I guess I'm devoloping a lot of nerve putting Mozart into the Forum I desperately need a tescher. I haven't played Bach, Mozart, or Beethoven for anyone in 30 years. Please be kind but honest with your criticism. Here are the second and third movements. I don't know if my interpretation is anything like it should be. Thanks for your help.
John

Andante con expressione
Rondo

First off, you play the piece well. With me, Mozart is one tricky composer to play awesomely, because you have to turn perfected technique and rhythmic precision into the same type of expression you'd get from hearing Chopin, Satie, Debussey or any other composer with lots of freer expression. Second, I've only played a little Mozart, but my teacher has helped me understand a lot more how Mozart can be interpreted (even when I can't play it that way, sadly enough), so these are just personal reactions to your recording. Also, I don't own the score, so I'm not sure exactly what Mozart put in the score. That having been said, from the beginning of the Rondeau, it seems that you put a little too much accent on the down beats. However, I would say that the second part of the opening phrase before it's repeated seems like there could a different color or dynamic to give it a little difference in taste, and the runs in these phrases seem a little off balance here and there, and I've noticed that it doesn't happen when you don't accent the downbeat of it...if you could work on that with all of the Mozartian runs, I think that would help out a lot. I love what you with the staccato measures right before the final statement of the end of the Exposition where the Alberti Bass comes in. Also, when you bring the Alberti Bass, it seems like it overshoots the melody Right before the Exposition is repeated, a little more dynamic contrast would make it a bit more interesting. I think the biggest thing to work on in this piece would be rhythmic precision on all of the runs, and dynamics between the hands especially when the melody is being shifted between them.
Also, I notice that sometimes the chord of resolution is about as strong as the chord preceding it; softer and more 'worth the sound of tension to the ear' could help you out as well. Towards the end of the piece, it seems like you're getting a little tired, because it sounds that to compensate for it, you might be exerting more energy, and it just tires you out even more(I know this happens to me) and it just makes the rhythm choppier with lacking expression and dynamic contrast. With me, practicing it really slowly with a metrenome working backwards is the only way to fix this.

Sorry for writing a lot, but I really think if you work on those things, it would improve the performance a whole lot. I hope this is the kinda stuff you were looking for, and good luck with Mozart in the future.

Thanks, Richnocturne, for your analysis of my attempt at Mozart. I will take your suggestions into consideration. Unfortunately I don't have a teacher so I find suggestions from people on the Piano Society site quite helpful. It may even help me improve a bit.
John

Not bad at all and I think you caught the spirit of Mozart well which I think is hard. It should sound like it is played with ease while it is rather difficult as you need to make the runs and trills very even and play a perfect legato to achieve this. Most of he time, you succeed well.

I basically concur with previous posters. Good job, but it needs to more relaxed more flowing. Some of the passagework and trills sound a bit cumbersome and inscure. I thought the Adagio was a mite slow but that could be personal. In that movement in particular your touch is too weak, many notes are inaudible (I am now obsessed with this problem as I suffer from it myself). In the Rondo you have good spirit and dynamics, but I think the volume is set too high as the sound clips in loud passages. And as Rich said, you seem to be running out of steam a bit. Perhaps from being not sufficiently relaxed,

Again, as with the Chopin, if you can be a bit more firm and authoritative (even in soft and/or slow passages !) this will be really good. Strange as it may sound, you just need to play louder ! And just a bit more polish in case of the Mozart because this music is so vulnerable and it always needs to sound easy and playful.

Forgot to mention I second Rich's observation about accenting downbeats and harmonic resolutions. This is another habit that I suffer from too and it is very difficult to get rid of - even with a teacher nagging about it every time In a harmonic two-chord sequence, such as you find a lot in Mozart, the first has the harmonic tension, the second provides the resolution and should always be considerably softer than the first. Something I was totally unaware of this basic priciple when I started lessons again... but now I hear all the great musicians doing it. So it must be right !

Thanks for that suggestion, Chris. I will definitely attempt to follow it.

Weird! I couldn't send "Replies" in the Forum today so I switched from AOL to InternetExplorer and there's no problem. ?????

Weird indeed ! Mostly it's when you move off IExplore that things start working properly (albeit usually slower...). Always a good idea to have one or two alternative browsers at hand.