Week 3: Final Submissions!
WELCOME TO THE MAIN THREAD FOR THE Final WEEK OF "END OF THE YEAR" PRACTICE CHALLENGE!
This week is simple: Share your submissions of the the pieces you worked on/recorded for the challenge!
Because
We have our watch party for this challenge happening on January 15th, 11am PT, link right here!
â Happy Sharing! â
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Here is the 4.movement from Schubert sonata i A-major d959. I started it a little before Christmas as part of a goal to learn the whole sonata this winter.
I'm a bit hesitant to share this now, since it's still a work in progress, and I made some silly mistakes in the recording. Still, I had a goal to record it for the challenge, so here it is.
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Sindre Skarelven Bravo Sindre! It's a really great accomplishment in a brief period of time. And it sounds plenty of expressiveness and musicality. Thank you for sharing it!
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Hey all. I know it's past the deadline... Can I say the dog ate my microphone? Actually, not too familiar with the YouTube uploading process, and bungled a few things.
I have one recording here that I think is mostly where I want it to be... the 2nd mvt of the Pathétique sonata. The 1st and 3rd are not yet out of production!
My 'stretch' piece here is the Rondo Capriccioso. I grew up hearing my father play this piece, which he taught himself, having stopped taking lessons after RCM grade 8. While he didn't play it perfectly, it is a very powerful memory for me. I decided to try it in memory of him.
As you will see, it's got some glitches, and I'm still working on it. Not yet up to proper tempo. I haven't played in public for about 25 years. So kind of froze up a bit in front of the camera. This might have been take # 13??
Not being happy with the way that ended, I recorded the last minute or so again. Closer to what I can do when playing "in private".
Looking forward to the watch party!
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Ken Locke Sorry for the formatting, not sure how all those spaces ended up in there.
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Ken Locke Bravo Ken! Beautiful playing in the Pathetique 2nd mov, and that Rondo Capriccioso was so exciting to listen to! Well done!
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Ken Locke If it makes you feel better, my post was even later than yours! Nice work so far with the Rondo Capriccioso. It has some good energy to it! Those thirds would kill me if I tried them. And, there's no shame in 13 takes...I daresay I've exceeded 50 for certain recordings. (Maybe I should practice more and record less, haha.) Recording is hard.
Have you seen Leann Osterkamp's ToneBase video on that piece (here)? If not, you may enjoy it.
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Marc M Thanks for your comments. No, I had not seen that video, will check it out. I can never get enough of how different people interpret that piece.
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Claude Debussy, âPrĂ©ludesâ, Book 1, No. VII: âŠCe quâa vu le vent dâouest (âWhat the west wind has seenâ). This is one of the pieces I tackled in earnest last year for the first time. Itâs become a little messier since then because Iâve been quite busy working on other literature, but I still wanted to use this opportunity to take a first shot at recording it.
I most likely wonât be able to make it to the watch party. I have very much enjoyed listening to the music everyone has shared with us over the last few weeks!
https://vimeo.com/902817235/0ba2ae741a?share=copy
Here's a YouTube link in case that works better:
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Alexander Weymann That was amazingly virtuosic playing! So dramatic! Bravo!
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Vidhya Bashyam thanks, Vidhya!
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Alexander Weymann Bravo Alexander! Quite a broad and dramatic palette Debussy is using for this one. So enjoyable, and very well played!
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Sindre Skarelven thank you so much, Sindre, for your kind words! Yes, itâs a gorgeous piece, very evocative. I first encountered it as a teenager on an album with Debussy piano music played by Walter Gieseking and was completely blown away.
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Alexander Weymann I love it! Coolest piece by Debussy ever--such drama and tension. I hope that some day I will be able to play with your level of fluidity.
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Alexander Weymann Absolutely great, Alexander! You master this piece perfectly well. What a performance, Bravo!
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Juan Carlos Olite Marc M thank you both so much for your very nice comments!
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Marc M It IS a phenomenal piece! Iâm not sure I could even read it properly, no less ever play it as well as Alexander Weymann !
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Gail Starr thank you!
Glad youâve enjoyed this weird, dissonant piece. The west wind in question is, of course, the one reaching the west coast of France (probably Normandy) having rushed over the stormy Atlantic Ocean. Think of storm CiarĂĄn battering England and France last October! -
Alexander Weymann Yes, that IS the type of storm it evokes!
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Hello all, here's my submission. I was going to try Bach/Marcello, but decided Ornstein would be better for now, as I ended up playing the piece a lot to test out a new mic setup (stereo mic placement is a big time sink, haha). It's his Piano Sonata No. 4, Mvt. II, Semplice. The performance is not perfect, but I thought it shareable!
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Marc M Beautiful playing, Marc! I'm taking note of this piece, because that was very lovely and something I would like to play myself! Thanks for sharing.
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Sindre Skarelven Thank you! Some 25 years ago I listened to all the Leo Ornstein that I could, and that piece was my favorite of all his works. I learned it around then, and it's one of those pieces that "stays in the hands" pretty well, so it has stuck with me. It's a real shame that some of his other sonatas were never written down or recorded.
P.S. Great work with the Schubert so far. That is a lot of music to memorize in such a short time span!
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Marc M Very beautiful playing, Marc! With all these subtle changes of tempo and dynamics. I didn't know this composer, thanks for sharing!
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Marc M Very lovely! I havenât heard of this composer either. Interesting piece!
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Marc M Very interesting! Thanks again for sharing, and the nice feedback!
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Marc M Now that I know about him, I'm going to look into his music. What piece would you suggest as a 'starter model'?
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Ken Locke I'm trying to remember back to all those pieces I listened to 25 years ago, and I'm struggling, so I'm looking up what's available on Spotify, haha. Janice Weber's album is one I remember listening to--it has A Morning in the Woods, the whole 4th sonata (other movements are nice but maybe a little long at times), the 7th sonata (I don't remember liking this one much but I'll need to give it another listen), and the memorable Suicide on an Airplane. Ornstein can be pretty aggressive and creepy at times.
Now that I look at it again, I see Hamelin has released an album of Ornstein music, which I've got to listen to. I'm currently listening to his Piano Sonata No. 8 and enjoying it. There's another 2023 album by Viktor Valkov that looks very interesting.
He had a style, and if you listen to a lot of his music all at once it can all start sounding similar. Anyway, if any pieces of his stand out to you, please share!
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