Chopin - Barcarolle

So, you have taken the plunge...
I did not bother with the video as it will take about forever for me to download.
The mp3 is not bad at all, technically. A couple of slips can be forgiven, as this is after all, a difficult piece. Indeed though, it does not quite 'fly'. It is rather too slow in the outer movements (not in the central movement, which is spot-on) but what worries me more is the prosaic approach. You are rather rigid in tempo, and do not apply much dynamics, which makes it sound a bit pedestrian. The sheer exultation of the piece, especially in the recapitulation, does not come off. I think you left out one of the double trills in the recap, and one or two other trills there sounded strange (but that could be my mistake).
But overall, a very presentable Barcarolle, maybe not optimal. but nothing much wrong with it. I did not notice the different takes, it seemed to flow seamlessly.

BTW 1 - I do not think my video is 'fit for the site' with that missing top of head and the cumbersome page turn. I'll certainly not put it up.

BTW 2 - Most of my recordings are not in one take either. Well actually, they're always in one take, but with anything from 1 to 6 cuts, depending on the length of the piece. So don't feel bad about that.

 

You should "hire" one of your kids to turn the page and the other to operate the camera. Or you should train one of your "stupid ducks" :wink:

 

Can't - we got rid of them. After countless times of nearly breaking our necks skidding in the duck shit, we decided enough was enough and donated them to the local kids' farm. The garden is nice and tidy now. I should change my bio as the number of animals and kids keeps changing.

 

I wouldn't agree with the pessimism Monica. I noticed many nice things in the Barcarolle. The touch is nice, the style is personal and honest, some passages are quite convincing, direct. It could be better, sure, but for this to happen, you first should feel better.
I don't know if you were put off by the piece and its difficulty or you were just distracted by this video thing you were doing. If it is the former, then you should wonder whether you really like this piece or you just chose to play it because you should have a Chopin barcarolle in your repertoire. If it's the latter, just throw the camera away and next time don't let anything take away the focus and passion required for solo piano playing.

And btw, think twice before taking up the ukulele, it's not that easy you know...

 

You play this quite nicely...don't be so hard on yourself. Now, when you start to dive into the polonaises, that's when you can be hard on yourself. :wink:

 

Hi Monica,

I read of your journey and struggle with the Barcarolle and could totally relate to it. My own nemesis over the years has been the Scriabin Etude, Op. 42, No. 6 in D flat. When Scriabin and I went to the mat for the first time on that etude, I was soundly defeated. We scheduled a rematch a couple of years ago, during which I fought him to a draw. Probably in another year or so I'll issue a new challenge with hopes of victory. :lol: So I know the frustrations, believe me!

The fact that you spliced three takes of the different sections together is OK. Those were takes of large sections of the piece, so what does it matter? What really bugs me is the less-than-honest editing that goes on in professional recording studios by the recording engineers in producing CDs for the pros that give the illusion of perfect performances. Reminds me of the story of the well-known pianist who was having a really difficult recording session. The engineer finally sent him home, saying he'd edit the recording and asked the artist to return in a week. Then the recording engineer began working his magic. When the artist next returned to the studio, the engineer sat him down and had him listen to the final recording. The artist was totally impressed by what he was hearing and afterward waxed enthusiastically over it. The engineer then said, "Yes, don't you wish you could play like that?"

Anyway, don't reach for the ukelele yet. There are good indicators in your performance of this barcarolle. You've got the notes, worked out the challenging technical issues, and have developed a sense of the shape of the piece and how to play the long line. So all of that has given you a firm foundation for performance. But clearly, the piece is still a work in progress. (Of course, this is one of those masterworks that can be a work in progress for a lifetime, where you continually gain new insights--which is a very good thing.) If I had to critique, I'd offer this: To me your playing right now sounds a little cautious, stiff and mechanical. The obvious reason for that is the practicing you've put in ironing out all the trouble spots. So now the focus needs to change from matters of technique to matters of musicality. That means relaxing more and paying more attention to cantabile, dynamics, voicing, expression, rubato, turns of phrase, nuances, etc. In other words, work more on the poetry of your playing now. This is a very substantial piece, so it's going to take time to refine your rendition to the point where you're playing with intention which to your ear is then exactly translated into the sound or effect you're seeking.

Keep up the good work!

David

 

First I watched the video and I found the struggle with that page turns and your comments, or better said, your maledictions a bit funny. Then I pulled out the score and after that I can totally understand why one has to sweat and tear playing that very difficult piece. I also now agree with Chris, that certainly this Barcarolle ist just some levels from difficulty above the Berceuse, not only from length, also from the density of the chords.
I also don't understand why one needs to compose a piece with 6 sharps. :lol: At least one could write it down with 6 flats instead, that would be nicer for Chopin players (because the flats are dominating in Chopin, so one is used to it and it would be easier readable, or not?).

I also never have seen nor played double trills within one hand, and you seem not to have any problems with that, neither from watching you playing that nor from the sound!

Your audiofile sounds very good to me. Your pp part in the last bars starts wonderful soft, I very much like that. Maybe there are some spots here and there where it does not sound that loose like on other places, but overall it is a really good job on that hard beast!

By the way, it is such a harmonic rich and interesting piece I could imagine that it does not loose fascinating even after innumerous repetitions of playing or listening?

Congratulations for coping with such a demanding piece! I do think, if someone can play the Barcarolle, like you, then you can play everything from Chopin, because the top of difficulties is reached regarding Chopin?

Thanks for both, mp3 and video!

 

44 MB ????

Now I'll have to clean my PC (I'm at home and have a very old computer.)

As for the piece, now I see why we don't have a recording of it yet. It sounds really difficult and the six sharps - yuchh! I heard a recording of Albeniz' "La Vega" on this site some months back and bought a copy online, only to find it was in 7 flats! I thought it was someone's idea of a bad joke.

I don't know the Barcarolle - is everyone supposed to be acquainted with it? Everyone else seems to be. I actually attended conservatory once upon a time (I think Nixon was the president then).

Actually, I wanted to comment on the video. It's so interesting to see other pianists at work. I noticed you wear a watch and a ring while playing, for instance - I don't seem to be able to do that. Also, there's stuff on the piano that I'm sure is going to fall over and get in the action. Your hand position looks good. Your hands don't look as small as you say they are.

Also - it looks like you record on the side *away* from the lid. There's been a lot of talk on this board about that lately and I think I'll try it when I have time to move the piano.

You should make a video of yourself playing some of the Granados pieces. You know them so well that we can get a better idea of things like how much you watch your hands. (Probably one of the things that pianists notice most about other pianists.)

P.S. You know, of course, that playing the ukelele will raise a lot of callouses. Not good for pianists. So I've heard.

 

Hey Monica.
Congratulations on enduring the hours and hours it must have taken you to produce this. Beautifully done. I thought you handled the dynamics well, although Chris may prefer more drama. It's hard enought just to get the notes right. I didn't see the video, but I would like to have - especially for the cursing! :lol:

 

From my experience, it totally doesn't... In fact, every time I play it, I love it more and more! ...now that I finally finished learning it...

Monica, I'll have to agree with Techneut here about the opening: it's too slow IMO. Mostly though, what it needs is dynamics, and breath. At the risk of sounding stupid, this piece becomes so much easier to play when you feel it rather than "play" it. It's ok to speed up a little at the beginning of a phrase, and then to slow down a bit towards the end... especially at a slower tempo! As for the dynamics... I did not even realize how incredibly detailed Chopin was with his dynamic markings in this piece until my piano teacher told me to look at it measure by measure, ONLY noting the dynamic marks. All the shaping is basically laid out for you! Of course, it's also pretty weird since most of the time the phrasing/shaping seems to go against what one would naturally hear at first, but that's a different story altogether...

Anyway... Most of all, congratulations on spending the time and effort to actually learn the piece! It's quite a feat! I became so frustrated when I was learning it sometimes, and thought I would NEVER be able to memorize it. I think I must've spent at least 75 hours on it before I could play it the way I wanted to :? What was Chopin thinking when he wrote this beast??