Liszt - Sonata B minor (learning notes)

I use Peters Edition.

So far I've "learned" nine pages of this work. By "learned" I mean they are half memorized in middle tempo. They wasn't so hard as I expected.

First page is all about proper mood and rhythm. I use 3-2-1 for sixteens triplets, so they are not a problem to sound light and sharp. I don't worry about thumb on a black key ;).

Passages on the second page aren't so hard too, fluent hand movements are needed but that's all.

At the third page I'm still not sure about fingering, I don't like to use 5-4-3-2-1 fingerings (first group in right hand).

At fourth page there are some triplets, which need more attention. I use 1-2-3 in right hand for them and 3-2-1 in left hand. I think it's better fingering than indicated in the score. Thumb in right hand needs to be fast to get to the octave, but it's easy to have proper clarity and energy. The thumb needs to be really relaxed.
In left hand the 3-2-1 works good, the passage after this triplet it's easier when started from the second finger (2-1-2-4-5 1-2-4-5) because there is one position instead of two.

I was thinking a lot about fingering in right hand in those bars. I decided to start passage (beginning of each bar) from the second finger, so it's 2-1-2-4-5-1-2-3 5-4-2-1-2-1-2-4-5. There is one problem in that fingering, from 5th finger in last sixteen I need to get to the second finger and the interval between them is sixths, which is a little stretchy for me.

Octaves. I like octaves, but there are some jumps in these (especially I don't like 7ths jumps). Pattern is easy. I practice in a few ways:

1. only thumb in right hand
2. only pinky in right hand
3. only thumb in left hand
4. only pinky in left hand
5. thumbs in both hands
6. pinky in both hands

In this kind of octave passages I try to always use pinky on top note, because it's just less thinking about fingering.

This one seems easy, but chords in left hand contains some repeated notes from part of right hand, so this spot needs some attention.

In this spot I can't still decide which notes I should play by right hand, only melody or use a little help in accompaniament too?

 From the third bar in this picture starts some hard section. It needs to be light, pianissimo, but intervals are quite wide. I use thumb instead of the second finger in this figuration - the second finger plays only last note in each group. I'll see if it will be good.

New repertoire

It is a time for a change of repertoire. Recently I received an offer to become pianist on cruise ship. Cruise starts in June, so I've a little time to get ready with everything. I've to learn many new pieces, but I don't need to memorize them - I don't want to talk about them here, these pieces are just known classical, jazz or even from musicals.

But I don't want to abandon advanced piano repertoire. I'll have limited space for scores, so I decided I'll choose one piece which I'll learn during my cruise. I needed a piece with a lot of changes of mood, because I don't want to get bored. And it should be technically challanging and not possible to polish in four months with extensive practice (to compare on Sonata by Schumann I was working for about three months, I was practicing it about hour or two per day). So I decided to take Sonata B minor by Liszt. It's too hard for me I think, but I'll learn a lot. Also I'll take Etudes by Chopin and that's it.

Schumann - Sonata g minor op. 22

Here are recordings of this sonata. It was pretty hard journey for me. I know that I don't want to play Schumann in the future ;). The score is misleading, some spots seem to be repetitive. But getting it all together is something which is main problem in this work.

First movement - it could be more accurate, also I could fix the balance between left and right hand. It's quite hard to show all the voices and not blur them with accompaniament.

Second movement - I don't like my rubato, I could play more freely. Descending from the climax is not good.

Third movement - it looks like I don't have idea how to interpret this one. There is too much "sameness".

Fourth movement - this one was the hardest one for me. The tempo was killing me, still I had issues with slowing down. The notes are pretty easy, but putting this all together in this tempo with necessary clarity is very hard in this one.

Schumann - Sonata g minor op. 22 mvt 4 (1st recording)

Yeah, I know that I should tune my piano. Technican cancelled twice already, so I've to find a new one.

Tempo
 My main problem in the fourth movement of Schumann Sonata is tempo. I think the tempo of the beginning is maybe too slow, but fast enough to be acceptable. The issue is that I'm inconsisient - the rest fast parts of this piece are in slower tempo. To fix it I should practice starting these parts each after each (so playing a few first bars from the beginning, then from next fast part, etc). Also I'm slowing down and for this I'm planning to use metronome. I rarely use metronome, I prefer to just count, but it's so hard to count even to two in this tempo!

Dynamics
Dynamics I think is quite good, I'm very surprised that I can play these piano parts acutally in piano. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think so. I should play more with crescendos and diminuendos, maybe they help me with showing differences between both big parts of this piece (Bb major and Eb major I mean here).

Voicing
Other problem is showing voices, especially in left hand. There are four spots where I should show it without doubt - these two with hoquetus chords in right hand (E major and H major) and before broken octaves. Also I should play more with harmonies, try to hear them more.

Form
I should better understand the form of this piece. Of course I know the form of this piece, but I should hear connections between parts of it. To achieve it I'll play only melodies from each part.

Technique
I should fix my fifth finger in broken octaves, mainly in spots, where it's mixed with the third finger. I should have more energy in my thumb, to make them more melodic (and faster, more energetic). I should practice them using octave chord, to feel where to move my hand also.
Also there are some spots, where left hand doesn't play with right hand, because there are different hand rotations. I'll fix it using rhythms.

Pedalization
Maybe less pedal in parts with hoqetus chords in right hand (E major and H major) - it'll be a nice contrast. And maybe I should start the "Coda" without pedal?

Slow parts
Slow parts are the same and boring. To fix it I should think about things I can show differently in these parts. I'll try to show more left hand in the repeats of motive. Also the dynamics of each voice could be different. And the ritenutos, Schumann wrote them in strange spots, I don't understand them fully.

Articulation
Should be fixed in Coda - I should practice more using staccato.

Memory
I should pay attention to slow parts and differences between them.

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Schumann - Sonata g minor op. 22 mvt 1 (2nd recording)

I think I should think bigger in this piece. I had some break from this before that recording, but I almost remembered the notes ;).

Mainly I should fix kind of mannier of accenting the first beat in bar. Work more on contrasts. And show more left hand, especially where there is some melody. And of course fix mistakes...

Chopin - Etude C major op. 10 no 1 (1st recording)

This was so bad... It was just my first try to play this piece in middle tempo with pedal, but it seems it was slow tempo ;).

From video I see I don't make many serious movements mistakes - especially the writst rotation seems to be quite relaxed. I don't feel any pain. Sometimes I do weird gesture when I start passage - I need to fix it. My main problem are middle notes in passages, sometimes I don't feel them.

I don't see a point in writing which passages exactly went wrong. Mainly these which are wide and this famous A-major. Before that recording the passage C Eb A Eb was the hardest one for me - I use fingering: 1245, but now it's not as hard as A-major.

So I recommend myself practicing more using chords, some rhythms. Practicing passages alone in faster tempo. I've to feel what notes are in the middle of them.

Chopin - Ballade f minor op. 52 (5th recording)

This wasn't so bad.

Overall it started to have some sense for me. There is sometimes a moment, when everything just "clicks" in a brain about certain piece. Of course there is a lot of work before me, practicing piece like this is like never ending story...

Overall I should avoid sameness, and fix the coda. And fixing a coda is probably a mental thing...
I should work more on the first theme motive - to avoid repeating it in the same way. And also those repeated notes - I've some ideas about them, but still I'm not sure.

Issues:

• don't rush in first small culmination, keep tension in bars 51-53
• fix the passage which goes upper in bar 74
• what happen with synchronization in bar 78
• why I can just play right notes in the second theme, especially in bars 88-90 and 96-100
• start the descending passage in right way in bar 101
• listen to left hand in bars 108-110
• don't ruch descending passage - even slow down a bit in bar119
• listen more to left hand in bars 125-128 - this "trill" comes from the main theme.
•  more smorzando in bars 133-134 - feel it
• listen more to "A" in bar 134 - start the b flat softer
• be sure of notes in the whole "fughato" section in bars 135-144
• don't be too indifferent in bars 145-151
• more melodically sixteens (in middle of passages especially) in whole section in bars 152-168
• listen to sounding of chords in bars 173-174
• have more time to finish that phrase in bar 176
• remove manierism - some show differences in bars 177-184
• focus on clean passage in bars 195 and 197 - it's mental thing... Just have mental strength to do it.
• feel the keys in thirds in jumps especially in bars 195-196
• practice starting from bar 217
• play bars 227-231 like waves

Chopin - Ballade f minor op. 52 (4th recording)

I don't know why I'm so nervous, when I'm recording my playing. Today I was focused, but still there were some slips. Usually in spots when I recently changed fingering or something. When camera is on I feel that my fingers are lighter in a wrong way. I just don't feel the bottom of the keyboard. Maybe it's caused by my piano bench - it's too high for my instrument, I can't lower it more. I'll buy new one probably next month.

My stamina is definitely better - my heart wasn't pounding so hard as last time after culminiation in D flat major.

I would say that the section from the beginning to the second theme wasn't so bad. The section at the end, where is the second theme in D flat major also. The worst part was in middle of the piece and I should focus on this part.

So here are my remarks to my recording from today:

Mental issues:

• fix fingering in bar 154
• more clean inbars 161-166
• passages in bar 195 and 197
• right hand in bar 214
• right hand in bar 216

Issues:

• more melody in bars 36-37 in left hand
• don't accent the C in bar 49, it's an end of a slur
• fix double notes in bar 54
• learn the notes in bars 79-99 (hands separetely)
• fix left hand in bar 106
• fix the acciaccatura in bar 111
• fix the descending in bar 119
• what happend in bars 121-122?
• learn the notes in 135-144 (hands separetely)!
• hands together in bar 169-174
• don't accent the beats so much in bar 173
• learn right hand in 177-179
• more top notes in passages in 191-194
• take off the pedal before Coda in 210 
• thirty two note should be played with left hand in bar 220

Details:

• more colors at the beginning - listen to e minor for example (bars 1-7)
• listen to the directions of left hand more in the first theme (bars 8-57)
• don't slow down too much in bar 57
• more clarity in section 58-70
• work more on accelerando in bars 74-75 and ritenuto in 79
• don't play to fast in bars 125-128
• don't slow down too much in 152
• take time in 184
• don't rush in 190
• more stable tempo in Coda (bar 219-224)
• more tension in left hand chords in bars 231-232

Chopin - Ballade f minor op. 52 (3rd recording)

There are some nice things and some bad things, but I think there is an improvement in the most important things - time. I think now it's the time to focus on being free in this music, more rubato, more imagination. Of course the final and the chords before it was a disaster. But it's not about practice sometimes, I believe that these isuess could be caused by mental things. I felt nervous when I played and I wasn't comfortable at keyboard.

Generally after fixing some issues it'll be a time to build a structure of this piece, be more free and give everything to the music.

There are three spots, where I failed:

1. after the second theme, when I couldn't remember the melody in right hand and I had to start passage once more
2. chords before final  - I started the stretto to soon and I couldn't play those chords in this tempo.
3. dotted notes in final - I just didn't practice right hand alone in the final tempo 

Issues:

• learn the left hand in section in bars 46-57
• do a crescendo in bars 58-62 
• shape a phrase in the second theme (bar 80)
• fix the whole section in bars 100-107. I don't know what happend there. Especially pay attention on slurs when the passage is going up and the sixths when it's going down.
• fix the acciaccatura in bar 111
• shape diminuendo in 118-120
• fix the acciaccatura in bar 122
• learn the melody and the second voice in bars 125-128
• pay attention at slurs in bars 135-151
• fix the trill in 161
• fix the passage in bar 163
• fix the left hand in bar 166
• in bar 177 there is sf in left hand
• fix the passages in bars 195, 197
• fix the chords in bars 198-201
• fix the right hand in bar 219 - probably I can't play it in tempo, and it's a spot where everyhing started to collapse.
• fix the right hand in bar 231

Details:

• sing more the beginning, more legato
• think more about the direction of repeated notes in the theme
• more legato in otaves section
• less noise in 58-62
• work on the second theme
• show the left hand in bars 125-128
• shape dynamics in bars 175-176 
• some phrasing in bars 181-191 and accents in left hand
• bar 202 - more time at fermata
• start the final with more power (there is sf and forte)
• left hand should be quieter in the sixteens in final
• the ending passage shouldn't be so etiudish...

Probably I'll practice the whole sections to interpret them alone. The sections with second theme I'll practice together. And I'll count during playing the stretto chords before final.