Hi Everybody,
I love this prelude. It is so soothing and puts me in a kind of trance when I play it. But it was so difficult to play and record because of how soft and properly balanced the hands need to be. Each measure has much to consider as far as tone goes - how much weight to put on every little finger, along with tricky pedalling. (I know - I’m preaching to the choir, here.)

I put on a mantilla for the Granados piece hoping to instill some Spanish flair into my playing. Don’t know if it worked or not, so please be honest. I’m just getting into Granados and have never had any direction on how to play it.


Granados - Anoranza (Longing for Home)
Chopin Prelude in F-Sharp Major Op. 28, No. 13

The Chopin was lovely. I lay down on the couch and listened to it. It is a very tranquil soothing piece. BUT it's not so "soothing" to be playing it as I have to concentrate so hard to make it as soft and gentle as it needs to be. Your hands were well balanced. It's difficult to play it so beautifully.

Tocaste el trabajo do Granados muy bien tambien. Yo llevo me zapatos de flamenco y castanuelas. Tambien comi un plato de tapas mientras que escuchaba tu interpretacion sensitivo. La unica cosa que puedo sugerir es quizas la seccion rapida necesita un poco mas fuego o fuerzo y velocidad.

You got that?

Translated by Babel Fish: You very well also touched to the work do Distinguished. I take shoes of flamenco and castanuelas. Also comi a plate of covers whereas it listened to your sensitive interpretation. The unica thing that I can suggest is quizas the fast section needs a little but fire or I force and speed.

So...you like shoes and plates.

Thanks, John. And I get what you mean - more fire.

Hehehe.. isn't Babelfish great

These are played with your customary skill, polish, and firm touch. The Chopin is lovely. I know I always go on about deliniating phrases, and you do that very consistently here. Yet I felt the long like suffering a bit because of it, as it seems to fall into small phrases now. Always difficult to find the perfect balance.

The Granados Anoranza is the first of the 6 Pieces on Popular Themes I mentioned before. I know it well so I can offer some ideas. It is overall on the slow and cautious side. The triplets in the LH should sound a bit more supple and casual (would be easier in a livelier tempo). I think you miss some notes in the LH there too, but I do not have the score in front of me. The decending RH arpeggios at 1:34 and 1:39 should span 2 octaves, I think there's an 8va...... marking there. There's some little slips in the RH but nothing distracting.
As in the Chopin, don't wait too long between phrases. The ending is beautifully done - you are always good in expansice sonorous passages.

This nostalgic piece does not necessarily need more 'fire', but it could be a little more flowing and relaxed. I feel that Spanish music always most sound supple and bouncy (Larrocha is the absolute master of that). But this is well done, you do have a talent for this music. I can well imagine you getting into the spirit wearing your tortilla

Thank you, Chris. Trying to get the prelude to sound like long phrases, smooth and mellow was making my heart jump out of my chest, so I'm afraid it is as good as it's going to get.

Granados - I didn't miss notes in the left hand (some of them) they just didn't come down hard enough. Those RH arpeggios - you are right about that. I didn't see they were arpeggios - thought they were repeating 16th groups.
You don't have to put this one up, as I think I want to have another go at this piece over the weekend.

Thank you for your thoughtful critic, but do you really think I should put on a tortilla? I'm laughing so hard right now. If you intended to use tortilla instead on mantilla, then it's funny, but it it's a typo, then it's even funnier. Shoes...plates...tortillas...can't stop laughing.

I know well that problem


It was a deliberate typo - one that I knew would crack you up. One tip - if you decide to give it a try, make sure it is well cooked

That with the shoes would have been even funnier had Joe Felice still been around here

Oh no. I burned some pancakes yesterday. The house still smells like smoke.

I kinda miss him. He was our "Setrak", but with a fun personality.

Really good as usual when you put up something. A bit slow tempo for the Chopin prelude which I at first felt unused to but I think it makes sense. I do not know the Granado's piece well but I think it came out really well and yes...there is quite some "spanish flair" in it.

These two are up !

I could not find much information about the Granados set, there's is nothing in my score either (cheap Spanish rubbish....) Could not even find the date. Any information would be helpful.

Thank you, Robert.

And thank you, Chris. But you might want to kill me, because I may re-do the Granados.
I'll see what I can dig up about it.

Some people kill for money. But Señorita, you are my Friend... I kill you for nothing

No this is no problem. Just re-upload the recoding is all I need to do then (and adjust playing time if different). It is creating tha pages that is the most work.

Ha-ha-he-he-he-ho-ho-SNORT-ha-ha............Painolady, your translation reads like the English directions on a product made in Korea. I tried to say: You played Granados' work very well also. (Therefore) I'm wearing my flamenco shoes and castanets. I'm also eating a dish of tapas (a Spanish appetizer). The only thing I can suggest is perhaps the fast section needs a little more fire or force and speed.

It looked like you used a dictionary and translated word for word whcih doesn't always work very well. LOL

It's an online language translator. You just pop in the words and out comes something in the language you choose.(usually very funny)

Don't put away your shoes and plates, yet, because I'm going to redo this one in a couple days.

Monica, that Chopin Prelude sounds beautiful! I veerrrrry much like your tasteful melody voicing in conjunction with just the right amount of rubato. On the spot with 5 notes rh against 6 notes lh you did the trick to delay the first rh note in order to synchronize all notes together - I could imagine to play it more independently in rhythm, but it works also the way you did.

I also like your Granados piece interpretation, but have not the right access to this kind of music, so can't say something useful to it.

And how fast you present new quality recordings! Did you play that Chopin Prelude already before so that it was a refresh, or is it just your fast learning of new pieces?

Thank you, Olaf.


Played most of these preludes on and off for a while. But never to the point of trying to make them note-perfect, so it is a new challenge.