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Thundering Chopin!

Discussion in 'Submission Room' started by pianolady, Feb 28, 2009.

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  1. pianolady

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

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    Here is another silly idea I had. I’ve wanted to try this for a while, but of course you can’t just turn on a thunderstorm. So two days ago, we had a severe and freak thunderstorm. Freak storm, because it is February and we don’t usually get them this time of the year. And did it ever rain! There were floods all over the place.

    I opened my living room window and placed my Edirol on the table close to the window. The ‘hiss’ you hear is the actual rain pouring down hard. I was very glad that it was thundering outside, but I wished for more. So just now, I found a way to ‘paste in’ thunder sound files. (This was so much fun.) And you can’t even tell which one of my thunders is real and which ones I added! (I added two)

    I chose this Chopin prelude because it’s the only thing I could play right away without having to practice.
     
    pianolady, Feb 28, 2009
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  2. Casper89

    Casper89 Member Piano Society Artist

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    Hey that sounds great, very tragic :D!!!!Thanks a lot for submitting this little experiment!
     
    Casper89, Feb 28, 2009
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  3. juufa72

    juufa72 New Member Piano Society Artist

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    Quite interesting how weather can vary within 100 miles. We had no thunder, no rain. Only sleet, wind, and below freezing weather.

    Reminds me of those relaxation tapes. "Piano by the sea" or "Meditation in the Woods" or "Whispering Rain and Piano" :roll:


    Etudes 25/10, 11, or 12 would fit very well with the thunder. :twisted:
     
    juufa72, Feb 28, 2009
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  4. Rachfan

    Rachfan Active Member Piano Society Artist

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    Hi Monica,

    In music this is what is called "verismo". It's a lovely rendition of the Cm Prelude, and I liked the E natural in measure 4 too! The storm added much to the funereal tone of this piece. Great! (The only thing that would find its way onto one of my recordings, but in summertime, is the sound of the lawn being mowed. :lol:)

    David
     
    Rachfan, Mar 1, 2009
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  5. pianolady

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

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    Thank you too! And yes - this piece seems even more tragic like this. I love it!


    Oh, it was really bad here. I had to drive around in it that night and glad I was in my big SUV. Didn't have to worry about stalling out as I drove through the water. Plus, I think I really did go 'off-roading'. :shock: :lol:

    Thanks for the new word, David. I had to look that one up. And you're an E natural guy too. Great - we in the E natural club have to stick together. Today, my dad said I should have recorded the "Raindrop" prelude with the thunderstorm. I didn't even think of that, but I wouldn't have had the piece down well enough anyway. But - about what you mentioned - I wonder what piece would fit lawn mowing? :lol:
     
    pianolady, Mar 1, 2009
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  6. Rachfan

    Rachfan Active Member Piano Society Artist

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    Hi Monica,

    As to music to accompany lawn mowing, that's easy--any piece by John Cage! :lol:

    David
     
    Rachfan, Mar 1, 2009
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  7. pianolady

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

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    Hmmm...John Cage....John Cage....John Cage....(sorry, David, I must be dense, because I don't get it)[​IMG]

    :lol:
     
    pianolady, Mar 1, 2009
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  8. musicusblau

    musicusblau Administrator Staff Member Piano Society Artist Trusted Member

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    Wow, bravo, Monica! A very interesting experiment. There are some very interesting moments in the "cooperation" of the thunder and the music, so that we get a real new composition here, with it´s own moments of tension and solving of the tension. A great duo, you and the thunder. :wink:
     
    musicusblau, Mar 1, 2009
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  9. pianolady

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

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    First - I forgot to say this earlier: Happy Birthday, Chopin!

    Ok, Andreas - thanks for listening. I've always liked thunder.

    It was fun making this recording, as you can imagine. Since I was able to 'conduct' some the thunder, it was maybe a little like being "Mother Nature". Which brings up another idea - our next ensemble piece should be a transcription of Grieg's Peer Gynt , that Morning piece. We could add our own chirping birds tracks, and things like that. :wink: :lol:
     
    pianolady, Mar 1, 2009
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  10. musicusblau

    musicusblau Administrator Staff Member Piano Society Artist Trusted Member

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    Pianolady wrote:
    With pleasure! If you take the chirping-part,it will be fine... :lol:
     
    musicusblau, Mar 1, 2009
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  11. PJF

    PJF New Member Piano Society Artist

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    I love how the thunder seems to match the dynamics!
     
    PJF, Mar 4, 2009
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  12. bclever

    bclever New Member

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    Since somebody mentioned chirping birds, if you listen very carefully to Ashkenazy's recording of
    Chopin's 24 preludes you can hear birds singing in the background.
     
    bclever, Mar 4, 2009
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  13. musicusblau

    musicusblau Administrator Staff Member Piano Society Artist Trusted Member

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    bclever wrote:
    That will improve his recordings without doubt. :lol: And we should remember Olivier Messien, who seems to have been fascinated by those little sweet animals.
     
    musicusblau, Mar 4, 2009
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  14. alf

    alf Active Member Piano Society Artist

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    That's cruel of you, Andreas. :lol:

    There's some truth, though. Ashkenazy was a wonderful pianist in the 60's and 70's. Later his playing got less and less interesting over time. Plus, many of his Decca recordings are just sonically awful (but it's not his fault of course, rather the recording engineers').

    Brian, you're right. I remember spending one summer night some years ago listening in a row to a dozen interpretations of the Chopin Preludes (Sokolov, Kissin, Argerich, Pires, Lugansky, Lucchesini, Bolet, Pollini and others I can't remember of now), Ashkenazy's turn arrived at dawn, the windows were open and at first I believed that all that chirping came from outside... :lol:
     
    alf, Mar 4, 2009
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  15. pianolady

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

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    Funny, Andreas!

    Alfonso - wow, such dedication to listening to music. I haven't stayed up till dawn since my university days.
     
    pianolady, Mar 4, 2009
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  16. bclever

    bclever New Member

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    It's a man thing. Don't try to understand it.
     
    bclever, Mar 4, 2009
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  17. pianolady

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

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    Hmmm....well then, waking up before the crack of dawn must be a woman thing. :wink:
     
    pianolady, Mar 5, 2009
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  18. alf

    alf Active Member Piano Society Artist

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    That's the Ladyhawke story.
     
    alf, Mar 5, 2009
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  19. pianolady

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

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    haha - then perhaps you have an insatiable need to howl at the moon every night? :p

    (just ignore that if you don't know what I'm talking about :lol: )
     
    pianolady, Mar 5, 2009
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  20. musicusblau

    musicusblau Administrator Staff Member Piano Society Artist Trusted Member

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    So funny![​IMG]
     
    musicusblau, Mar 5, 2009
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