Hi all!

My personal information is in the other thread: http://pianosociety.com/new/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=4449.

I wanted to improve on my previous recordings (which didn't make it to the site), but I've found that easiest to do while trying on some new repertoire, rather than posting new recordings of the same pieces. I have exchanged the quirking piano chair. The dynamics, I hope, are a bit more extensive in these new recordings. As for the overall musicality of my playing, that is for others to judge.

I should also say that these recordings contain some playing errors. But I think they represent simply the level of playing I am on now, and they are the result of one week of intensive training and recording, as a hobby pianist.

Recording was done on a small Yamaha grand, with its quite unforgiving clear tone. For those who want to watch my fingers moving, there are corresponding videos for these audio files on my Youtube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/skrjablin/

Hello again, Martin. Good that you have not given up your quest to become a Piano Society member. I like that! And you've already benefited because now you have submitted recordings with much better playing, I think. There's only one problem - the sound quality. No creaking chair here, but there is a fuzzy sound throughout all four recordings. It's a real shame, because your playing sounds very nice, but one can't hear all the nuances because of the fuzzies. Your playing deserves better recording equipment, so hopefully you can get your hands on a better recorder?

I agree with Monica about the sound issues, the constant crackly feedback being a bit distracting.

Regarding the playing, I think the Haydn sounds the best prepared and most fluid. Some nice articulations and dynamic differentiations, particularly at the outset, and it's basically even and clear. I do think you need to work a bit on dotted rhythms, which are cheated many times -- in the first movement at least. The last movement seems a bit sluggish to qualify as a molto allegro, but I can see the point that if those thirds at the end are to be played in time, the tempo couldn't be too much faster, so I admire your relentlessness there.

The Chopin and Schubert, in addition to sounding a bit struggled over in places, don't ever seem to get off the ground rhythmically or melodically.

From the outset of the Chopin, the repeated notes have no sense of briskness or elegance. Overall, I'd say there is little panache, rhythmic freedom, or dynamic control. To my ears, this is particularly noticeable in the plaintive middle section where this is little sense of Chopinesque rubato. Again, many of the dotted rhythms aren't really correct (e.g., the brillante chord passages). Toward the end, in the scale runs and the coda, a number of slips occur, which wouldn't be too bothersome were it not for the heightened sense of struggle, rather laborious tempo, and not particularly clear fingerwork.

My impression of the Schubert is similar. This impromptu is much more difficult than it sounds IMO, and I think you need to have better control of the notes so that you can balance the melody against the counterpoint (e.g., in variation 1) without getting bogged down tempowise or without the accompaniments sounding obtrusive or forced. Practicing the melody and accompaniments many times separately might help overcome that. In the end, IMO this piece needs to float with its carefree lilt. As it stands, the rhythm is too militaristic and leaden.

The good news is that I think you'll get there. It's just that these two pieces both need to sound more effortless yet are rife with physical difficulties that I think you need to wrestle a bit more with first.

Hi Quintus Skrjablin

I have just listened to your 2 haydn pieces and I thought you played both of them very well, probably better than I could . The first one had a nice dynamic range with mostly good contrasts between piano, mezzo-forte and forte and nice even crescendos and diminuendo. All though there are a few parts where the dynamics could be improved slightly.
The second one didn't quite have the same dynamical contrast as the first. Especially in the second repeat section where it starts on piano and then there is a cresc. to forte then dim straight back to forte then another dim going down to piano then a cresc ending on forte. To me it felt as if the contrast was mp to mf rather than p and f.
There was also that fuzzy sound throughtout the pieces due to bad recording equipment which was slightly distracting. However all in all I really enjoyed listening and think that they are both very near completion.

Kind regards, Jonathan