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Thanks, it's only for pleasure, but you never know, one day!

Very interesting Joseph, look forward to hearing the finished CD! I know what you mean about recording vs playing live - live is more about capturing the mood, and a few duff notes/sounds don't matter so much, as they're (hopefully!) quickly forgotten. When it's recorded though, you may end up liste...

Just interested Joseph - do you ever record yourself playing, and if so, do you find it useful?

Mark

Yes, very romantic!

Haven't played any of the pieces myself, but it sounds like quite a lot of work to get them all up and concert-ready - good luck!

Mark

What will you be playing Joseph? (Or is that top-secret as well? )

Had a bit of an odd experience last night - my left wrist was aching (too much Rach Op.23/5!) so I took my watch off. I couldn't believe the difference playing my pieces afterwards - my left arm felt like it was half the weight, and so agile around the keyboard (felt a bit like that old trick of pus...

I'm also left-handed Piano Angel, and while I would say my right hand is generally stronger - particularly playing fast runs, picking out subtle melodies, etc. - my left hand is definitely stronger when it comes to bashing out octaves. I'd guess that years of training each hand to do different thing...

Piano Angel,

I started learning the Rachmaninov Prelude Op.23 No.5. this week too!! How are you getting on with it?

Mark

Thanks Joseph

Any other interesting pieces you'd suggest worth looking at?

I would have said Clair de Lune is around Grade VII standard - Lizst's Liebestraume No.3 is MUCH harder, and possibly too much of a jump at the moment? In a similar vein, the 2 Debussy Arabesques are lovely, and not too difficult, and you could also look at Mendelssohn's Spring Song, Beethoven's Ron...

Liszt Liebestraume No.3? (Although it might stretch to 5 pages from memory...) Definitely Romantic AND intensive!

Alternatively Chopin's 4th Impromptu possibly?

Mark

Just out of interest, an old piano teacher of mine told me that the reason that it was so difficult to play the 3rd (ring) and 4th fingers independently, was that they shared one tendon - don't know if that's correct, but it certainly explains why it's so hard to separate them!

Mark

I'm also a Grade 8 pianist, and spent many years playing a top-of-the-range Yamaha Clavinova, on which I was very happy with the tone and dynamic range. However, 18 months ago I treated myself to a brand new Yamaha C3 grand piano, and the difference is more staggering than I ever thought it could be...