Like Hamelin another great pianist who has partially devoted his career to exposing lesser known masterpieces is Stephen Hough. His CD called "The Piano Album" is probably one of my favorite CDs, and virtually none of the pieces are well known. Just gives you an idea of what we are missing out on :D

I understand Hough's often controversial interpretations, but keep in mind that for example his performance of the Rach 2nd and 3rd (which were extremely fast) follow the metrenome markings that Rachmaninoff himself indicated. I even checked it myself and he is right on the money. Strange how music has slowed down. Just try following the Chopin 1st with the metrenome set exactly as Chopin wrote it, you'll be surprised.

pianist question
 

could anybody give a suggestion for a really hard level 3 piece?

In what level system are you operating in?

For me, it was 8-9th grade. Before that, it was just under parental pressure that I continued to play piano. I slowly began to enjoy it more and more, when I discovered other genres of music. I am however, slowly mingling back into classical.

Question:
Finished my Grade 10 with 74, so I wasn't eligible for ARCT. In uni now, practicing all my FFPC favourites for fun. Haven't touched technique since last June, I believe. No ear training since early last year for a little bit. Should I go back to take the retest (by that mean supplemental ear test) for that one percent more that I needed to advance to ARCT?

I think ARCT is only a rank in Ontario having to do with the Royal Conservatory of Toronto or something, so outside of here, what comes after Grade 10?

What did you have to play for your Grade 10 exam? Just so I get an idea of how your level system works.

I take rcm too although i didn't take Piano gr 10 - your pratical exam is only valid (as in to get your gr. 10 certificate meaning that you've taken your pratical gr10, harmony and history for that level - i think it's lv4) for 4 years since you've taken it. If you're keen on getting any artc, I'd say take it. If not, then don't bother the extra price in order to qualify to artc if you're not planing to take it. - I thought you had to have a 70+ to qualify over artc :\ or did they come with a new syllabus in the last 3 years?

Ya I guess the syllabus changed. At least I don't have to take the actual practical exam again, I just need an ear test to supplement and boost my mark.

Pieces
------
Waltz in e-, Chopin
Snow Games, Tsitaros
Clair De Lune, Debussy
Pathetique Sonata (1st and 2nd movs.), Beethoven
French Suite (Allemande and Gigue), Bach

Gallop, Tsitsaros
(study), Lyadov

just a general music question..
i'm a pianist myself but i'm also interesting in directing(conducting)...
but apparently if you wanna be a conducter you need perfect pitch (absolute pitch).
Is this true?

Please explain to me the words symphony, opus, etude, movement, sonata, etc. with the piano terms. What is he differewnce and what makes a song a cretain 'type' of that music?

I believe the world Symphony literally translates to "sounding together," which is why in a Symphony you will always hear many different instruments playing together.

Opus was a word that was used to number a composer's compositions. It's translated meaning means work.

An etude is a work that is used as a study on technique. For example, Chopin's Revolutionary Etude focused on left hand runs. His Op. 25 No. 6 focused on thirds. Many composers known for their Etudes are Liszt, Chopin, Rachmaninov, Debussy, Czerny among others.

A movement is a large portion of an even larger work of music. For example, a movement of a Symphony or a Sonata, which I will get into next.

A sonata is a work that often consists of may different movements. The traditional sonata style would have a fast first movement, a slower second movement often in a different key, and an exciting finale which was often a Rondo. However that form has changed and evolved during time and even people such as Beethoven and Haydn often broke from that tradition. The translation literally means "to sound."

As for the last question I'm not entirely sure what you are asking...

Is this bollocks?


You do need to be extremely good at reading obscure clefs and transposing on sight, though. But that has little to do with perfect pitch.

tell me face, is it true that you have a grand 12-inch pianist... err grand 12-foot piano?

What it boils down to is structure, style and the instruments invovled. A symphony is a sonata for orchestra. A concerto is a sonata for orchestra and soloist. A quartet is a sonata for 4 musicians, etc.

About structure, take a waltz for example. It has 3/4 time signature and the theme is 8 measures long. The first 8 measures of a waltz is always the theme. A mazurka (a kind of Polish dance) is like a waltz only the theme is 4 measures long and it has a certain rhythm usually that it would be hard for me to explain here.

Style would be how you would classify a nocturne, for example. It's a nocturne because of how it sounds, not because of who's playing it or what the structure is (although they do typically have a definite structure, the structure is so common that it alone can't classify a piece as being a nocturne).

Out of curiousity, what is the difference between an etude/study and a virtuoso study? I mean, how do you tell the difference? (I've actually never seen a study called a virtuoso study before).

I would venture to guess that a virtuoso study has things that you would have to spend years on and never truly master. I mean like a typical Czerny study would be ridiculously easy in comparison to say, Revolutionary Etude?

We have stuff like 4 on 3, "running" octaves, cadenzic scale passages, lengthy pieces (endurance and stamina come into play)...as compared to a 1/2 page study.

How do you maintain your composure when you're performing for a crowd of people?

Really the best way is through experience. Try to grab as many performing oppertunities you can. Try to gather friends to watch you. Also, try to focus less on the audience and more into the music, it helps.

If any piece is called a "virtuoso study", thats kind of bombastic and probably the editor's doing and not the composer. As far as the difference goes, a virtuoso etude would just be an etude that would take a virtuoso (someone who has mastered the instrument) to play. Basically something that separates the men from the boys.

Hiya! Just wondering if you have any tips on how to find SHEET MUSIC for Rachmaninoff's "Italian Polka" (/ "Polka Italienne"), but transcribed for solo piano, not 4 hands. I think Volodos did a 'piano reduction' for piano solo, but in my surfings on the Net, I haven't found any reference to any published sheet music for it, and my local classical music sheet-music shop doesn't have it / know of it either. I love the Italian Polka (heard it recently on "From the Top" radio show), and would love to learn it. It's quite rollicking.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

insect_sister

Nope, Fjordor, it's not there... but thanks for link!
 

Hi, Fjordor, I just looked for the aforementioned piece (Rachmaninoff Italian Polka, for 2 hands not 4 hands) at the link, and it ain't there... but it's a good link to have, thanks!

*

Maybe there's more to the link, but it's freezing here in the computer room and I'll explore that page more some other time.

Thanks.

insect_sister

The thread is a classical sheet music REQUEST thread.
If you are looking for sheet music, ask for it there.

Thanks
 

Sorry, thanks. Like I said, it's cold in here, I didn't dally to read the page fully, doing other stuff online... but I'll request it there!

Ciao.

insect_sister

What bad habit or technical flaw bothers you most in a pianist?