For the Lovers of the Piano and other Instruments Classical Music

[Steve5380]

The scene of classical music performance keeps renovating and gaining in perfection.  And today, it is all at our disposal on the Internet.

 

Of performances of piano concertos, few have impressed me more than this very recent one in Japan,  with a Polish orchestra and the Japanese pianist Hayato Sumino  (Canteen). The music: Chopin Concerto No. 1,  heard hundreds of times but seldom so well played.

 

Last year, Hayato enchanted the audience of the 18th Chopin Competition in Warsaw, but inexplicably was not promoted to the finalists stage.  Many we considered that he should have been among the finalists and eventually become the winner.  

 

This video shows the quality of his performing, especially in the last movement Rondo Vivace which he played like fireworks.  This is the excellent technique I admire. 

 

 

 

Edited October 24, 2022 by Steve5380

[Steve5380]

What a pleasure, what a treat of sound! Like most of what Canteen plays, it is clear, musical, honest, impeccable. His playing the piano is like the ice skating of Yuzuru Hanyu: breathtaking. I like it and value it as much as the more traditional performances of the German old masters. It shows that classical music is universal. If I close my eyes, I can imagine that this is the playing of a young Wilhelm Kempff on a happy day.

 

 

 

[gucici]

Do you play the piano yourself? 

[Steve5380]

14 hours ago, gucici said:

Do you play the piano yourself? 

 

I have been playing the piano for decades.  But I never had a formal conservatory training,  only some lessons by private teachers.  Most what I know I learned by myself. 

 

But this has changed dramatically about a month ago.  I discovered an extraordinary teacher on YouTube.  Denis Zhdanov is a professional pianist and teacher who participated in the last Chopin Competition in Warsaw.  He made it to the second level, a place for already first class pianists.  His tutorial videos are amazing.   I first found one about optimizing the playing of the devilish Chopin Etude op. 10 no. 2, which I play, with very clever approaches that I am benefitting from:

 

 

I have benefitted from other of his tutorials on Chopin Etudes,  and then I decided to buy his "introductory course" based on the old Hanon etudes (yes, these boring endless robotic finger exercises)  which he uses in a wealth of advanced teaching.  Not really "introductory",  I am improving my playing with techniques that are only known to advanced pianists.  I don't wonder anymore how Hayato Sumino and Liu Xiaoyu  can play so fast and easy.  BTW,  Denis is from Ukraine, a folk that today has much of my sympathy,  and his personality is attractive,  his way of teaching is very clear, and the technology he uses, showing his hands and keyboard in three different views, is excellent.   If you play the piano or are interested in doing so,  I strongly recommend getting this course,  worth every SG cent. (Euro cent)

 

 

 

Edited October 26, 2022 by Steve5380

[tiemeup]

  

Since we're on this topic, any not-so-famous pieces to recommend for me to learn on the piano? I'm a intermediate-advance player trying to widen my repertoire beyond the usual popular classical pieces/famous melodies (ala Chopin's Nocturne, Studio Ghibil soundtracks...), but also not ambitious/discipline enough to start learning a piano concerto. I enjoy pieces with nice flowy melodies the most - hence most Romantic era or modern contemporary, but open to other pieces except Classical era. I honestly hate the likes of Mozart and Beethovan - just can't get into them.

 

I'll contribute a recommendation:

Improvisation No.15 in C minor (Hommage à Édith Piaf) by Francis Poulenc

 

[brocade]

Any piano teachers in here, or YouTube recommendations for restarters? I can read music (strugglingly) and play (awfully) from some lessons as a kid. I'm keen to be learn to sight read and play intermediate classical pieces, eventually. I have a decent quality digital. Finding someone that can teach adults, has real teaching ability and has a love of piano seems challenging.

[jammyhk01]

On 11/6/2022 at 12:18 PM, tiemeup said:

  

Since we're on this topic, any not-so-famous pieces to recommend for me to learn on the piano? I'm a intermediate-advance player trying to widen my repertoire beyond the usual popular classical pieces/famous melodies (ala Chopin's Nocturne, Studio Ghibil soundtracks...), but also not ambitious/discipline enough to start learning a piano concerto. I enjoy pieces with nice flowy melodies the most - hence most Romantic era or modern contemporary, but open to other pieces except Classical era. I honestly hate the likes of Mozart and Beethovan - just can't get into them.

 

I'll contribute a recommendation:

Improvisation No.15 in C minor (Hommage à Édith Piaf) by Francis Poulenc

 

Prob with contemporary music is the pieces are usually hard to memorise.

Good melodies are more appealing to me.

I have a narrow repertoire , mostly mozart, chopin, and some liszt.

[GKS]

 

[gucici]

For someone who self taught, it is very impressive to play chopin or those songs you mentioned here. I have also known someself taught pianist able to play moonlight 3rd movement. I could only play chopin nocturne full piece but of cos not perfect. And i love chopin etude no 3 alot.! 

[jammyhk01]

9 hours ago, gucici said:

For someone who self taught, it is very impressive to play chopin or those songs you mentioned here. I have also known someself taught pianist able to play moonlight 3rd movement. I could only play chopin nocturne full piece but of cos not perfect. And i love chopin etude no 3 alot.! 

What about no.1

[gucici]

On 11/17/2022 at 6:16 PM, jammyhk01 said:

What about no.1

Yes. Good too. That piece is so long and not easy to play slow and expressive piece.

[Steve5380]

On 11/17/2022 at 4:16 AM, jammyhk01 said:

What about no.1

 

The Etude Op.10 no.1 is a nice show piece, not too difficult to play at less than the tempo of the professionals.  Same with the Op.10 no.2.  There is much to be learned and improved in these for the right hand,  and it should not be a surprise if it takes a long time to conquer.

 

On 11/21/2022 at 8:19 PM, gucici said:

Yes. Good too. That piece is so long and not easy to play slow and expressive piece.

 

Expressive?  Maybe you refer to the etude Op.25 no.1?  This no.1 offers a wealth of expressiveness and it does not need to be played very fast.  One must try to bring out the melody with the right pinky, accentuate somewhat the bass, and keep the rest of the tones at an "aeolian" murmur.    Some find this Etude one of the nicest of the 24, even the nicest of Chopin's compositions.

[Steve5380]

On 11/9/2022 at 4:54 AM, jammyhk01 said:

Prob with contemporary music is the pieces are usually hard to memorise.

Good melodies are more appealing to me.

I have a narrow repertoire , mostly mozart, chopin, and some liszt.

 

Another prob with contemporary music is that the pieces are usually hard to... enjoy!

 

Your repertoire can be so vast!  and so appealing!   How about adding Schubert, Schumann and Mendelssohn? 

[Steve5380]

On 11/5/2022 at 11:18 PM, tiemeup said:

  

Since we're on this topic, any not-so-famous pieces to recommend for me to learn on the piano? I'm a intermediate-advance player trying to widen my repertoire beyond the usual popular classical pieces/famous melodies (ala Chopin's Nocturne, Studio Ghibil soundtracks...), but also not ambitious/discipline enough to start learning a piano concerto. I enjoy pieces with nice flowy melodies the most - hence most Romantic era or modern contemporary, but open to other pieces except Classical era. I honestly hate the likes of Mozart and Beethovan - just can't get into them.

 

 

The piece of Poulenc reminds me a little of a set of compositions that you may enjoy learning:  the Songs Without Words  from Mendelssohn.  Here is the first of them,  Op.19 No. 1

 

 

These songs are not easy to play, not for beginners, but not excessive difficult either.  Good material to make the piano... sing!  ❤️ 

[jammyhk01]

AdL is a wonderful pianist.  Her playing of romantic pieces emanates a unique feeling of warmth and tenderness. I have her chopin preludes.

[Steve5380]

On 1/13/2023 at 7:45 AM, jammyhk01 said:

AdL is a wonderful pianist.  Her playing of romantic pieces emanates a unique feeling of warmth and tenderness. I have her chopin preludes.

 

Yes, Alicia de Larrocha is an outstanding classical pianist.  Of  Chopin, I like her interpretation of the Concerto No.2

 

Speaking about the Chopin Concertos,  which I have heard hundreds of times,  I found one recent version that I place above all others, hands down (on the piano). It is the interpretation by Yundi,  a pianist I have admired since he won the famous Chopin competition in the year 2000, here playing and also directing the Warsaw Philharmonic, who may have played it hundreds of times.  I had bought the CD, and now I find it on YouTube:

 

 

If you click on the upper right corner, it brings out the list of the 6 movements, for you to choose.

[Steve5380]

Following a suggestion of the child in me, I want to post a nice video showing the progression of Mozart's music with fragments of his piano pieces.  

 

"Evolution" is a little difficult to judge because from the first to the last music we recognize the same beautiful musical soul of Mozart.

 

If I were a believer I would give thanks to God for having created an individual like him.  But being an agnostic,  I can only thank a "force" or the wonders of human evolution that lead to such a genius!

 

 

[jammyhk01]

On 10/25/2022 at 2:40 AM, Steve5380 said:

The scene of classical music performance keeps renovating and gaining in perfection.  And today, it is all at our disposal on the Internet.

 

Of performances of piano concertos, few have impressed me more than this very recent one in Japan,  with a Polish orchestra and the Japanese pianist Hayato Sumino  (Canteen). The music: Chopin Concerto No. 1,  heard hundreds of times but seldom so well played.

 

Last year, Hayato enchanted the audience of the 18th Chopin Competition in Warsaw, but inexplicably was not promoted to the finalists stage.  Many we considered that he should have been among the finalists and eventually become the winner.  

 

This video shows the quality of his performing, especially in the last movement Rondo Vivace which he played like fireworks.  This is the excellent technique I admire. 

 

 

 

Prob is his (live） performances were a bit unstable, you don't think?

[Steve5380]

2 hours ago, jammyhk01 said:

Prob is his (live） performances were a bit unstable, you don't think?

 

I don't remember finding instabilities in his playing.  Maybe you can clarify this for me? 

[GKS]

 

[GKS]

 

[GKS]

 

[Steve5380]

Ahhh... Wilhelm Kempff..  what a gifted pianist!  This is one of the nicest interpretations I have heard:

 

 

 

I think this is quite good... but for those who are not convinced,  here are five more interpretations that can be found to be more satisfying?...

 

 

[Steve5380]

Cannot stay away from Schubert...

 

His Marche Militaire is such a beautiful composition!   Here is a performance by two Ang Mohs:

 

 

At 2:50 the audience was so enchanted that they started to applaud in the middle of the piece.   Bunch of ignorant!, ha ha.

 

This four-hand playing is not very common.   It was said the Mr. New Rich  came back to his mansion and saw two of his children playing four-hand on his concert grand piano.   WHAT??  he shouted, what is this misery of having to share a piano??   Let's buy  immediately a second grand!

 

The above two Ang Mohs play correctly with much energy.  But this talent is not exclusive of Caucasians.  Here is another versions played nicely by... Asians:

 

 

 

These two Asian guys play more slowly and calmly than the above Ang Mohs,  something that is enjoyable in its way.   Maybe more in the way of Schubert, who was a shy and subdued man, renowned to have been gay.   

[GKS]

 

[GKS]

 

[GKS]

 

[GKS]

 

[GKS]

 

[Steve5380]

On 4/4/2023 at 9:47 AM, GKS said:

 

 

This composition by Beethoven is usually considered an easy piece for amateurs to play.  But it sounds much different when it is played by a world class pianist like Lang Lang. If we don't look at his face and theatrical gestures,  this interpretation is excellent!

[Steve5380]

There are so many excellent pianists in society today !!   One extraordinary one is Grigory Sokolov,  of amazing technique and expressiveness.  Here are two of his interpretations of Schubert's Impromptus, masterpieces of the piano literature and pianist's repertoire.  I cannot but listen to this music with much concentration, amidst goose bumps and tears.

 

 

 

I remember some long bitter discussions a time ago with a member, now gone,  who was a furious defender of the superiority of live concerts over recorded ones,  and who disliked my preference for videos, usually in YouTube, of music performances like the two I posted above.  

 

I clearly find two musical superiorities in these videos over having listened to Sokolov in concert.  The first one is the quality of the sound.  The acoustics of a concert hall is not always optimum depending on where one is seated.   In these modern recordings the sound is captured in ideal conditions, and if one has good sound reproduction, which can be as simple as a quality set of headphones, it leaves little to be desired.  I have plenty of experience not liking the piano sound in some live concerts.

 

The second superiority of the video is that one sees the artist with a clarity of detail that the public cannot see.  The hands of Sokolov on the keyboard are so revealing to a fellow pianist, such an interesting example.  His movements, facial expressions are also a good complement to the expression he gives to the music.   I view these videos on my big-screen television, while hearing with excellent headphones.  An experience that I would not give up for sitting among the public in the hall.

[GKS]

 

[Steve5380]

Pianist Helene Grimaud plays here Bach's Prelude in C major.  This was the theme that became Gounod's "Ave Maria".

 

 

 

And here is Gounod's "Ave Maria" with the amazing voice of Callas:

 

 

Of course,  this lyric music also had to be sung by Luciano Pavarotti.  

 

He sings quite well,  but what shines sublime in this mish-mash of sound is...  the GENIUS of J.S. Bach who wrote the few piano notes of his first Prelude of the Well Tempered Klavier,  heard in the first video of this post! 

 

 

 

Edited April 23, 2023 by Steve5380

[GKS]

 

[Steve5380]

On 4/27/2023 at 5:24 PM, GKS said:

 

 

Nice music,  but excellent images.  This is what some Protestants miss with their theory that images and statues are "idolatry",  so their churches are more bare and cold.

[Steve5380]

I found one of the best interpretations of Beethoven's Appassionata .  Pianist Minsoo Sohn is among the best performers of Beethoven piano music. It is a pleasure to watch him play,  he has a perfect technique.  He has been playing the piano since he was 3 years old!

 

No wonder, he is from South Korea,  a country that is producing excellent pianists. 

 

 

Edited June 14, 2023 by Steve5380

[GKS]

 

[Steve5380]

Today it has become so easy to find musical excellence.   Like this interpretation of Chopin's 4th Ballade by pianist Dmitry Shishkin.

 

 

[GKS]

 

[GKS]

 

[Steve5380]

On 6/14/2023 at 11:41 PM, GKS said:

 

 

Thank you @GKS.  Your video shows that 90 years old does not need to be OLD, ha ha.

 

Although I somewhat prefer the compositions by teenagers Mozart and Mendelssohn...

[mike_amk]

On 4/28/2023 at 6:24 AM, GKS said:

 

Long overdue thanks for sharing this bro, 

I've been listening to this over many months since... and it has brought immense soothing to my Soul, during the many month's of caregiving my infirmed parents... as I sat by their bedside each night. 🙏 I felt as though Angles were holding me ...no words are enough 😊 Mike 

 

[GKS]

@mike_amk 

 

[GKS]

 

[Steve5380]

On 9/21/2023 at 4:57 PM, GKS said:

 

 

I enjoy seeing "in action" the action of this tall vertical piano.  It reminds me of my first piano, an ancient Schiedmeyer upright on which I did so much work improving it.  The action of these pianos don't have a repetition lever like the grand pianos have,  but I don't see much disadvantage in this.  Their action is usually lighter than the grand, and equally pleasing to use.

[GKS]

 

[gucici]

 

[Steve5380]

On 10/2/2023 at 7:59 AM, gucici said:

 

Beauty within...  and on the outside.  No wonder,  he must be one-of-us    And how about this:

 

 

Edited October 9, 2023 by Steve5380

[Steve5380]

Like the title of the thread says,  I am a lover of the piano and all other instruments of classical music including the voice.

 

Last night, having seen so many images of the latest Hamas - Israel horrors,  I went to bed on the music of Bach's St. Matthew Passion:  "Erbarme dich, mein Gott"  (  Have mercy, my God ) :

 

 

 

 

Many tears were shed hearing this.   Is this from being gay,  from being old?  I don't think so,  it comes from being Human.

 

If there is a God who created a mind capable of composing this marvelous music, how can He allow organized religions to brain-wash such minds, with Islam and Judaism?

[GKS]