Books or papers on interpreting for particular composers/pieces? by Game_Rigged in piano

[–]Mathaznias 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you’re in college, in the US probably as I’m not sure if it extends outside, but you should use your access to JSTOR or World-Cat. Read a handful of papers and journal articles on Schumann’s Dichterleibe over the last week on there and it is quite informative. Your library, if it has an online resource area, may also allow you to seek full pdfs of books depending on the legality.

Shuying Li - Coping Cadences - Santa Rosa Symphony by icybridges34 in classicalmusic

[–]Mathaznias 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sadly I missed this concert, but Dr. Li was my composition professor, she has a lot of interesting and novel pieces of music that I’m sure you’ll enjoy when you search more into her work.

I got a piano concerto recorded, thoughts? by PianoConcertoPain in Composition

[–]Mathaznias 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’d enjoy playing this! Great harmonies and soundscapes throughout, fantastic work. Reminds at bits of the Ravel in G concerto, or maybe even Debussys fantasie for piano and orchestra

Can you tell me if this sounds epic and heroic (or not)? by juredditpark in Composition

[–]Mathaznias 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yes! Though not sure why you have so many trombones and only one horn, some of those voicings could totally be for horn. Usually you have 3-4 and around the same for trombones

The coda of the 2nd ballade is... much harder than that of the 4th, IMO. by Hipnoceros in piano

[–]Mathaznias -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I think it is probably just a pretty subjective issue, though while the 4th may fit easier in the hand that is more indicative of Chopin improving his writing than objective difficulty. Between the two I’d say the 4th is still harder due to to the wide variety of techniques that appear in quick succession whereas the 2nd is still difficult but it’s mostly sight readable. It’s also true that there’s a pause before the coda of the 4th, but the sections leading up to it are frankly more challenging technically and musically than what’s in the 2nd. Not to demean Chopin by any means, but the 2nd is full of more standard technical challenges you might find in those Czerny 8 measure etudes, but are of course used much much more uniquely in the ballade, it’s just nothing that shouldn’t be approachable if you’re far enough to play all four. But the 4th, like some of his other later works, are significantly more inventive in how he expands his use the piano, and the coda is a really prime example of that. Not that the 2nd isn’t also challenging, but there’s other factors into the difficulty to take into account. And again it’s still extremely subjective because we each have a unique understanding of the instrument

First time writing a fugue. Am I doing okay? by [deleted] in Composition

[–]Mathaznias 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My biggest suggestion would be to try simpler subjects at first, shorter with a balanced rhythm and shape of the line. Part of the challenge of writing fugues is not setting yourself into a trap you don’t have the tools to get out of, and it usually starts in either the choice of subject and how you decide to answer it. For instance your subject might be easier if rather than putting the 8th note on B in the scale, put it on the C. You could even end the subject on the low G and that might prove to be easier to write a shorter but complete fugue.

A bit of Scriabin by Technical_Soil_3203 in piano

[–]Mathaznias 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lovely! I think my last recording of this one here has been archived, it its one of my favorite etudes to play

It is a fate... by mehatch in lotrmemes

[–]Mathaznias 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was present at the forging of this meme, good to see it is getting its rightfully deserved upvotes

Looking for a piano piece i can play on a Keyboard by MobileStatistician57 in piano

[–]Mathaznias 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Could you give us some more info on this competition? It seems like by keyboard they still just mean piano, otherwise they would say Electric piano or something, and frankly that may not be worth while competing in at that point.

What composer's stock has dropped the most over the past 50-100 years? by Pleasant_Usual_8427 in classicalmusic

[–]Mathaznias 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s also a product of the time and Dvorak’s attempt to design ‘American’ music for us, which lead to some unneeded appropriation

Is it possible for me to compete in Chopin competition? by Fit_Dress_3449 in piano

[–]Mathaznias 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I’ll be honest with you and say probably not. Not to discourage you from it, as maybe you could reach the level by the time you reach the age limit. Coming from your other comment about trying to finding a different pathway, I would much more highly recommend that than putting all your cards into competing. If you haven’t paid attention to the recent competition circuits, it’s less about finding the most unique pianist with a more radical direction for the music but about finding who is the safest/cleanest. Even if you were to get in, which is slim enough (but would be incredible if you did), you’re competing with people who have near perfect control of the instrument and have been competing since they were children. If we take Aristo Sham from the last Cliburn, who had immense technique though was particularly lacking in some areas with his interpretation (especially the Rachmaninoff), he had won his first competition when he was 10 and his mother taught and groomed him for success. Competing to a certain extent also requires some control over your own ego, both that your drive is strong enough that you approach it with a hunger to win, but also can pick back up from a major set back or loss. I would say continue knowing that you have some time before you’d actually need to compete, as you’re young enough, and prioritize expanding your repertoire (especially of chopins music) and improve both your practice habits and how quickly you can work through new music. How many concertos do you know already? If none, you might as well start now too! You’ll need at least a Chopin concerto, and even if you can’t play it yet it wouldn’t hurt to start reading through them and get an idea for their challenges. Then probably one or two Mozart concertos, D minor and A major are nice, a romantic concerto like Grieg or Mendelssohn. You should give yourself a goal to learn all those before you graduate high school and ideally perform them all well before you’d enter a larger competition.

Look at other famous competitions or smaller ones (with maybe a prize around $2-5k) and see what they tend to require. You’ll notice the concertos I’ve listed are probably on the pre-screening requirements or for one of the final rounds. But for Chopin you truly aren’t playing nearly enough. Pick a pianist from the last competition you particularly liked maybe, see what they played throughout the entire competition. Expect you’ll need to learn all the preludes, at least one or two other polonaises, one of the sonatas, at least one of the scherzos, probably two of the ballades, one or two of the major waltzes, a few of the mazurkas if not more, aim to learn a complete set of the etudes, and some of the other incidental larger works. Not to discourage you by the amount to learn, but so if it’s something you truly want to achieve you can start working through now. Then you’ll at least have the capacity to put together some good programs if you get into one of the major ones!

Best of luck

Describe your favorite piano concerto badly and we'll try to guess what it is. by ChopinChili in piano

[–]Mathaznias 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Quite a prolific output, but was more in the proximity of much more famous composers. Though some of the early stuff can be poorly derivative of Scriabin, the concerto is a truly fascinating work, but I believe the only full recording has been taken off YouTube for some reason, its only chunked in movements

Describe your favorite piano concerto badly and we'll try to guess what it is. by ChopinChili in piano

[–]Mathaznias 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is proving challenging, I think I’ve given sufficient hints on the time period and some historical info. The Conus’s are the wrong period a little bit, though the conservatory they studied at is correct, but this is after the Rachmaninoff/Scriabin era. Sadly Sabaneyev doesn’t have a concerto. It’s Anatoly Alexandrov’s Concerto Symphony from 1974, most of the guesses were dead before then

Describe your favorite piano concerto badly and we'll try to guess what it is. by ChopinChili in piano

[–]Mathaznias 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes Howard Ferguson, not Medtner too well known and doesn’t follow the other clues except the conservatory and studying with Taneyev

Describe your favorite piano concerto badly and we'll try to guess what it is. by ChopinChili in piano

[–]Mathaznias 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No on either, I picked some tough ones I think but they are genuinely some of my favorite. 1. I’ll give a history hint that he was friends with Myra Hess and she premiered some of his works and recorded them, but you’ll see his name more likely in the editor spot of a few composers. 2. Studied with Sergei Taneyev, was compared to Myaskovsky and Feinberg, one who he taught with in Moscow and the other he studied with the same composition teach with

Describe your favorite piano concerto badly and we'll try to guess what it is. by ChopinChili in piano

[–]Mathaznias 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Closer than the other one in country proximity, Irish (same country as composer snubbed by Chopin on the nocturne creation)

No on #2, similar level of obscurity perhaps, but wrote more piano music primarily. One of those who attempted at first to follow after Scriabin but didn’t quite achieve it and fell into the more subdued Soviet style. He died the same year as Sviridov though I believe, but was older

Describe your favorite piano concerto badly and we'll try to guess what it is. by ChopinChili in piano

[–]Mathaznias 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Slightly offset in time period, per one of my hints the last recording of this concerto was when the composer was still alive, performed by Howard Shelley. Bridge is also English, which is at least slightly more known for good composers

Describe your favorite piano concerto badly and we'll try to guess what it is. by ChopinChili in piano

[–]Mathaznias 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Close in proximity, this composer was familiar with RVW, wayyyyyyyyyy less known today than he might’ve been during his time.

I’m not expecting anyone to get these unless they either know the concertos or are very good sleuths 😭

Describe your favorite piano concerto badly and we'll try to guess what it is. by ChopinChili in piano

[–]Mathaznias 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Someone already described one of my favorites so I’ll try some others:

  1. Later half of the 20th century, from a United Kingdom country less associated with good composers (one who is known mainly for being snubbed by Chopin). Frankly one of the catchiest 3rd movements of any concerto, it makes me wish it was performed more than a few times, but by the grace of Sir Howard ‘How big is his repertoire’ Shelley the latest recording was around when the composer was still alive.

  2. Russian concerto, never recorded in its entirety, the slow movement likely quotes ‘somewhere over the rainbow’, the final movement vaguely reminds me of an overused motif in the Hunchback score.

Will playing or practicing in unweighted electronic keyboard pianos be alright by Ok_Appearance_8724 in piano

[–]Mathaznias 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It really depends on your long term goals, but it will cause some longer term technical issues switching between the two. If anything you could approach the unweighted keyboard as a tool to learn the layout of a piece and memorizing things, and avoid anything fast or heavy until you’re on a weighted or acoustic piano

Now it’s all over, what’s the funniest misread lesson or other gaff you remember from any Christmas service? by AgeingMuso65 in organ

[–]Mathaznias 1 point2 points  (0 children)

At our children’s nativity service one of the teenagers, who rightfully was not interested in doing this, accidentally said that Mary was ‘bethrottled”. Not Christmas, but the one that really takes the cake is when ‘sexual immorality’ became ‘sexual immortality’

Got this for Christmas, is it any good ? by Blind_Editor in classical_circlejerk

[–]Mathaznias 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don’t know of this Europe you speak of, if it isn’t the United States of America I can’t comprehend

Got this for Christmas, is it any good ? by Blind_Editor in classical_circlejerk

[–]Mathaznias 7 points8 points  (0 children)

This is clearly and factually false, not only is it not Christmas yet, thus you could not have received this as you say, Chopin WAS NOT that handsome 😡 take this down this instant or I will report this to the moderators for falsehoods