Dear Piano Lady and Chris,
Thanks a lot for your comments.

Pianolady, I am righthanded too, that's one of the motives of why this was a huge challange for me! But it was nice to "play along" with the concept one hand. Godowsky noticed that, to him, once he gave the opportunity to his left hand, it was easier to develp it than the right hand.

Chris,
"Even if it does not quite sound as carefree and effortless as your two-hand submissions. "
yep! you can see I need more time working on it hehehe

"seems to me like the Polka genre is not so suitable for one hand, and I can imagine the jumps make it very difficult." Maybe you're right, actually this is the first "polka" for the left hand I've seen. It seems that nocturnes and the like attend more this kind of techinique. Nazareth himself wrote another piece for the left hand with this kind of feeling: an Elegy. Still, it amazes me how he always tried to explore the techinique of the piano in very interesting ways, sometimes making very difficult pieces, like this Polka.

Cheers,
Alexandre

Hi Folks!

Today I've recorded the rare polka "Marietta", which Ernesto Nazareth dedicated to his daughter Maria. Hope you like it!

Cheers,
Alexandre

Nazareth - Marietta (Polka)

Sounds great, as usual Alexandre. It is up on the site.

I wonder - with all the Nazareth pieces you have recorded, do you have a favorite?

Hi Pianolady,
Thanks for uploading it.

Some of my favorites are
Chave de Ouro
Proeminente
Jacaré
Atlântico
Catrapuz
Cuéra
Suculento
Encantador (Manuscript Version)
Furinga

As you can see, I have a crush on the tangos :O)

and many other ones which are actually famous (still a long time before I record them , 'cause the rare ones list is still big .

Cheers,
Alexandre

How many more pieces do you have left before you have recorded all his rare works?

Hi Juufa,

The menu is extensive. Before I record any of his famous works, there are more than 50 pieces I can chose from, including never-before recorded pieces, works that have never been recorded on their original piano solo version, or simply works that almost never are played.

Cheers,
Alexandre

Hello everyone,
Here goes Nazareth's "Hespañolita", a waltz that, like the title says, has Spanish flavour. It's one of the never-before-recorded pieces.

Cheers,
Alexandre

Nazareth - Hespañolita

quite nice. Reminds me of eating tapas in Ronda. thanks for sharing.

This is up, Alexandre. Good job, as usual. I like when the main theme returns for the final time at the end.

Hello Juffa,
That's nice, I have never been to Spain.

Pianolady,
Thanks! I invented that accelerando at the end, because an abrupt mood change to the last repetition of part A wouldn't make sense to me.

Best wishes,
Alexandre

Greetings, I'm not sure it's the right place to ask but I'll try anyway.

Several years ago I practiced a Brazilian tango of Nazareth's called "Garôto". It's a lovely piece which always seems to gather instantaneous popularity, regardless of the audience.

Anyway. I'd like to get this one back in shape in order to record it, and I have a problem. I never gave it much thought back then (because there was only so much I could do anyway), but there is no tempo marking on the score, and I absolutely have no idea how fast a Brazilian tango should be played, or what the stylistic conventions are. From an uneducated standpoint, the piece may actually "work" at several different paces, and I can't make up my mind.

Do you know the piece? What would you do, or how do you usually go about it with the Nazareth pieces you play?

Hello François,
How are you?

>Several years ago I practiced a Brazilian tango of Nazareth's called "Garôto". It's a lovely piece >which always seems to gather instantaneous popularity, regardless of the audience.
Nazareth usually has a captivating charm of its own, which is why it is beginning to be more and more appreciated/recorded worldwide. And that is great.


>Anyway. I'd like to get this one back in shape in order to record it, and I have a problem. I never >gave it much thought back then (because there was only so much I could do anyway), but there is >no tempo marking on the score, and I absolutely have no idea how fast a Brazilian tango should >be played, or what the stylistic conventions are. From an uneducated standpoint, the piece may >actually "work" at several different paces, and I can't make up my mind.
>Do you know the piece? What would you do, or how do you usually go about it with the Nazareth >pieces you play?

Yes, that's a big question, and certainly has no definitive answer. One could write an essay on this issue. Like Bach, Nazareth almost never wrote tempo markings on his scores. You're right when you say that " the piece may actually "work" at several different paces". This can be seen on the recordings: each person plays it in a different tempo, some times very different from each other.

Usually Nazareth's music should be played slowly (there's an uncorfirmed reference that his Brazilian tangos should be played at 100bpm, which can be very slow depending on the piece) and a famous quotation by himself telling that his music shouldn't be played fast. Nevertheless among the few recordings he left there are some quite fast-paced (a fact that can also be discussed).

I think that you'll have more security with the tempo after listening to some recordings of it. Send me an e-mail (afsdias@terra.com) and I'll send you some reference recordings of Garoto. Then you can choose them tempo that suits you best according to your taste (which is what I do).

Best wishes,
Alexandre

Hello Folks,
I'm making available the 40th Ernesto Nazareth recording I've done in the past 14 months. It's the Marcha Heróica aos 18 do Forte (Heroic March to the 18 of the Fort), which has never been recorded. Like a few other of his pieces, this one has lyrics, and was composed in 1922 in reference to an episode in Rio de Janeiro's history.

Best wishes,
Alexandre

Nazareth - Marcha Heróica aos 18 do Forte

This is up, Alexandre. What a energetic and fun kind of march!

Thanks Pianolady!

Alexandre