Well, this is a submission for evaluation to see if I warrant admission to your community. I hope you'll like the performance ... or at least find it adequate. There is no complete performance of this work in your library (though there is a 25' video that includes Sonata No.2). If you find this submission adequate, I will follow with a few other gaps in the library: Rameau's Gavotte et variations, Bach-Busoni Chaconne, Bartok's Out-of-Doors suite (complete: now there is only the first of five pieces), plus I can add further renditions of the Haydn Sonata in C No. 50 (complete), Liszt Liebestraume, Beethoven Sonata in C Maj Op.53 "Waldstein" (complete) and Debussy's : L'isle jouyeuse. Lord willing, there'll be more each year. (I don't understand if I'm supposed to do anything with the "Poll" feature, so won't do anything with it.)
Sincerely,
Eddy del Rio

Hello Eddy, and welcome to Piano Society. I listened to the first movement here and I think you play very well. But the sound quality has quite a lot of hiss in the background and I'm thinking it may be because it's an older recording. We are not so keen on people submitting a bunch of their old recordings and these are twenty-three years old according to the tags. Why don't you first tell us a little about yourself and we'll go from there...

Certainly,
You are correct ... this was recorded in the 80's when I was a DMA student at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music. At that time I was studying with Richard (Dick) Morris, department chair. Before that, I earned the MM a few years prior at the same school, studying with Santos Ojeda, a pupil of Rosina Lhevinne. For my Bachelor of Music and during High School, I studied with Arminda Schutte, an exiled Cuban concert artist and a pupil of Joseph Lhevinne. I taught for about a decade all together mostly in Miami (New World School of the Arts, and Miami-Dade Community College) and at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. But my life took a different course <much not detailed here> and I ended up becoming a physician. I have not performed *seriously* for 20-something years! But not two months ago, I decided to come back to my first love and am preparing a recital and have chosen programs for the next several years. More importantly, I'm just enraptured spending the hours at the piano again, and I am amazed at how quickly it's all returning. Additionally, if it wasn't clear, I too am requesting consideration to be recognized as one of the Society's "Artists".
Sincerely,
Eddy del Rio

Hi Eddy,

We'd be more than happy to welcome you as a PS artist. It's great when people find their way back to the piano after having been distracted by unimportant chores like being a MD

But as often, old recordings don't quite do it for us anymore. The loud hiss, recessed and harsh sound, and the obnoxious clicks at the beginning do not make for good listening. You playing is solid and efficient, kudos for sailing so well through what is a very difficult sonata (for some reason I've never grasped this sonata seems to be the domain of female pianists). The bad sound makes it hard to comment in much detail, but I'd say you are playing on safe a bit, not wanting to throw caution to the wind as maybe you should. There's some minor slips which of course can be forgiven in music like this - though they would be more acceptable if the playing was a bit more reckless.

It would be good to have this work on the site, but I'd hesitate to admit it because of the sound quality.

You are preparing for a recital so you must have pieces pretty well down, or at least will be soon. Why don't you make some 'new' recordings and then submit them to us. That's mostly how we operate here, anyway.

I certainly understand the concerns expressed on the quality of the recording; I guess I'm listening with old-technology ears Additionally, I have waited this long and can certainly wait longer in order to do it right. However, it will be a wait of nearly a year (and I am patient). My first principal teacher (who remade my world, Arminda Schutte pupil of Joseph Lhevinne) had told me once: you should learn one program, practice another, and perform a third each year. Well such a schedule was always impossible in my student days, but now ... that's what I'm doing. The only change to the above is that starting with the new year, I am adding a work for piano and orchestra each year too. Since I chose many works already in my past repetroire for my first program, I will have it "learned" by the end of this year despite starting at the end of September. I am anxious for the new year to roll in so I can start "learning" my next program. I can't tell you how enjoyable it was to construct such an overview of the next several years! Wish me luck. This may not be the proper forum (and please dirrect me properly) but I'll share what my "comeback" recital is going to be:

Gavotte et six variations Rameau
Sonata in F minor, Op.57 Beethoven
Scherzo No.3 in C# Minor Chopin
<break>
L'Isle joyeuse Debussy
*Preludes Op.23, Nos. 4,5,6 Rachmaninoff
Sonata No. 1, Op.22 Ginastera

And since no one on this CBB will likely be there , I'll share the encores too:

*Nocturne in Db Maj for the LH Scriabin
*The Musical Box Liebich

*=New to my repetroire

There you have it. In the new year, the Prokofiev Sonata No.7 and Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini figure prominently! Comments? I will bet my bottom dollar, that no one in PS has ever heard the last encore or even heard of it's composer Immanuel Liebich. I have been unable to find ANY biographical information on him. Though it is easy enough to find an arrangement of the encore transposed and simplified (G Major), in order to get the original (Ab Major) I had to buy a pdf of the original from the National Library of Australia! It is a *real* delight, and in my opinion the finest of it's genre. I look forward to the day I can submit it.

Ok, I just listened to a sample of the download, and now I don't understand all the hullabaloo (sp?) about the recording quality. "Loud hiss"? I don't hear the hiss. "Recessed sound?" You will always have this in a Hall recording versus a living room or home studio. The clarity is perfectly audible compared to some of the recordings I just sampled from other Artists. I will give you the "pop" at the beginning of the file, but please, anybody wanting to hear the piece would just ignore such an ellusive distraction during the opening silence. Is it more just the *knowledge* that I recorded this 20+ years ago that's driving such complaints? At first I thought something dramatic must have happened when it was converted to MP3. I am confused.
Eddy

Edit: Corrected punctuation

Nope, we would bitch about the hiss anyway (and deduce from it that is was an old recording, if you had not mentioned it).

The hiss is considerable, like cassette tape or vinyl record hiss, and it worries me that you say you don't hear it. It is rather distracting in the relatively few quiet moments in this sonata, notably the start of the Adagio (BTW, what is that funny sound at 1:07 in the adagio ?). The sound is maybe not 'recessed' but rather harsh. Although you are right that there are many worse sounding recordings on the site, dating back to times when we were less critical. The starting clicks are not really an impediment but we'd normally ask people to cut these out - everything to please the listener
I would not honestly say that these things will necessarily spoil everybody's listening experience. For some they will, and for some they won't. Old-technology ears may not mind so much It is just that we do prefer a better sound quality these days, and expect some editing to remove pop and crackle best as possible.
Rest assured this is no criticism of your very accomplished playing (even despite my very small reservation). We can put this on the site if you promise to give us a state-of-the-art recording once you have it up to performance standards again.

I listened to the first movement and a bit of the second. The hiss is noticeable to me (especially in the slow movement), though I don't find it particularly bothersome overall. I would probably be more in the category of old-technology ears, however

Regarding the playing, the chops are certainly there in spades, but I do find it a bit pounded. Seems like it could be generally lighter with more pointed accents in places rather than the constant crashing chords.

Not so much my taste. I miss some education for appreciating fully this music. The Danzas Argentinas are more accessible to me. Here attached the second motion without the hiss. Removing the saturations on the forti would be more difficult.

However great playing as far as I can judge. Thank you Eddy for sharing.

Didier,
How did you do that? If the result is improved enough for the tribunal to allow, I wonder if you would do the same for the 3 other movements? Pretty please (my sound engineer)? If you come to my office I will return the favor with a free comprehensive physical exam, rectal included (but no labs)! Regarding the playing, it's not perfect, I had a slip or two ... hopefully to be avoided in the future, but I think I more than make up for it in the more difficult 3 other movements.
Gratefully,
Eddy

PS. If this is possible then maybe I could resubmit the "fixed" files for reconsideration.

OK, when I picked up my desktop computer speakers and held them to my ears like headphones (I look quite stupid mind you), THEN I can hear the hiss! Recommendation: Listen to from speakers across the room: any hiss will be covered by the ambient noise . However, as you will see elsewhere in this thread, I may have some hope otherwise.
Eddy

When I saw the title of this thread, I had to fly in here somehow, because I recently have heard Gabriela Montero playing this sonata and was so impressed.
I have edited the three other movements, they are free of hiss now, too, like Didiers excellent editing of the second movement. I put in the "X-noise"-function of WaveLab and I have edited each beginning and end of the files. I have put in silence at the beginning and employed the fade-out function and silence at the end.
From my view these recordings are quite enjoyable now. The only problem are the distortions here and there, because of a too high enty-level while recording, which can´t be made reverse as far as I know.
Really not bad playing. Have you ever heard Gabriela Montero playing Ginastera? For me her version is the best I have heard until now.

To Didier: Have you also employed the "X-noise"-function in the master section or did you do other things?

Dear Blue Music,
Thanks so much for your input and editing work. I have not heard Gabriela Montero, but will look to see if I can find somthing to listen too. I like her name right from the get-go! I will download the newly "de-hissed" files and resubmit them for reconsideration. Also, the fact that there are folks like you and Didier that can do such helpful adjusting, will NOT be taken advantage of by me. This will be my only submission for consideration until I have newly recorded works (unless I can learn to do what you guys have done to my files). Regarding interpretations, a long time ago I learned that given "legitimate" interpretations, you must satisfy yourself and you will never satisfy everyone else. All of us can probably point to great artists whose interpretation of this or that work we find "simply horrid." I certainly can (Alfred Brendel playing Chopin comes to mind, but his German stuff is entirely different!). This is what I love about concert/recital publicity bills in Europe (Latin parts anyway); instead of printing: "Eddy del Rio, Piano" as we do in USA, they print "Eddy del Rio, Interpretor." Now execution is another matter and should not be an issue ... and we all (I'll speak for myself) I always have to work hard for a flawless execution (what's that?). Anyway, I have to say, it really feels good to be talking piano works and piano playing again after so long! Thanks all!
Eddy

Hi Eddy,

musical-md wrote:


wow, that sounds jazzy to me. I probably should change my nickname here.



nah, I always say to myself: even a blind hen sometimes finds a grain of corn.