Here are nos. 5 and 10. I like them because Poulenc incorporates my favorite things: Lots of chromaticism and low bass notes.
Comments welcomed.

Poulenc - Improvisation No. 5 in A minor

Poulenc - Improvisation No. 10 in F Major

I also made another dumb video - this one of Improvisation No. 13 since I got it memorized. Yes, it was recorded at nighttime with hardly any lights and no, it's not a naked video. But it's close...
Instead of watching just me on the video, I tried to make it less boring by adding a lot of images I like; i.e. art works, scenery, etc... The images I chose represent how I feel about the piece and the tone I think it sets. One of my sons watched it and said it's "girlie and mushy". Oh well.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83ZWWvUX ... ideo_title

Monica,
I don't know these works but like them very much per your playing! As for your playing, it is clean, with excellent tempo and rhythm. You voice clearly what you want us to hear. The interpretations are very musical with clear phrasing. If I knew the works I could be more detailed and perhaps critical, but not just by hearing you play these. I enjoyed them very much. No. 5 has strains of Gershwin for me. No. 10 is a little less approachable but very interesting. No. 13 was really very beautifully played, and I enjoyed the montage of romantic images. Thanks for introducing me to these works!

Eddy

These all are very well played, Monica, and I have enjoyed your performances of no. 5 and 10 very much, but also of your video (see my comment on YouTube).

I only missed the pp and "sec" that means dryly played basstone at the end of no. 10.

I think, I also will step to an "Improvisation" by Poulenc now, may be no. 12 (that would fit to the "Valse-improvisation sur BACH" I still have on my channel. But I will let you know (would also not mind, if we have a piece double, isn´t it?).

I think I've heard no.10 before but not no.5. Both are masterpieces (as is everything from Poulenc) and they sound pretty much perfectly played to me.
You don't really need anybody else to complete this set.

Hi Monica,

I just listened to both pieces, and believe that you played them very well. Although Poulenc wrote some busy passage work there, your playing is very expressive throughout. I enjoyed hearing them.

David

Thank you, Eddy, Andreas, Chris, and David.!!!
I still do not plan on doing the complete set, but yet just tonight I started another one. I wasn't going to - I told myself not to even look at no. 15 yet, but curiosity got the better of me and I decided to take a little peak at it. Next thing I know, all my practice time for the evening was over and I didn't get to any of the other pieces I was supposed to work on. I really love these Improvisations!

Andreas - Thank you for the remarks. I purposely ignored some of the pp's because I didn't think they were all that necessary in certain spots. The music just needs to keep flowing and I thought dropping down to pp or ppp would put too much of a break in that flow. And yes - it would be fine if you do no. 12. I've read through it once and I will be curious to hear you play it! I'm going to do no. 15 next. (thank you again, Alfonso, for this tip. It is a beautiful/melancholy piece!! Once I get it in my fingers I will have so much fun with myself and all the drama in the music.)

Hi Monica,

I haven't heard these improvisations before but I think you play them well, the No. 5 starts out kind of disjunctive melodically (not your playing but Poulenc's writing ) and I like how you end that phrase and how you relate it to the next, and so on throughout the piece. I like how the No. 10 doesn't sound anything like the No. 5 but is similar in that it also relies on some really interesting ideas on behalf of Poulenc.

At any rate, I enjoyed your interpretations of these improvisations,

~Riley

Thank you, Riley. One of the reasons I am enjoying these Improvisations is because they are all quite different from each other. Yet, you can certainly tell that they are Poulenc.

Good playing, Monica. I went to youtube and caught #13. Very nice.

Thank you, Jeremiah.