Thank you very much, Leena. And welcome to Piano Society!

Hi Monica,
these both are very good performances! Very subtle and expressive playing of these lovely two pieces. I have enjoyed them very much and didn´t find anything to nitpick. (The pedaling is a matter of taste IMO. For me it´s o.k.)

Hi Andreas,
Thank you for listening and commenting!

I have seen right know, that you have posted that already in septembre, so I must have overseen it. So, I am glad still to have noticed these real good recordings!

These are very lovely performances and such elegant pieces. When I was giving piano lessons, I think my more advanced students would of loved these pieces, to bad I discover them a bit late. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you, Guy. Yes, this music would be nice for more advanced students who need to get away from the 'everyday' classics and step into something a little lighter and contemporary.

The improvisation is a lovely piece of music and your playing is wonderful. I liked the novelette too but the improvisation is gorgeous.

Very lovely pieces and nicely played. Its interesting how light the feeling of the Improvisation is throughout, yet it has such a dark cloudy ending. Ah, such is life sometimes.

Your playing is quite true to the score too.

Thank you, Robert. The Improvisation is indeed nice, but I still like the Novelette better. There's just something about it that just grabs me!



I was a little afraid to read this, Greg, but good - I'm glad we are not arguing! Thank you for the nice words. And yes, life can be dark and cloudy. Good thing there is plenty of dark and cloudy music to play. It's more interesting....

I'm glad to have discovered these little gems. Thank you for sharing.

Greg

There are 15 Improvisations. I've only learned/recorded five of them so far, but they are nice too. One of these days I'd like to learn some more.

Wonderful recording! Great expression and use of subtle nuances.

Thank you, Samuel!
It's been a while since we've heard from you. What are you up to these days? Hope you're still practicing your piano....

Hi Monica, these pieces are wonderful in scope and breadth. I didn't know that Poulenc wrote an improvisation dedicated to Edith Piaf. She was a sensational spark in the chanson Française. You strive to capture her essence well here. However, one can always go to extremes as that fits her personality. Towards the end, I wished Poulenc doubled the melody more emphatically in octaves. Piaf was no dainty Parisian - her musical life was enigmatic with an emotional ferocity that made her stand out above the rest; her contours are roughened with a serrated edge - when rubbed the wrong way, watch out!; and a no apologies attitude for her origins. Again this is all a part of her unique charm. This was all expressed in her song Non, je ne regrette rien (No, I don't regret a thing). She was also very generous to upstart singers too, like my fellow Armenian, Charles Aznavour. Have you seen the film, La Vie En Rose? I think you would like it. It's an amazing biographical movie that captures Piaf's being. I love the movie, along with your playing here...

The Novelette was charming too, but felt more inspired by the Improvisation, as you can tell.

Your recorded sound gets better every time... You've found a nice sweet spot for your mics or you've changed them. I can hear that the piano has developed its own character with time - it's tone and timbre sound different than recordings made a few years ago.
OK, off to watch the Super Bowl - GO PATRIOTS!

George

A fantastic film with an award-winning performance by Marion Cotillard who starred as Piaf. Highly recommended.

Edited for spelling: thank you Chris!