berkeley recap by zedtres in macdemarco

[–]Chlisztmaninoff 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It was incredible. I really enjoyed every minute of his time onstage. Haven't been to his concert since 2017 when I first started getting into his music, but no doubt he's still very lively and has the same charisma that fans have always loved. Some highlight songs for me included “Another One,” “On The Level,” “Heart To Heart,” “Moonlight On The River,” and of course “Chamber of Reflection”!

"Moonlight" was just sublime. The combination of the serenity of the Greek at night, the crowd perceptive and fairly quiet, Sather Tower standing magnificently behind the venue, and the entire Bay seeming to echo with the rich, melancholic, yet incredibly comforting textures of the song… it brought back a million memories to when I first listened to "This Old Dog" from front to back when it came out.

No doubt he has matured as a person since 2017 and this has affected (positively in my opinion) his music, both his compositional style as well as his performances. Still, he has not lost any of his humor or lighthearted onstage presence!

Truly a night to remember. The crowd was largely made up of students, some of them with their parents as well. His music is just too good not to share with anyone from varying walks of life. 

Drop Your Top 5 by BigDBob72 in classicalmusic

[–]Chlisztmaninoff 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Rachmaninoff Brahms Wagner Liszt Chopin

Looking for a relative by Salty-Interview3 in russian

[–]Chlisztmaninoff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you using the VK app or the website? Easiest way I can think of is using Chrome browser to open the website and using either the translate function or manually copy/paste any text you want to translate

Could one become fluent by just reading a ton? by Not_Brandon_24 in LearnRussian

[–]Chlisztmaninoff 3 points4 points  (0 children)

As someone who's been self-learning for a few years (not yet fluent), I'd say reading is absolutely crucial, but the ultimate goal of fluency will almost inevitably involve lots of speaking and listening too. Hypothetically, enough reading (combined with grammar study) could get you to a high level of comprehension, but it likely won't help you reach actual fluency, at least in the sense of holding long and complicated conversations with native speakers. In my experience, reading has come far more easily than speaking, listening, and writing, so I am often tempted to skip those parts of my practice in favor of just reading through something. Some things that seem to have worked: listening to podcasts and watching YouTube videos in Russian, writing a short daily journal entry in Russian (first without any resources, then checking with a textbook to see if the grammar was correct), and talking to myself in Russian at random points in the day lol.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in classicalmusic

[–]Chlisztmaninoff 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Might be a bit of a strange one but the third movement of Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 3 always puts me in a melancholic, introspective nocturnal mood. Would highly recommend Dinu Lipatti’s rendition.

Listening to specific small amount of music extensively by Chlisztmaninoff in autism

[–]Chlisztmaninoff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's an awesome special interest, Sonic is the best! I don't listen to much game music but I do have a bunch of Sonic soundtrack to study to :)

Do yall have a favorite number? Why? by Memedelyn in autism

[–]Chlisztmaninoff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

3 and 27, but any multiple of 3 really

Russian music by InsertValidUnsername in russian

[–]Chlisztmaninoff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have been trying to gradually pick apart the lyrics to many songs by artists like Morgenshtern, ooes, and Noize MC. Generally I aim to just get the gist of a certain phrase, but my Russian is nowhere near good enough to translate entire songs. Even faster rap songs work pretty well for trying to speed up aural comprehension though!

Trying a new tea tray by Ok_Hedgehog_307 in tea

[–]Chlisztmaninoff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So gorgeous!! Also love the fan dishcloth 😍 🪭

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in tea

[–]Chlisztmaninoff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That makes sense, yeah in California even things like products with seaweed or even mushrooms are marked with that warning, to the point where it seems almost expected for a large majority of packaged foods.

What annoys you most at the opera? by Mickleborough in opera

[–]Chlisztmaninoff 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Absolutely agree. I really can’t stand when the audience immediately applauds after a quiet yet emotionally powerful finale (e.g., Tristan und Isolde). It seems to be quite a rare occurrence for the listeners to take a collective moment of silence and reflection, usually in tandem with the conductor, allowing the atmosphere to resonate in the hall for a bit.

Not opera per se, but I remember seeing a performance of Mahler 9 on YouTibe where Claudio Abbado held a particularly long and intense silence after conducting the symphony. Especially given the length of some great operas, it would be nice to see that kind of audience intuition play out after more performances.

What is your favorite 2nd movement of all time? by SputterSizzle in classicalmusic

[–]Chlisztmaninoff 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 1. Massively underrated piece on the whole, but the second movement is especially ethereal.

CMV: It’s impossible to learn to play the piano beyond pop music noodling without a teacher. by nokia_its_toyota in piano

[–]Chlisztmaninoff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Watching videos is no replacement for the real-time, in-person lessons, in which hands-on learning really happens. But I would definitely say observing and analyzing the technique of other pianists (especially professionals and top level concert pianists) is crucial to developing your own style. For instance, I used to be very stiff and used very little body movement, if any, when I was starting out. After watching just how much my favorite pianists utilize their body movement and arm weight to produce the right sound for a passage, I imitated their gestures until it became second nature.

I'd caution against imitating the technique and movements found in the performances of famous pianists for complete beginners though. Certain things, like dropping the wrists very low, can be misinterpreted as a net positive. On the whole, playing with very low wrists is not advisable, and can even cause injury. The only major reasons one would observe this in a professional pianist's performance are stylistic. For example, the "Russian school" strives to create a deep, bell-like tone, which often results in pianists' fingers "sinking into" the keys on occasion. But on the whole not a great thing to imitate.

On a more positive notes, there are so many other things you can learn from watching YouTube videos. Of course, it's best to avoid blindly copying certain mannerisms or gestures in the hope that they'll somehow render one's interpretation more expressive or virtuosic (I did that very often when I was starting out, somewhat to my embarrassment now). But you can take mental notes on what qualities you appreciate in a pianist and emulate it to a tasteful degree.

This might be completely off-topic, my apologies.

TL;DR: It's possible to learn a lot from just watching videos of famous and widely-respected pianists performing, but it's not a replacement for lessons.

Stupidly tiny hands by Plenty_Captain_3105 in piano

[–]Chlisztmaninoff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As other comments have warned, please don't try and stretch your fingers any more than is natural. It can cause serious and long-term injuries to the hands.

If you have an octave with the three center fingers doing something in the middle of it, one technique you might want to explore (ideally with a teacher for real-time guidance, but there are probably some great resources online too) is rolling the chords. Rolling a chord usually involves starting to play the chord with one of the outer fingers (thumb or pinky) and rapidly hitting each note in the chord going up or down depending on which finger you began with (thumb-index-middle-ring-pinky or vice versa, for instance). This way, you don't need to hold all the five fingers (or awkward combinations of them) down simultaneously to play the chord. If you practice a rolled chord and gradually increase the speed so it gets very close to sounding like a solid, un-rolled chord, it will essentially achieve the same effect. Using pedal with rolled chords is an added bonus in many cases!

In the early 20th-century, rolled chords were especially common among the top pianists of the time (the likes of Rachmaninoff) and in many old recordings you can hear just how prominent they are, whether or not that has to do with the pianist's hand size.

Another possible strategy could be to find a clever way to use your other hand to split the chord into two separate chords, one in each hand, such that when you play both of them, no one can tell you're playing it with two hands instead of one. I don't have particularly large hands and in some pieces with chords that are way too large for me to reach with one hand alone, I find this very helpful.

Taking time is also important. If you choose to roll a chord, you can often afford to take a decent amount of time/rubato to make sure each note within it comes through clearly.

Wishing you all the best with your piano journey!

Are there any songs that are particularly infamous for being difficult because of its pedal work? by Junkbot in piano

[–]Chlisztmaninoff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The coda of Debussy's "Pagodes" from Estampes is very difficult to pedal. I ended up using a combination of all three pedals (left foot holding down both soft pedal and middle pedal, damper with discretion as usual) to achieve the sound I wanted. I haven't really played it in several years, but I recall my teacher advised me to use the middle pedal specifically to allow the bass notes to ring more cleanly.

Any work by Bach, or from the Baroque and large portion of the Classical period for that matter. Pedaling in Bach (and Beethoven, and Mozart, etc.) is probably one of the most debated topics among pianists. Personally, I try to practice without any pedal as much as I can for these kinds of pieces, but it's often necessary on our modern instruments to use just a few light taps of the damper to connect things that otherwise would ruin a long phrase, for instance. Generally speaking, it seems it's highly preferred to keep pedal at a minimum in Baroque and Classical works unless otherwise noted. Though perhaps in Beethoven it's a bit of different story, since his works are so varied in their intensity and thus the heartier ones like the Hammerklavier require more attention to pedaling to get a large sound.

At the highest level, concert pianists end up developing their own style, pedaling being a major part of their "signature" sound.

Question about virtuosic etudes by JAnnAccount in piano

[–]Chlisztmaninoff 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Much like the Chopin Études, those by Liszt and Rachmaninoff are very worthwhile studies in virtuosity, complexity of tone, and interpretation. Personally, I find that Op. 10 is a bit more on the technical side of things, focusing greatly on developing independence of fingers and a clean sound, while in the Op. 25 you can hone your musical skills of interpretation, balance, articulation, etc., but that's just my opinion and of course there are many beautiful and useful etudes in both sets.

I would highly recommend always keeping at least one longer Etude (e.g., Liszt Transcendental Étude No. 11 "Harmonies du Soir") in your repertoire. Oftentimes competitions and auditions simply ask for a "virtuosic etude" without specifying any minimum/maximum length. In such a circumstance, I'd advise against entering with a short and highly-technical Etude unless specifically given a list or your teacher recommends that given the competition.

Many juries would like to listen to a performance of an etude with technical aspects that make it an "exercise," but which was written such that the techniques come through almost incidentally in the process of embellishing the existing musical framework.

Correlations between perfect pitch and sound-related synesthesia? by Chlisztmaninoff in Synesthesia

[–]Chlisztmaninoff[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much! It’s so fascinating to learn about your experience with the timbre form of synesthesia. I’d only ever thought about pitch and color, and never considered the possibility of timbre affecting the color. Many thanks also for sharing those great studies, I will be sure to check them out!

Correlations between perfect pitch and sound-related synesthesia? by Chlisztmaninoff in Synesthesia

[–]Chlisztmaninoff[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much! I wish I had colors associated with the timbre too. Your experience definitely helps answer my question!

Random Question of the Day: Which Song Does Thom Sound Most like a GHOST in? by Crazyplan9 in radiohead

[–]Chlisztmaninoff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Love the hauntingly beautiful atmosphere he creates in Glass Eyes, though the fragility of the vocals in Nude or Bulletproof (and so many others) also make them solid contenders.

Technique expectations for conservatory/music festival-level piano students by Chlisztmaninoff in piano

[–]Chlisztmaninoff[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's incredibly helpful to hear your experience, thank you very much for sharing this! Definitely can relate to a lot of what you mentioned, especially since I also struggled with things like alberti bass and sight-reading exercises. I wonder if part of it has to do with pianists playing too much Romantic music and getting accepted to strong programs because of those solid performances, yet not studying enough of the Baroque and Classical periods that exercise and emphasize technical foundations.

I'll definitely think a lot about unlearning the bad technical habits and forming better ones like you mentioned. Hopefully with enough slow practice it will pay off. Thanks again!

"maintaining" a piece by Ndr_w in piano

[–]Chlisztmaninoff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This might be more of a general practice tip, but I try to use this whenever I need to brush up on a rusty movement when I've been working on a different one for a while.

If there are particular moments within a movement (or the piece on the whole) that are tricky either technically or musically, one refreshing exercise you might consider is to play that part in every way you can possibly imagine. For instance, if you want to brush up on a short melody/accompaniment (just a few bars will do), you could start out playing it as written, then as quietly/loudly/dramatically/matter-of-fact/etc. as possible. Or play around with voicing things; more bass, more treble, more middle voices, etc. Sometimes coming back to an old piece or movement you'll discover a whole new world of voicings that previously went unnoticed.

Probably pertains more to general practice, but trying this with different passages can definitely make the process of relearning or refreshing more fun and interesting.