What instrument do you play?

Pretty boring... played piano since I was 7. Continued through primary and secondary school, studying it at the conservatoire, hoping to do my final exam in June. That's about it.

Originally posted by pawnhandler
Or what instrument did you play as a child but don't any more? Or what have you dabbled with? Or ... etc.

the skin flute

Electric Guitar

Try playing a double reed instrument!

Originally posted by davaniel
Pretty boring... played piano since I was 7. Continued through primary and secondary school, studying it at the conservatoire, hoping to do my final exam in June. That's about it.

So what will be your final? Well Tempered Clavier? Strictly technique or are you studying composition as well?

Originally posted by sonhouse
So what will be your final? Well Tempered Clavier? Strictly technique or are you studying composition as well?

Studying just classical piano. Playing one Prelude & Fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit and Beethoven's Pathetique sonata.

Originally posted by davaniel
Studying just classical piano. Playing one Prelude & Fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit and Beethoven's Pathetique sonata.

Do you like Ivo Pogorelich interpretation of Gaspard de la Nuit (Croatian pianist, recorded somwhere in Japan, uploaded on youtube)

Originally posted by ivan2908
Do you like Ivo Pogorelich interpretation of Gaspard de la Nuit (Croatian pianist, recorded somwhere in Japan, uploaded on youtube)

Do you have a link? I'd be interested in hearing this.

Originally posted by pawnhandler
Do you have a link? I'd be interested in hearing this.

Sure ; YouTube

Originally posted by ivan2908
Sure ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUQoFOIn8dA

Nice! Thanks!

Originally posted by ivan2908
Do you like Ivo Pogorelich interpretation of Gaspard de la Nuit (Croatian pianist, recorded somwhere in Japan, uploaded on youtube)

I've just been listening to Ondine on youtube, had a lesson with a great teacher (Naum Grubert) today on it. I've seen the Pogorelich recording on youtube, but was watching it just now to give a comment on your question. His interpretation seems musical, and of course he's certainly very able to play the piece, but from my point of view, he's just not really doing what's written, and although with some composers that can be a good thing and interesting, Ravel was known to write down very precisely (and I mean REALLY precisely) what he wanted. If he wrote down a crescendo, he wanted a crescendo, and Pogorelich doesn't do those things more often than he does.
Of course, that's not enough to find a recording or playing not good enough. I read a reaction on the youtube video where someone says that he makes it seem so easy. I think he does, which is really a good thing, because all the difficult things and the sheer number of notes (and, seriously, make no mistake, this piece (I'm talking of Ondine now, but of course it counts for the other 2 movements as well) is hauntingly difficult) should really be more or less background.

Right now, I just finished listening to it, and I must say that the places where he doesn't do what's written really annoy me (I'm sure his performance is captivating for people who don't know the piece, but manipulating a piece to do your bidding to control and amaze an audience isn't what I think Ravel had in mind when writing this piece). Pogorelich' hands and fingers and sound control are amazing, but he doesn't seem to know the poem by Bertrand or what the poem's about. He doesn't seem to be imagining enough a story or a painting he's drawing.
Apart from that, I don't think I can play the piece flawlessly as he does, or I'm even quite sure that I can't. But I do think that I will at least try to bring more into the piece of what Ravel wrote and of the poem that Bertrand wrote. It's hard, but not impossible.

Originally posted by ivan2908
Do you like Ivo Pogorelich interpretation of Gaspard de la Nuit (Croatian pianist, recorded somwhere in Japan, uploaded on youtube)

Seriously, I'm just watching a bit of Pogorelich' Scarbo, and it's really horrible. He's going so extremely fast, he's absolutely not paying attention to anything that's written (playing forte or even fortissimo where it says ppp!), it's absolutely no image, no story, no dark, haunting story, no dancing, monstrous little dwarf, just a Russian virtuoso showing his tricks.

Originally posted by davaniel
Seriously, I'm just watching a bit of Pogorelich' Scarbo, and it's really horrible. He's going so extremely fast, he's absolutely not paying attention to anything that's written (playing forte or even fortissimo where it says ppp!), it's absolutely no image, no story, no dark, haunting story, no dancing, monstrous little dwarf, just a Russian virtuoso showing his tricks.

That must've been after I fell asleep. I only caught the beginning, and then I dozed off. 😞

All stringed instruments.

Classical guitar. Here is a short video of my teacher.

YouTube