Group 4

Kerstin 

Hi Kerstin.  Thank you for your enlightening video.  I never think of Chopin as orchestral, but boy did you nail it.  From the opening chord, I definitely see this piece in an entirely different way now, almost like a Chopin symphony if one could imagine.  A very pre-Prokofiev Prokofiev. Also, I didn't realize how many exact repetitions there were.  Thank you for noticing and bringing out a different instrumentation on each one. You do a really nice job handling the thick textures.  I think that helped in showing your vision of the orchestra.  Well done!

(3'46" Horn?)

Daniela Thanks! Yes, horn is a good idea. It’s very interesting to think in this direction, because imagination is a big deal here. And if we have an exact idea, what we want to give to the listener, it will be a better communication and more colorful. Great challenge.

Kerstin I love your imagination!

Kerstin I really enjoyed listening to your video. The orchestration really brought out the grandness in the piece and it was fun to hear your ideas. Thanks!

Juan Carlos Olite Wow! A wonderful piece and wonderful playing. Thanks

Juan Carlos Olite Awesome.  Very clear decisions and you show them well in your playing which is sincere and colorful.  In fact there were many moments where I stopped and said to myself "ooo, that was a nice sound."  I especially heard the tutti come through with your use of dynamics and the way that you struck the key at the end made a real ringing sound to imitate the glockenspiel.  

@ 38" you do a great job of showing the violin and viola lines in their entrances.  At this particular cadence, can you show more layers by playing one of them softer?  (I do the middle line - especially that Eb)

Just a thought about your solo cello in the beginning.  I think I hear a different pedaling from you in the opening than at the ending.  Have you given much thought to how you want to pedal it?  I think it's important as it's pretty much consistent throughout the piece.  If you see a cello, can you maybe think of how that cello would sound if they were in a big empty room and there was lots of vibration - maybe just enough pedal to overlap, without being overwhelming?  It's a tricky game because that B is so dissonant with the A, but we kind of also want to hear it sustained a bit to resolve to the C in the next measure.

Juan Carlos Olite Beautiful, soulful playing! Thanks for introducing me to this piece.

Daniela Thank you so much, Daniela! I wasn't aware of doing different pedaling in the opening than at the ending, you're right and with your remark the atmosphere could be more effective indeed.  I will try to show more "distant" the different voices in the "string trio" fragments. I love this kind of work with your revealing comments. Thank you!

Kerstin Leslie Chong Thank you very much Kerstin and Leslie!  This piece is the second of "Danzas argentinas" and it is very pleasant to play. I like very much your reflections and instrumental proposals in your videos. 

Giuseppe I like your choice of the oboe.  I definitely hear the song without words and I think the oboe is voice-like in it's ability to sing a melody.  Then on the repeat, the idea of the strings echoing, perhaps without the "singer".  Very nice.  You will have fun in week 2 with this I think.

Giuseppe I know Eunbi well. I will tell her you enjoyed it!

Daniela Thanks. Give my compliments to Eunbi Kim!  I would like to make an orchestral arrangement of Valentine. 

Juan Carlos Olite Wonderful!  The "conflict" you mention is very Schumann-esque.  So much of his music is polarized so it's great that you intentionally brought that out.  I especially hear a difference of color on the repeat, and the strings dialogue is so clear in its counterpoint.  Overall the your performance has an incredible sense of line.  I hope that breaking it down in this way has contributed to that.  

Daniela Thank you so much for your comments, Daniela! I am very happy with this course, with your videos and reflections we have learnt to focus on color when we are practicing  something that in many occasions we put aside. Thank you very much!

Juan Carlos Olite This was beautiful, Juan! Really enjoyed your playing. I think you captured the mood wonderfully and I could hear the different colors/instruments you were trying to bring out.

Leslie Chong Thank you so much, Leslie!

Leslie Chong Struggling with creating the sound we want is the first step on the path to actually creating the sound we want, so be patient with the process.  It's frustrating... but everything adds up to a new tool in your toolbox whether you need it in this particular spot or not.  

Prelude to the Afternoon of a Fawn is an excellent example of his orchestration.  I almost mentioned it with your first video but didn't want to lead you in any direction.

Soft and warm... very difficult and you are doing great.  Did you work on LH sound alone?  I think there's more depth that can contribute there, especially when it comes in.  I always suggest playing the RH on the fallboard and the LH on the keyboard so you can really hear what the LH is doing while your RH is playing and then refine the sounds from there.

Thanks Daniela for the feedback! After reading this, I did work more on the left hand, but I think it could definitely use more work.

Since we're coming up on the last day of this intensive, I thought I'd put together what I've learned/explored and try to execute. Thanks again for your feedback and this great course. I feel that I got much deeper into this piece than I would've on my own, and I've learned some tools that I can apply to future pieces.

Leslie Chong WOW!  That's so beautiful Leslie.  I feel like you nailed this.  So happy you joined!

Leslie Chong Gorgeous sound and playing, Leslie! An extraordinary and beautiful Debussy!