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Bach Italian Concerto & Beethoven 1st Sonata 1st Movement

Discussion in 'Submission Room' started by Mark, Apr 15, 2010.

  1. Mark

    Mark New Member Piano Society Artist

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    Hello All,

    It's good to see that a lot of familiar names are still posting on these boards. It's been quite a while since I posted anything new - I've been extremely busy with graduate school and deciding where I'm going with it, but I've determined a direction for now, and I have a little more time at the piano as a result. I'm preparing this material and a little more that's not quite as polished yet for some upcoming competitions, so I'd appreciate any form of criticism you might have.

    Thanks and have a great day :D

    Mark

    P.S. I also noticed among the recordings of the Italian Concerto already up on Piano Society that the timings of Adrienne and Andreas' recordings are exactly the same, so I'm pretty sure that one of them was accidentally copied in place of the other.


    Bach - Italian Concerto BWV 971 - 1st movement
    Bach - Italian Concerto BWV 971 - 2nd movement
    Bach - Italian Concerto BWV 971 - 3rd movement

    Beethoven - Sonata No.1 in F minor, Op.2 No.1, I: Allegro
     
    Mark, Apr 15, 2010
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  2. techneut

    techneut Active Member Piano Society Artist Trusted Member

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    Congratulations on this very strong performance of the Concerto !

    I particularly like your strutting pace and articulation in the 1st mvt. This part seems a bit monochrome to be, the dynamics are not as varied as in the 2nd and 3rd. I wondered about the first of the long trills, whether the upper note is correct (you play a sharp whereas I prefer a natural).

    The 2nd mvt is beautifully done, the tempo seems ideal to me, and the pulse steady. The ritardandi are daring but effective. At the beginning, the top notes of the thirds are much weaker than the bottom notes - any reason ? This also
    occurs in the closing chord where the last-but-one note is barely heard, whereas it should have been stronger than the very last note.

    The 3rd mvt shows some small signs of strain. It's a physically exhausting piece so I don't blame you too much. Still, the standard is not quite as high as in the first two parts.

    The Beethoven is very well done too, nice and bubbly. The many accents are well executed but some sound rather harsh. Is this a digital rendering ?

    My only real criticism is that I wish you had not used so much reverb. It sounds a bit cavernous which does not suit this music IMO (it bothered me less in Beethoven than in Bach).

    So, you're competing in the Bradshaw & Buono contest ? I'd say you make a good chance - no doubt all the Asians will play La Campanella etc... :p
     
    techneut, Apr 15, 2010
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  3. techneut

    techneut Active Member Piano Society Artist Trusted Member

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    Maybe, but could also be that the timings were incorrectly copied. I'll look into it, thanks for reporting it.
     
    techneut, Apr 15, 2010
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  4. musicusblau

    musicusblau Administrator Staff Member Piano Society Artist Trusted Member

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    Hi Mark,

    Italian Concerto
    To 1st m.:
    That´s a nice performance. I like your articulation, except your end phrasing of the main-theme, which seems a bit to abrupt for me, I wouldn´t play the last note so abruptedly. A suggestion: you could play the high-points of the melody (in german: Spitzentöne) with a bit more consciousness. Especially at the places where is a "latent two-voicity" (german: latente Zweistimmigkeit)!
    The high tones are too short and abrupt in most cases.

    If I will find some time, I will listen also to the other movements.

    I wish you much success for your competition and I think, concerning the 1st m. (to the others I couldn´t listen until now) you really have a good chance there!
     
    musicusblau, Apr 15, 2010
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  5. pianolady

    pianolady Monica Hart, Administrator Staff Member Piano Society Artist Trusted Member

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    Hi Mark,
    Nice to see you back here again!

    I have only listened to the 2nd movement of the Italian Concerto - I just love this one so much; it's on my list of all-time sexiest pieces of music!

    Anyway - I think you played it very nicely and sensitively. My only nitpicks are:

    1. In the first three bars I do not hear enough of the top notes on the harmonic thirds.

    2. The trills at bar 7 and the other bars too - I have always played the trill as starting on the same note. That is how it is written out in my score, which is one of those editions that I think is edited by Hinson (I'm looking at just copies of the score now, not the actual book). I am no expert in Bach by a long-shot, so whenever I'm learning something of his on my own, I look for these editions where everything is written out. But also, I've heard this piece many times, and I think in all cases the trill started on the same note.

    3. the appoggiaturas at bars 8 and 9 - I play them more like two 16th notes so I'm just used to that, but that doesn't mean that you are wrong.

    4. The trill at bar 16 - I show it starting on an E-flat.

    5. the long trill at bar 43 - it's not there!

    ok, that's all - sounded very nice otherwise.


    btw - I've fixed that duration time on the main site.
     
    pianolady, Apr 15, 2010
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  6. Mark

    Mark New Member Piano Society Artist

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    Thank you for the compliments Techneut! Indeed, one of the big challenges of the outer movements is staying focused on the dynamics and musicality while also keeping up the tempo. You're right, I do play the sharp on the first long trill - I prefer it that way and it's that way in most of the professional recordings I own. I was under the impression that the was the "standard way" of playing it. On the weak notes in the second movement, the E F and G above middle C have recently become very touchy on my clavinova, and it's very difficulty to play them mezzo piano. They either come out very quiet or somewhat accented. I'll have to have a technician look at it. I'm not completely satisfied with the sound of the recording either, but I find that the amount of reverb I have my clavinova set to provides the best compromise between reverberation and not sounding excessively digital.

    Are you doing the Bradshaw and Buono competition as well? How did you guess that I was doing it?
     
    Mark, Apr 16, 2010
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  7. Mark

    Mark New Member Piano Society Artist

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    Thank you for your comments Andreas. Regarding my "abrupt end phrasing of the main-theme," do you mean the ends of each of the two original statements of the theme in F and C in the first few measures, or do you mean the end of the first section at the bottom of the first page, right before the piano dynamic marking?
     
    Mark, Apr 16, 2010
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  8. Mark

    Mark New Member Piano Society Artist

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    Monica,

    I listened to your recording of this when I was submitting mine - I noticed that we choose almost exactly the same starting tempo:) Indeed, my keyboard limits me in voicing the thirds in that range. I'll have to go back and check on what note I'm starting my trills on - thanks for drawing my attention to that. I also noticed that the appoggiaturas in your recording were different, but in my experience I've never heard them your way. Interesting. It's strange to me that you mention a long trill in bar 43. In my music, the ornament written is exactly the same as the very first ornament on the first page - just a small squiggle with a vertical line through it. What a wonderful piece of music huh. It makes me very happy every time I play it.
     
    Mark, Apr 16, 2010
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  9. techneut

    techneut Active Member Piano Society Artist Trusted Member

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    Nah, that would be nothing for me. I am not USA-based and I can't memorize.
    How did I guess ? By seeing your ID3 tags and Googling (I thought at first that was the name of your piano....).
     
    techneut, Apr 16, 2010
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  10. Mark

    Mark New Member Piano Society Artist

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    Ahh, I should have realized!
     
    Mark, Apr 17, 2010
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  11. pianolady

    pianolady Monica Hart, Administrator Staff Member Piano Society Artist Trusted Member

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    Your Bach is up on the site now, Mark. I think the first and third movements sounded well-played too but I can't nitpick anything because I don't know them well-enough. Still, it puzzles me that the 2nd movement is so drastically different than the 1st and 3rd movements. I know there is supposed to be a contrast between movements, but this is to the extreme, which I suppose is exactly what Bach intended - never mind all this - I'm just making a dumb observation.

    Your Beethoven is uploaded and will be listed on the site probably later today.

    one more thing - that long trill that we talked about earlier in the 2nd mov't - I don't have a the squiggle with slash mark - I have a regular long squiggle (trill).

    still one more thing - Good luck at your competition!
     
    pianolady, Apr 17, 2010
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  12. techneut

    techneut Active Member Piano Society Artist Trusted Member

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    I've corrected the timings. The files were correct.
    Thanks fore reporting this.
     
    techneut, Apr 17, 2010
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