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Hey Level,
Thanks for stopping by. Never saw it that way myself... strange, but it does make a lot of sense. I must have been meaning to show various aspects in order to clarify things...

Ruben,
I think 15 Ruben. They're mostly short stories I have written during 2009 - 2010. Haven't managed to conquer my own laziness to upload them yet.
Well, something that is not mutual has less grounds for debate and encourage less resistance to the idea. That's probably my initial design choice.

03-Jun-2012 14:27:51

03-Jun-2012 14:32:51

03-Jun-2012 15:35:08

Hello Leb,
Musical conversation? I can't remember we had one, much less so where we left it at. It was indeed Chopin's First Piano Concerto that I played back in February. Got 50/100 in the exam (Which is in the Good band). Panel loved the second movement, but not the third . It was just a fiendishly difficult and long piece which I had too little time to prepare and master. With any luck I would not need to play it again...
*Facepalm*

Ruben,
Wrong guess. More like 8 uploaded, 15 to go
People will. But I can be terribly accomodative to suit another's taste and my own. If you're more accomodative to others, they generally are more accomodative to you.

04-Jun-2012 11:14:05

We never did have one. I was just saying we needed to have one.
I've only really listened to and played the solo Chopin pieces. I've locate it later. I'm not familiar with whatever grading system is over there but you say it's in the good band so congratulations! I'm not familiar with romantic structures within movements (because I'm a classical nut) but I assume it follows the general fast-slow-fast over the whole work? I always find slower ones harder to, again, nice work with that one.
How long is it?
When you get into the Mozart then we can talk. He is quite clearly the best composer. Haydn is somewhere behind him and still considerably ahead of the other composers of music literature.

04-Jun-2012 12:59:28

04-Jun-2012 13:36:36

Alla Turca? I play that one. It's not one of my favourite of his solo piano works but for an Austrian man it capitalises on the Turkish style superbly.
The shallow emotional qualities of Haydn you speak of are indicative of the classical period. Everything is clean and precise. I almost find that some romantic composers use their "style" to excuse their incompetence of playing correct notes.
Mozart has incredible depth to his music, as you say, flipping stlyes and moods whilst maintaining the classical flair.
Chopin's etudes are certainly very impressive. I only ever learnt the "revolutionary" one. What is it, Op. 10 No. 12? I also play a few waltzes and such but not really by choice.

04-Jun-2012 13:47:54

Not Alla Turca. It's Rondo in A minor, K.511, written in 1797, four years before his death. A magnificent work, a world apart from Alla Turca in my opinion. If you haven't heard it before, it's probably a side/depth to Mozart you haven't seen
Oh no. Any Rachmaninov public performance reviews you'll find that the critics never heard him play a single wrong note. While to a certain extent you can argue there is absolutely no place for a pianist to hide incompetence in Mozart or Haydn (And in some respects there are places to hide in Liszt), it doesn't technically mean that transparent music of this sort could convey an emotional experience relevant to today's society. I find M + H too simplistic in the majority of cases, borderline boring. The most interesting chord they can come up with at the time is probably an augmented sixth or a neapolitan sixth. In Chopin, things are often so much more complex and magical - he's probably the first composer to really listen to the piano and to the sounds he's making. In Mozart, suitable variants and flairs could be added at will and the piece could be enhanced by it. In Chopin, all the flairs are written down with all the exact notes you're supposed to play and can still be transparent in texture.
Revolutionary is indeed Op 10 No 12. Perhaps the most played one of the lot. Chopin covered more grounds in his 24 studies than Hanon ever did. The technique implied in his writing is very novel and unconventional at the time, and even top pianists in Paris struggled with some of these studies. Somehow, these studies found their way into practically all my technical exams lol.
Still, they're very fun to play and not very fun to perform. Even Rubinstein said there are a few etudes he wouldn't dare to record because they are so difficult. This is how bad ass Chopin is ^^.

04-Jun-2012 14:27:09

05-Jun-2012 03:52:05

Heh, yes, I have heard K511. You must mean written in 1787. I have heard most if not every discovered piece by Mozart.
By placing wrong notes I mean directions and lines I wouldn't follow. In terms of theory composers of course place "correct" notes but it is the genius beyond the theory that draws me to Mozart. I disagree with the ornamentation comment. Both pay respects to the arguments you put forward for Chopin. Mozart is most definitely not simple nor boring.
I do like the etudes.
Could Chopin play his work? I have a lot more respect for composers who can and do.

05-Jun-2012 07:21:25