played the way you've chosen only once before, at a recital given by Ruth Slenczynska in the 1960s. As was the case then, I believe that under your hands, it works quite successfully. In the Adagio Beethoven's concept was a string quartet, which is why it often appears like part writing, and I believe your sound there emulated it well. The Rondo has a couple of devilish spots, but you negotiated them very well. Overall you bring always the right touch and achieve a wonderful evenness in your playing so necessary for music of the era. Thank you for sharing your beautiful rendition.

David

Hello David,

What a compliment, to be compared to Ruth Slenczynska. I remember hearing of her when I was a child.
I thought of the second movement as almost a folk music in a way. I know that sounds strange, but almost like a nature song.

Thank you for your kind words.

Kaila