[Medley] Chopin/Schubert/Kabalevski/Dvorak

Hi there !
I post earlier than usual this week because I may be lacking time during next days.
First, I tried again to record the Waltz Op.70 No.1 from Chopin : I'm quite pleased with the result though I know there is still place for improvement.
I've also tried to perform one impromptu from Schubert, This impromptu seems to be well-known here, which quite astonished me since it is not very famous otherwise.
Along with this I post a few variations from Kabalevski and a humoresque from Dvorak.
I reckon that the Kabalevski may not be eligible for upload because he died in 1987 (therefore its music is not yet in public domain). However I feel that I can post it here anyway so you can listen to it and maybe appreciate it. (though, if this is a problem, please tell me and I'll remove it !).

Please give me feedback and enjoy !

Henri

Chopin - Waltz In G Flat Major, Op. 70, No. 1

Kabalevsky - Six Variations On A Ukrainian Folk Song, Op. 51, No. 5

Schubert - Impromptu in A-flat major, Op. 142, no. 2

Dvorak - Humoresque No.7 in G flat major

 

Hi Monica, and thank you for your feedback and for uploading.
Sorry for not giving you the details for the Kabalevski. I've checked it and it's ok. I'll do better next time
I don't understand why you experienced problems with the Dvorak since it seemed to work perfectly on upload. However I'll try to upload it again.

 

Well done ! I enjoyed the Kabalevsky most, probably because it was new to me. Your triplets in the Chopin are better but still don't quite sound like triplets. The Schubert is a hard piece to bring off without the listener getting bored. I'm not sure you succeed. Good playing anyway.

 

May depend on the listener... :wink:

It's not my preferred impromptu but I could listen to it up to the end without getting bored. I think that it is a good performance, which may be missing something that I can't identify: contrast, engagement, feeling...

I like the sound. I think that recording in mono is a good way for making the digital sound more acoustic. I much prefer this sound to an X-wide stereo.

 

Didier, I never considered that! Do you have a rationale for it?

 

I'm sorry Alfonso, I should have written more precisely:
I think that recording in mono is a good way for making a digital piano sounding more like an acoustic one. I much prefer this sound to an X-wide stereo.



I would not have read that Henri was playing a digital piano, I may have believed it was a very good acoustic one. But a digital piano in stereo is most often awful to my ears.

 

Oh, your statement was clear in the first place! Perhaps it was my question that wasn't. Since the digital piano sound is awful to my ears too, I am curious about the fact that a mono recording can (at least partially) disguise it and given you're clearly an audio pundit I ask you if there is some technical explanation for it. Maybe because part of the digitalness of the sound we perceive in the end comes from a further internal process of creating the final stereo image after the raw piano samples are played?

 

It's just my feeling about this sound. I think that mono makes sound the piano further, which is good to me because I don't like to have my ears on the hammers, hearing the lows at far left and the highs at far right as often with digital piano. Some distance to the piano is required for me forgetting the sound and listening to the music.
That's a pity that the lows sound rather boomy here. Once they are tamed a bit, it's really a nice sound to me. Then adding some hiss would give something reminiscent of the late 50s. :wink: