Nocturne in C-sharp Minor, Op. Posth. F. Chopin

Rather than it being a matter of the microphone, it is actually a very important and well-known sound library (Imperfect Samples - Fazioli) but very poorly configured; that is why it sounds so bad. Regarding the performer, I respect your point of view but prefer not to express mine. Certainly, there are those who have made the piano their life and those who have made it their hobby. This does not, however, prevent the latter from demonstrating and sharing their progress with the world, just as it does not prevent you from expressing your opinion on the performance.

I believe it ultimately becomes a matter of tact from both sides...

Hello,

unfortunately I stopped after completing theory and solfeggio at the conservatory, but I would really love to start again; I apologize for the poor execution, as I actually just started back up after a very long period of inactivity .......

As far as the configuration of "Imperfect Samples" is concerned, could you give me some tips?

P.s. Happy New Year !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ahhhh, sorry, I must have misunderstood. I thought you wanted to talk about someone else's performance that you found on YouTube, which is why I didn't comment.

I will certainly help you with the configuration of Imperfect Samples; I'll try to send you a screenshot of my settings as soon as I have a minute to spare. Keep in mind, however, that it is not a library that suits all classical music pieces well.

Personally, I would go for some other library... Ivory 2, or EW Pianos, even the Gold version.

Regarding the performance, there are certainly points that need to be well-focused, but I am pleased to observe that you want to challenge yourself in order to improve, well done!

Happy New Year to you too!

Of course, the criticisms were directed at myself, I would never allow myself to criticize others' execution......... I cannot afford to

Well for now let's just say that Imperfect Samples is enough for me, more than anything due to budget issues.......... as far as the configuration is concerned, how should I set it up?

Feel free to express your opinion on my interpretation, I am very self-critical, don't worry, criticism is a stimulus to improve.

ops sorry, I hadn't read the passage where you told me about sending me a screenshot....... thanks a lot, I will wait

I can no longer see the video

I blocked it because, listening back to myself, I didn't like it at all; if you want, I can make it available again, but don't expect anything good........ anyway, I will soon make another one from scratch

Hi and Happy New Year !!!!!!!

How do you prefer Adagiociccioc

Unlocked, but I warned you, I'm pathetic

Francesco, in my opinion you have no idea what it means to evoke pity.

I'm just telling you that your interpretation is certainly more listenable and pleasant to me than the one given by Barenboim.

There is certainly something small to fix (just as there surely is in my recording of this nocturne).

But what the hell, anyway they were 4 absolutely pleasant minutes.

Let us hear from you again soon.

By the way, sorry to take advantage of this, do you have any experience regarding piano VSTs? Right now I am trying out the Imperfect Samples Fazioli in the complete Ebony Concert Grand version; soon I will try the Galaxy II libraries from Best Service............. I have heard great things about the Ivory II from East West Pianos Gold; if you know any of them, could you advise me on the choice and configuration? Thanks again

P.s. I just saw on the Imperfect Samples website that there is an Ebony Concert Grand Extreme version for €450 162 GB

Thank you very much Foster. If it's good at the beginning of the year, it's good all year long; you have been far too flattering towards me.

Of course, however Imperfect Samples is impressive, you can even hear the noise of the hammers

Eh eh... Thanks

In the musical field, I never give free compliments. It's stronger than me.

Rather, for formal reasons, I prefer to remain silent.

Even!!!!!! So your appreciation was sincere, thanks again............... anyway I am fully aware that I have a lot of things to improve

I wrote another message above regarding piano libraries on PC, did you read it? Could you please give me some advice?

I'm sorry Francesco, but I have no experience regarding digital piano libraries.

I am sure you will find other very competent answers.

I listened and I must say that although there are some adjustments to be made to improve certain passages (but I cannot be the one to give advice),

an execution at this speed, trying to maintain a certain consistency in terms of tempo and without overdoing it, turned out to be pleasant.

I tell you that I don't know how to play this piece; years ago perhaps I "played" something by Chopin, but the performances were always messy, and now they certainly wouldn't be better.

Regarding this recording, in fact, at the beginning you can hear that the audio is very muffled; perhaps the piano velocities are set in a way as to have a sound with a very "wide" dynamics, so you can have a soft and muffled sound with a pp or ppp touch, and a more "open" sound with an f_ff, and this is where things get complicated, because

you can hear the difference between the expert hand that undoubtedly knows how to best "weight" these dynamics, obtaining well-calibrated nuances, and someone who still has uncertainties,

perhaps wanting to play in a certain way, but not having full control at the moment of execution.

I repeat, the listening experience was nonetheless pleasant.

@Piccinesco

I'm sticking up for Adagiociccio. Imperfect samples is a library that is difficult to manage live. In this piece posted by Adagioccio, it seems clear to me that there was no post-production. He used the library as if he were playing on a piano. I don't even know what keyboard he has; if the keyboard isn't expensive enough, the velocity levels are also lower, making it even harder to bring out dynamics when there isn't a certain range of velocities to work with.

@Adagiociccio

Since I have time today, I will try to respond to you better and more completely regarding this nocturne, which I know very well having performed it several times in concert.

I apologize in advance if I say things you already know, but since I don't know your level of knowledge on the subject, I will try to make the message complete also for other readers who might be interested.

I start from the premise that one cannot think of sitting at the piano and playing a piece without knowing the history of that piece, the moment in life when the author decided to write it, to whom they wanted to dedicate it; therefore, every time we must try to challenge ourselves by researching to understand the beautiful/unpleasant emotions the author was experiencing at that moment in their life before going to study the piece.

This piece was composed in 1830, the year Chopin was in Vienna for the second time, and it was dedicated to his sister Ludwika. Reading Chopin's notebooks, it is incredible to observe how attached he was to his family... To his father, who had gone into debt up to his neck to allow him to find fortune by making himself known throughout Europe (Papa Mikolaj was a high school teacher and also played the violin); to his sister Ludwika (his favorite), who supported him in practically everything, also because the "reinforcements"—as the money Mikolaj Chopin sent to his son Fryderyk in Vienna was called—were still less money that Ludwika and the other sisters (one of whom died very young, unfortunately) could have counted on; to his mother Tekla Justyna Krzyżanowska (who also played the piano), whom Chopin introduces in his notebooks as a "supernatural being." Attachment to family and one's homeland is an extremely important element for fertilizing the ground that prepares us for the performance of many of his pieces, considering that this nocturne was written in the first year after leaving his homeland (Chopin was born in 1810 and left Poland in 1830 without ever returning. This nocturne is, not by chance, a posthumous work—meaning a work published after death and kept hidden until then—because it is something so intimate, a thought between Chopin and an element of the family he loved so much, that it could not be tainted even by the mere idea of profiting from it. It belongs to another sphere that is not remunerative but is the intimate one directed toward his dearest loved ones.

This nocturne opens with a short introduction of just 4 bars that paves the way for a very intimate theme accompanied by eighth notes in the left hand, which serve as the thread throughout the piece. After the development, in part B, it gives us a taste of Spanish flavors; besides the tempo changing to 3/4, the accompaniment also undergoes changes with triplets alternating bar by bar between the first and second beat. It returns to the initial theme in part A', which is modified, bringing new air. In the coda, we have a succession of 4 fast scales, and at the end, the piece closes in C# Major (change of mode) with an arpeggio in contrary motion. The idea of the major key at the end of the piece conveys great hope to us. The continuous idea that emerges from the entire piece is the pain of having left one's family, one's homeland... With this major key, Chopin seems almost to want to find strength in himself, almost as if to say: "One day I will return." The importance of this change of mode, which you can observe in the score, is given by Chopin preparing it in the bass. Indeed, we see half notes among the eighth notes in the final bars. MI - RE - MI - RE - MI#. This E# must be felt well without exceeding the dynamics but must result clear and highlighted, because this is where hope is born; perhaps, in my opinion, this E# is the most important point emotionally in the entire piece.

Coming to your performance...

The piece is quite listenable, and I won't even discuss the technical inaccuracies that you yourself already know and which you will need to fix with careful study. What I don't hear (aside from the dynamics, for which I have already given my reasons to Piccinesco) is the thread. In this piece, the thread is of fundamental importance. I must listen to the piece from the beginning and understand that it is all one single thought. In your interpretation...

thought sometimes comes fragmented, I don't feel continuity because perhaps you are too busy with the notes. "You must learn the notes so that you can then forget them" they said in the movie Shine. And it's right, learn the notes and once learned, forget about the notes and enter into the author's thought. The same Chopin quotes: "Convince yourself that you are playing well and you will play well".

To greater things!

TheSimon wrote:

This piece was composed in 1930, the year Chopin was in Vienna

You obviously meant 1830?