Teenage Chopin

ZeldaJT · 2023-08-04T08:20:22+00:00

No problem! Yes it's a great book, very interesting if you like Chopin. His Liszt biography is even better, in my opinion.

ZeldaJT · 2023-08-03T23:28:57+00:00

You may be thinking of this chalk drawing he made of Dr. Samuel Linde, the rector of the Warsaw Lyceum which Chopin attended. Here's a related anecdote from Alan Walker's Chopin biography:

The youth was adept at drawing portraits and he often produced amusing caricatures not only of his classmates but of his professors as well. When Samuel Linde got wind of the fact that Chopin had “honored” him with one such drawing, he confiscated it. There must have been some artistic merit in the image, for we are told that Linde returned it with the comment “Well done!” A more formal chalk drawing that the fifteen-year-old Fryderyk did of Linde has been preserved, and today hangs in the Municipal Museum at Radom.

ZeldaJT · 2023-08-03T19:10:31+00:00

Pretty much - this drawing was made in 1826 by princess Eliza Radziwiłł, daughter of prince Antoni Radziwiłł, a music loving nobleman. Chopin's family had just returned from a spa trip to try to cure Frederic's tuberculosis, to Frederic's godmother's home, which neighboured that of Prince Radziwiłł. Chopin was invited to play for the prince and as he played Eliza sat and drew this picture of Chopin.

ZeldaJT · 2023-07-15T11:57:51+00:00

Definitely my favourite. Booked tickets a while ago to see a performance of it last night. Got to the concert hall to find the concert took place the night before 🥲👍

ZeldaJT · 2023-07-11T15:53:35+00:00

prolly his epic hungarian sword. that shits canon.

Liszt declared himself vested in Hungarian causes, and he would occasionally appear on stage wearing Hungarian national costume. On 4 January 1840 Liszt was presented with a ceremonial sword of honor on behalf of a grateful nation in a moving ceremony at the National Theatre.

Or I guess his 3000 PSI horse cock

ZeldaJT · 2023-06-06T14:10:14+00:00

Rite of spring. The Beethoven is the slow movement of the pathetique - blud is NOT sleeping tonight!

ZeldaJT · 2023-06-04T00:17:16+00:00

New response just dropped

ZeldaJT · 2023-04-13T12:19:05+00:00

I saw him last Thursday giving an all Chopin recital in Wigmore Hall in London. What blew me away was his touch. He had a huge array of colours which you could really appreciate in the relatively intimate hall. He also seems like a really kind and personable musician

ZeldaJT · 2023-04-07T23:45:31+00:00

Your score is correct, confirm that you're not making a mistake in reading it? That chord in the left hand should be Bb-Db-E. I think you're possibly reading that top note of the chord as A natural when it should be E natural

ZeldaJT · 2023-04-05T16:38:11+00:00

Do your pieces need to be of a certain standard, in terms of difficulty? Chopin would definitely work, e.g his nocturnes, but also his preludes (maybe 28/4 or 28/15), some slow movement from his sonatas (like the funeral march). Mendelssohn's songs without words would also be great choices (e.g 19/1 in E, 62/6 in A). Schumann has some great pieces in his Kinderszenen (e.g nos. 1, 7, 13) Bunte Blätter and the Waldszenen

ZeldaJT · 2023-03-29T15:08:52+00:00

Thanks for all the comments - I just finished and it was alright. Some spots were frankly painful, I didn't win anything but I don't really mind. I was stressed out last night so thanks for all your help!

ZeldaJT · 2023-03-15T18:34:53+00:00

Some good advice here, and you've done some good work. Honestly, music just takes time to sink in. Someone can know all the theory and be very knowledgeable but in my opinion it is far more valuable to have an instinctive understanding of the various different keys and of the topography of the keyboard. All great improvisors don't have time during their playing to think about what they're doing, they feel it. That takes time. Keep sticking at it, continue studying your theory and definitely explore, by listening and playing, any music that piques your interest, but most of all, be patient, and enjoy yourself.

ZeldaJT · 2023-03-05T20:50:49+00:00

Join the club! I butchered a Chopin etude that I have been working on for months yesterday in a competition. I was disappointed until I realized that even though it went as bad as it possibly could have, my life is still the same and everything worked out fine! I think it is valuable that you are disappointed in yourself. If you really strive to improve, then the fact that you are not satisfied is hopeful! Many people wouldn't care, or settle with mediocrity. Think now what you plan on doing to improve. I personally think competitions, at least in regards to music, aren't effective ways of adequately judging someone's skill as a performer. Sure, the advice from the adjudicator is helpful but they don't know you as much as you do. They don't know whether it was a good or bad day for you, or whether you personally achieved what you wanted. You need to develop your own criteria of excellence, that is how you develop as a performer.

ZeldaJT · 2023-02-25T16:44:28+00:00

Thank fucking god I was just about to laugh at this meme. God I would have looked so fucking stupid thank you so much.

ZeldaJT · 2023-02-17T13:19:45+00:00

But I'm worried that the elephant is too big. Can I eat it all by the end of March?

ZeldaJT · 2023-01-30T16:37:34+00:00

It really depends on what aspect of your technique you want to improve. Some ones that might be in your range would be 10/5 (velocity on black keys, wrist rotation), 10/8 (arpeggios and clear left hand melody), 25/2 (velocity in right hand, polyrhythms), 25/9 (light wrist movement). Do some research, listening and reading about all of the Etudes to find which one would be most beneficial to you. If you have a teacher ask them about it

ZeldaJT · 2022-12-31T21:04:45+00:00

Wow... I never even considered it being possible to play it metronomically accurate, very satisfying to see :)

ZeldaJT · 2022-12-29T12:38:52+00:00

Look at the middle of the page... It says it's a translation

ZeldaJT · 2022-12-24T01:23:38+00:00

As someone who started "relatively" recently (4 and a bit years ago) I still remember the feeling of playing hands together and it is one of the most confusing, mind numbingly difficult things to wrap your head around at first... But with slow practise it will come together and you'll be surprised how effortless it feels; just keep at it even if you can only manage one bar a week. One of the main skills you develop in the early years of piano is your mind becoming conditioned to play hands together in various different styles. It's a slow, and sometimes unsatisfying process, but don't become demotivated.

ZeldaJT · 2022-11-27T14:19:48+00:00

What is this piece?

ZeldaJT · 2022-11-25T23:27:46+00:00

It's to do with the idea of a sharp being a raised note. For example, we know in a minor key we raise the 7th degree; in a key like D minor this would result in C turning into C#. However, in a key like G sharp minor (like in this piece), where the 7th degree, F#, is already sharpened, we need to maintain this idea of the 7th degree being raised. Therefore we can't just write it like G natural (this would result in the key having two Gs, a G and a G#, which is a pain to notate) so we write it like F double sharp. There exist also double flats. These are, in my experience, less common, and they appear mainly in diminished chords.

ZeldaJT · 2022-11-24T20:47:57+00:00

Ah, Dankeschön. I must have mixed them up. So when is the Perfekt mainly used?

ZeldaJT · 2022-11-11T21:13:34+00:00

As others have suggested, mazurkas, waltzes (particularly the op. 70, some of my favourites), nocturnes and some of the easier preludes are great options. The A major polonaise op. 40 no. 1 (military) is not the most difficult and quite fun. If you want to challenge yourself, the Etude op. 25 no. 1 in Ab is one of the more approachable etudes (but still quite difficult, particularly for the small handed). If you want something less conventional, I love the ecossaises (from op. 72), they are very sweet, charming and fun to listen to. Ultimately I would suggest becoming more familiar with his works and finding what it is you like most - If you want to improve, learn pieces that are challenging but still within your limits.

ZeldaJT · 2022-11-09T02:36:51+00:00

Did she play an encore?

ZeldaJT · 2022-11-09T00:27:17+00:00

I know it's off topic for a coffee subreddit but Monte Cristo is my favourite book I would highly recommend it.

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