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https://youtu.be/4RNJjORBAlQ

My Daughter playing this Chopin Mazurka from the score.

Recording the acoustic piano has been my personal challenge and I am now feeling a lot happier using the set up I worked with recording this piece.

Many thanks for viewing.

Regards

Tim

Thanks for posting the video of another competent performance by your daughter. This is a piece I do not know but seems to have its fair share of ornaments which were well carried out. I also liked how the volume of the left hand part was controlled.

Chopin has written a lot of these Mazurkas, many of which are written in an A-B-A form, like this one. I have only played a limited number of them and did not know this piece before. Well, in order to understand a Mazurka well it could help to be of Polish origin, haha… Which I am not. Just from my subjective point of view – without having looked at the score, just from listening to Bethany’s rendition - I would appreciate some more rubato in general and some more ritardando at 0:22-0:23 before the repetition of the theme in F minor, even more ritardando at 1:11-1:15, if not some kind of pause at 1:15, before the reprise of the “A” part. A wider range of dynamics would as well be fine, instrument permitting (I found the dynamics in your previous recordings better), esp. some decrescendo (and even more ritardando) at the end, starting at approx. 1:38, in order to make the ending less sudden. Bearing in mind that Polish-born Chopin wrote such Mazurkas whenever he felt homesick in Paris, it could be a good idea to let the “A” parts in F minor sound sad and the “B” part in the middle in the parallel major key A-flat sound “relieving”. Furthermore, could it be possible to play the left hand even softer? Maybe Bethany has not yet fully acquainted herself with the piece.

Chris,
Thank you very much for having a listen and replaying, as always much appreciated. There is still much to be gained from Bethany working with this piece and we will post another link in this thread to show a more polished performance of it.

Pianist685 Thank you for your detailed response and thoughtful critique.
Posting this piece here when we did has been a valuable exercise perhaps as much for me the camera happy parent all keen and wanting to have a go with an different set up.

Bethany is very grateful for your critique and understands your observations better than I who has not played the piece and probably couldn't aside from spending a big chunk of time that I don't have to try and achieve that end.

The piano does have a good dynamic range and as you have pointed out, touch is a big part of getting the correct voice with which to convey the emotion contained in this piece. Just as much as the way you have written your response here so that one can easily interpret that you are being helpful and offering something which is considered and kind spirited.

You have given us much to think about through your response, it is clear that you have offered your detailed critique with the very best of intentions and it is true to say that by doing so enabled us to learn some valuable lessons.

You are also correct in saying that Bethany has not fully familiarised herself with this piece, it is her intention to do so. We will post another link in due course.

Thank you

Kind regards

Tim