The juufster is back !

juffa! Hey, what are you doing here. Are you still overseas? Have you had any glumpkies yet? Nice that you're back at Audition Room.

David

Hi Monica, I loved the Poulenc piece, which I didn't know before!!! Thank you for sharing I though your recording quality is blameless. But your sound is always ok.
And "Hi!" to Juuf

Note my edit, Chris. I had forgotten the main word!

Indeed, Chris, indeed. And Poulenc has some lovely works. Right offhand I can think of his sinfonietta, his Animaux Modeles and his concerto for 2 pianos.

Chopsticks!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3m7BZ5t ... re=related

Okay, I've just finished re-recording the Poulenc. I tried using more pedal throughout and also bringing out the C in the last chord. The Gershwin Chord - still sounds like that to me. And the more I play this piece, the more I love it!!!

So...well...if anyone here can be so kind as to tell me if my pedaling is better now?

Poulenc - Improvisation No. 7 in C Major


One thing I just learned in case anyone is interested - For some reason as I was recording a few minutes ago, lots of birds suddenly started singing when I was toward the end - the quite part. Maybe they didn't like my playing....I had to stop and restart about five times, but the birds kept singing. Well, when I processed the recording, taking out hiss and adding reverb, I discovered that most of the bird sounds are now gone. Isn't that interesting? (maybe only to me it is...).

@Hye-Jin - Thank you for listening and commenting.

@Eddy - Thank you for your thoughts on the Borodin piece. It's not that I don't agree with them; I just can't devote anymore time to the piece because I have a lot more pieces I want and need to practice.

Hi Monica,

This rendition is better with the added pedal in my opinion. Now it has a nice sheen to it and glows more. In late romantic music like this, I've found that you can always spill excessive overtones with deft half-pedal releases, which enables a wetter sound overall. Also the faster tone decay of Yamaha is a help too in a piece like this. That piano, like Baldwin, is more forgiving of the pedal. I like this performance a lot! Wonderful!

David

Yes that is much better indeed. Now the music is more than the sum of the notes.

Ok, thank you very much!

Definitely better. It sounds much fuller now.

Thank you!

Hi Monica, the Borodin piece doesn't sound stereotypically "Russian." However, I admit, it's pretty catchy and hypnotic for a Nocturne. Borodin?... OK, it's another feather in the composer cap.
Ah, Poulenc! Now, there is a fantastic composer! A dear friend of the family was an organist and he first introduced me to Poulenc. He passed away a few years ago, but I gained a better appreciation for the composer after hearing him play the Poulenc Concerto in G minor at Methuen Memorial Hall (which has a better organ than the Symphony Hall). I agree, the last chord is Gershwinesque... Or at least like the end of the 2nd Prelude for Piano.
Great playing with a wonderful sense of style and fluidity!

George

Hi Monica,

I had a listen to both your Poulenc and Borodin pieces.

For the Borodin Nocturne, I have good things to say about it. The phrasing you have applied to it, for one. Also the dynamics and the use of pedal. Interesting piece by Borodin. I think the only piece I listened to in my Music Lit class by him was his Polovetsian Dances, which I really liked. I learned in my music theory class that Borodin was an accomplished Chemist and that he did not compose a great deal if not in part, then because of this his occupation as a chemist. So this may sound weird but as I listened to your piece I imagined a man in a lab coat mixing chemicals

For the Poulenc Improv I liked the tempo you choose to use and the emphasis of the downbeat. And I definitely agree the end sounds like Gershwin! I don't know much about Poulenc, so thanks for the introduction!

~Riley

@Riley - thank you! That's certainly a different way of listening to Borodin!

@George - thank you! I meant to look into more Poulenc, maybe from this set, or maybe from another set, but forgot. Thanks for reminding me.

Hi Monica,
I have listened to both pieces with score and I have to say, they are very well played. Both are interesting little pieces, especially the Borodin is very interesting because of these little chromatic progressions in the chord-repetitions. I have enjoyed your performance very much.