Chopin - Ballade f minor

At this weekend I decided to record my progress in Ballade f minor by Chopin, because it needs to be ready till February. I started playing it at September, so it's still fresh piece.

At this point I don't feel it ever be ready. When performing I was nervous, instead of creating music. It's very difficult to build the form of it. I think the Ballade as the whole piece is in right tempo, but I don't use rubato as much as I should.

 My critique:

1. Memory lapses...
2. There are some spots, when I have a problem to start in tempo - I think it's beacause of too much slow practicing.
3. There is no form of this piece in my playing.
4. I don't have considered climax in Db major - I didn't build it and I couldn't stop myself. I didn't count it, I think it's the cause.
5. I started the final with wrong articulation and I was tired mentally. I have a blind spot there. It means that I didn't practice it wisely. 
6. The final should be lighter.

 

What to do?

1. Practice the piece as the whole in middle tempo.
2. Practice in tempo spots, which I couldn't start.
3. Consider a tempo in climax, count it.
4. Practice slowly the final.
5. Practice the begininng of the final with the chords before.

Rachmaninoff - Prelude b minor op. 32 no 10

This month I spontaneously worked on Prelude b minor op. 32 no 10 by Rachmaninoff.

What are the main issues?

1. Lack of controlling emotions, which caused lacks in control in octaves and "trills" (one of them was in different tempo, I don't know why).
2. Too little singing in melody, no real phrase, especially in this "stormy" section.
3. Too little control over dynamics in "stormy" section - I played too much ff in the beginning, so I couldn't show climax. It also caused that the sound was rough.
4. Not planned dynamics for the section after "stormy" section.
5. There are some issues with time - I can use it more in climaxes.

I recommend myself practicing slowly with exaggerated dynamics and no emotions.

Ballade f minor op. 52 by Chopin - the final

The final of Ballade f minor op. 52 by Chopin is very peculiar. There is no obvious melody in it, and I believe that it's the hardest part of this piece to interpret properly. At the beginning there is a storm of notes without any direction. In this cascade of sounds there appear seeds of melody and then there is more and more of it. Is the climax in the passages which are going up?

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I think in my playing there is no phrase and too less dynamics. Of course the final is too slow, but I achieved a sufficient tempo to not be ashamed of myself. I should show more melody in it. I can here some manner in the last beats of bars. The ascending passages should have more crescendo - I should start all ascending passages with less dynamics (even piano). The last three chords are not acceptable. I should show more notes in the bass when they matters, it'll give me more color. The thirds should be lighter.

I recommend myself:

1. Practicing slowly with attitude on melody
2. Practice thirds with light finger staccato without tension and in rhythms.
3. Work on dynamics more.
4. Play the bass notes with melody.
5. Think of the phrases.

Sonata by Rachmaninoff - the third movement

I never considered myself as technical skilled pianist, so playing the Sonata op. 36 b flat minor by Rachmaninoff is a big challenge for me. I wanted to play this piece since I heard a recording of Horowitz's performance. It's the reason I choose to play "his" version of it, if I recall correctly, Rachmaninoff heard Horowitz's version and liked it.

I play this Sonata for a half of a year now and I have mostly problems with the third movement. This movement doesn't fit me, but I still want to play it to convince myself that I can do it. This part of Sonata I play for two months, so it's far from what it supposed to be.

I have to be my own teacher, so here are my comments to my recording from today.

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I didn't breath - I think it's my major problem in this piece.  There are obvious mistakes, which were caused by mental fatigue - it started in the second part of it and killed the coda. The tiredness was caused by not breathing enough - when the phrase doesn't breath, the pianist also doesn't. I kneaded some phrases, because I couldn't stop myself.

I can't hear the difference between piano and forte in my recording, it may be caused by quality of camera, but I should pay attention to it in future.

I think the tempo I had chosen was too fast for my knowledge of this piece. I couldn't manage pulse properly in this tempo, because I couldn't count it. It may be even the final tempo for me, I think it's fast enough. But now is not the time for such tempo.

Rubato sections should be more rubato, but with counting, the will be more natural. I should sing more in these spots.

There is no interpretation in my playing, I just played the notes - I think it's my second major mistake. Maybe when I interpret this the phrases will become more understandable and it will be easier to breathe. Nothing had any meaning, which makes this recording not acceptable.

 

I recommend myself:

1. Practice slowly.
2. Practice with counting.
3. Play in a medium tempo a whole movement, don't make mistakes - it's an "exercise" for my mental problems with it.
4. Pay more attention to dynamic marks.
5. Create an interpretation of it, listen to some recordings more.

What's going on here?

It's my piano practice blog. Since I haven't got a piano teacher I have to be my own teacher. So I'll record myself and critique my playing.