The "What are you listening now?" thread

[eliasfrost]

It is indeed amazing music

[Kman]

Oh hey I just downloaded Modest Mouse's first 3 LPs last night, nice

[Froge]

Listening to the Ballade no. 1 myself.

Personally, I like Rubinstein's interpretation best. This one sounds a bit too rushed at the ending, while Rubinstein really gets the tempo and dynamics right and makes all the notes sound crystal clear.

[Bridge]

Listening to the Ballade no. 1 myself.

Personally, I like Rubinstein's interpretation best. This one sounds a bit too rushed at the ending, while Rubinstein really gets the tempo and dynamics right and makes all the notes sound crystal clear.

I'm not too familiar with Rubinstein's version of it (quite new to the piece itself, actually), but I think Claudio Arrau is by far the best Chopin interpreter, as blasphemous as that may sound (Rubinstein is of course the obvious choice). His interpretations of the Nocturnes are far beyond anyone else's IMO.

Especially Nocturnes 15 and 16, op. 55:





Just sublime.

EDIT: Actually, speaking of, do you have any tips for playing parallel octaves apart from just practice? I'm learning this piece at the moment and am having a bit of trouble with the Piu mosso part (around 03:15).

[Froge]

I'm not too familiar with Rubinstein's version of it (quite new to the piece itself, actually), but I think Claudio Arrau is by far the best Chopin interpreter, as blasphemous as that may sound (Rubinstein is of course the obvious choice). His interpretations of the Nocturnes are far beyond anyone else's IMO.


Especially Nocturnes 15 and 16, op. 55:









Just sublime.



EDIT: Actually, speaking of, do you have any tips for playing parallel octaves apart from just practice? I'm learning this piece at the moment and am having a bit of trouble with the Piu mosso part (around 03:15).

I'm not too familiar with Arrau, actually. From what I've heard in that video he does sound like a decent Chopin interpreter, as his playing is quite calm and carries a fair amount of rubato (which a lot of modern pianists lack). When it comes to Chopin, I usually just listen to Rubinstein, Argerich, and Yundi Li.

I can understand being parallel octaves are difficult to play, as I've become scared of them after my experience with Liszt's nightmare, La Campanella. I'm no piano expert as right now I'm just aiming for a level 10 RCM certificate (although I do frequently play harder pieces). All I can really say is that you have to go slowly and make each note sound clear. After a while you will simply get the intuition for knowing where the next pair of octaves will be.

By the way, what's your opinion on Chopin's larger pieces (sonatas and concertos)?

[Bridge]

I'm not too familiar with Rubinstein's version of it (quite new to the piece itself, actually), but I think Claudio Arrau is by far the best Chopin interpreter, as blasphemous as that may sound (Rubinstein is of course the obvious choice). His interpretations of the Nocturnes are far beyond anyone else's IMO.


Especially Nocturnes 15 and 16, op. 55:









Just sublime.



EDIT: Actually, speaking of, do you have any tips for playing parallel octaves apart from just practice? I'm learning this piece at the moment and am having a bit of trouble with the Piu mosso part (around 03:15).

I'm not too familiar with Arrau, actually. From what I've heard in that video he does sound like a decent Chopin interpreter, as his playing is quite calm and carries a fair amount of rubato (which a lot of modern pianists lack). When it comes to Chopin, I usually just listen to Rubinstein, Argerich, and Yundi Li.

I can understand being parallel octaves are difficult to play, as I've become scared of them after my experience with Liszt's nightmare, La Campanella. I'm no piano expert as right now I'm just aiming for a level 10 RCM certificate (although I do frequently play harder pieces). All I can really say is that you have to go slowly and make each note sound clear. After a while you will simply get the intuition for knowing where the next pair of octaves will be.

By the way, what's your opinion on Chopin's larger pieces (sonatas and concertos)?

I like his cello sonata a lot (which I listened to mainly because I'm working on a cello sonata myself and needed inspiration), and I have listened to one of his piano concertos (not very attentively mind you) but I did sort of get the feeling I get when I listen to Rachmaninoff, a lot of huge dense sounding chords and lack of tenderness. I have yet to listen with the score but in general I'm not too excited about it. Apart from that, I have to admit I am not as much of a Chopin buff as I'd like to be. Mainly I'm well familiar with his nocturnes, etudes and waltzes but I do have a complete works which I am listening to slowly.

Speaking of complete works, I just bought a freaking monster Bach complete collection. 157 CDs, two DVDs and a score for every piece. So far I've only imported like 20 CDs and I already have enough Bach for a lifetime.

Anyway, have you learned any of Beethoven's piano sonatas? I'm not quite familiar with the grading system for piano so I don't really know what 10 RCM is.

[Froge]

I like his cello sonata a lot (which I listened to mainly because I'm working on a cello sonata myself and needed inspiration), and I have listened to one of his piano concertos (not very attentively mind you) but I did sort of get the feeling I get when I listen to Rachmaninoff, a lot of huge dense sounding chords and lack of tenderness. I have yet to listen with the score but in general I'm not too excited about it. Apart from that, I have to admit I am not as much of a Chopin buff as I'd like to be. Mainly I'm well familiar with his nocturnes, etudes and waltzes but I do have a complete works which I am listening to slowly.



Speaking of complete works, I just bought a freaking monster Bach complete collection. 157 CDs, two DVDs and a score for every piece. So far I've only imported like 20 CDs and I already have enough Bach for a lifetime.



Anyway, have you learned any of Beethoven's piano sonatas? I'm not quite familiar with the grading system for piano so I don't really know what 10 RCM is.

I was more so referring to Chopin's piano sonatas, as I've never actually listened to his cello sonata before. I recommend Chopin's Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor, which is known for the "funeral march" third movement, as well as the first movement of his Sonata no. 3 in B Minor (which I posted here). Unfortunately both are far too difficult for me to play as they are possibly even more challenging than his ballads.

Also I do not believe Chopin's concertos are anything like Rachmaninoff's. He composed only two and I find them to be ingeniously crafted. I would highly suggest listening to Alexis Weissenberg's interpretation of the first movement of the Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, which is my favourite Chopin piece due to the sheer depth and intensity of the emotion evident in it, especially at the coda:










Actually, most people seem to prefer Chopin's second piano concerto, which I quite enjoy as well, but I don't find it to be nearly as profound as his first.

I do plan on learning a Beethoven sonata if I get to starting my grade 10 piano exam, but otherwise I'm not very familiar with them at all. From the few that I've heard, however, such as his E Major Sonata no. 9, his works do have a distinctly more "classical" feel than the romantic era that I believe he belongs to.

[Kman]

For Bridge and Chrono (and anyone else here interested in classical):
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/list.php?listid=118767

You're welcome

[Wooderson]

Goddamit, dancing pony advert by 3 has this stuck in my head...

[Kman]

I can't believe how unnoticed this has gone, it's legitimately a masterpiece for its genre.

I mean come on 16 views ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!