Besides all the boring fugues and chorales I also recorded some nice dances yesterday. Hope you like.

Chopin - Mazurka Op.67 No.1 in G major
Chopin - Mazurka Op.67 No.2 in G minor
Chopin - Mazurka Op.67 No.3 in C major
Chopin - Mazurka Op.67 No.4 in A minor
Chopin - Mazurka Op.68 No.1 in C major
Chopin - Mazurka Op.68 No.2 in A minor
Chopin - Mazurka Op.68 No.3 in F major
Chopin - Mazurka Op.68 No.4 in F minor

Granados - 12 Spanish Dances - No. 2 - Oriental
Granados - 12 Spanish Dances - No. 3 - Fandango

I like these "mazurka" days. Here's my thoughts.

67/1 - It could be my speakers, but I think you have too much reverb. The first three quarter notes come off with a pronounced echo and then I can't hear all the trills because the sound of the base line is drowning it out. I'm amazed at how well and how fast you play this, but I can't hear it very clearly.

67/2 - Very nice. One thing- the phrasing in the sotto voce section-5th bar- I think a break from the phrase before it would be good- like the melody is taking a breath before its last sentence.

67/3 - Good trills. I didn't hear any poco rit, though. I show it in three places.

67/4 - Everything good here.

68/1- Same

68/2 - I like this one. It has a quirkiness about it that appeals to me. Especially liked the way you played the Poco piu mosso section.

68/3 - One little thing - you break the phrase in measure 6 and two other measures identical to it. Doesn't sound bad- maybe you're taking (grrrr, can't think of the words) something like poetic license?

68/4 - Good style, technique, etc.. One thing - In measure 10 - the last RH note should be a B natural. At least I think so. The B before it has the natural sign in front of it, so I think it applies to the rest of the measure. I could be wrong. (that's why I'm going to take lessons)

I'm listening to your other spanish pieces as I type this. The first one is beautiful. I'm not familiar with these so to me it sounds perfect.

Large output as usual from your recording sessions. Never understood how you do it and I am similar to Mindenblues here...slow learner.

You are doing a great job and most of the mazurkas are really well played. Perhaps you should not go as rhythm steady but break from the dancers and put on some more rubato. Especially when there are ornaments. I know too little about Granados but they sound good to me. Nice pieces.

Hehe... it may sound ll bluster but actually this one is gioving me the most trouble of the lot. Trills are always difficult in fast pieces, and in combination with double notes and wide LH leaps it's twice as bad. I know some of the trills are bad, more likely to be the bad technique, and the too much pedal to cober it, than the reverb. Perhaps I'll re-record this one yet.

Very good idea - I wonder why I did not do that. Made a note in the scvore fopr next time.

Mmmm yes.... I think I sort of missed these. Made a note for next time.

Yep

Dammit, yes you're right ! I love it when they do it to me. It won't happen again

damnit! I'm not the first to break the ice. I guess ms. pianolady took the voice from my mouth! I'm impressed with your submission quantity and speed. The only thing I have to whine about is Mz. 68.3 during the Vivo section. The right hand is somewhat drowned out by the left. Some notes played by the left have that ">" symbol over them, I still think that the right hand could have been played with a bit more clarity. [All this is within the first couple bars of the Vivo section, then it progesses and the problem fades away]

-JG

I did not need to learn these, as I have played them for many years. Just needed to polish them.

Yah, that be a good advice. Even if it feels to me like I'm slapping on more rubato these days, it still does not really sound like it. Each batch of Mazurkas is a little better though, or so I'd hope. Perhaps by the time I'm done with them, they may be just right (I keep dreaming....)


Yes, very true. I was so intent on bringing out these accents that too much attention went to the LH and it got far too loud. Perhaps I should re-record that one.

67/1: I like the happy mood interpretation, especially the scherzando part. The pp don't sound much different to the p parts, if at all. So the differences between the dynamics parts could be more. Also, the 16th notes on some RH figures could come even more "sharper" from rhythm to enhance the lively manner. Beside that, it sounds very good to me - surely no easy task to play those RH double note parts like in bar 5/6 and similar, but you managed it well.

67/2: With that I don't get so much warm with the interpretation. It could really sound more cantabile, lyrical. Again, the pp parts, and especially the sotte voce part - it is not "half the voice". Maybe the left pedal would help. And did you leave out some 3rd beat LH notes in the first some bars?

67/3: I like it, also the melody phrasing.

67/4: Here you play with a bit rubato, and it works well, could be even a bit more, also a bit stronger riten. on those places. You phrase the melody very nice and let it end soft. In the middle part there is a fermata - I could imagine that fermata effect is stronger if you would have silence there instead let the notes ring (that means like it is written). Beside that, really tasteful played!

68/1: The single one Mazurka I could imagine to really use as rough countrymen dance music. The groove for that is captured very well!

68/2: I really like that very much! You play the 16th figures with precise rhythm, and your trills are fast, pretty evenly, and above that, soft. Can't do that - my trills are not that soft! Very good dynamics in the poco piu mosso section. Shows that you CAN play pp!

68/3: Good phrasing, I like those staccato phrases you invented (they are not in the sheetmusicarchive score, but sound well to me!). Also, you play really soft at the end and on other places, and that tone color sound great that way to me.

68/4: It would sound better to me softer played, as soft as anyhow managable at the beginning and end, and with more rubato, more breathing beetween the phrases. Last composition from Chopin, so it is stated in the sheetmusicarchive score. So is the mood - dreamery, sad, as if the life fades out softly. An interpretation approach is of course always just personal opinion, everyone can see it in another perspective.

The Granado pieces - Oriental: Great! I like that melody driven rubato and the dreamery playing. Shows that you can play in that style if you like - I wished you would implement that stronger too in this or that Mazurka, but again ... personal taste. The Fandango sounds good to me too.

All in all those are respectable quality recordings, confident played. Your output is really unbelievable, independent from that you claim to play those Mazurkas already since decades. My outmost respect for that!



Hehe, I insist upon learning even slower than you Robert (not to mention Chris of course, he is in another learning league) - I never could learn all Chopin preludes within some months like you did.

Well, if only could do that. The recording time took about 3-4 months but I had already learned/played them earlier in life so it was more about refresh and record. Erik Helling, who is no longer around at pianosociety, played all of them live from his head in a recital from his Madrid period. That is pretty impressive.

If I just manage to create a solid technical platform for the site, I will probably record more. Really has been a mess since the police raid this summer.

Once again thanks for all the detailed comments Olaf. You're right as usual. Dynamics are not optimal (though I believe better than in previous recordings) and the same for the rubato.

Indeed now I listen back, I left out some LH chords (or played them inaudible) in the 67-2. I wonder why the heck I did not notice that while recording I'll have to redo that one now, it is also a bit boring as you rightly remark.

That fermata in the 67-4 should indeed be without pedal, and perhaps it should be longer too. But this is how arensky does it in his recording, and that was the one thing I disliked about that recording. So I guess I'm deliberately going against Chopin's directions here (ducking and running .....)