PianoTell Recital #8 Is Now Live!

navindra · 2026-05-15T14:33:21+00:00

Welcome to PianoTell Recital #8! Sophia — Moon River by Henry Mancini rach3master — Ravel: Miroirs - La vallée des cloches (The Valley of Bells) BartK — Chopin Nocturne in B-flat Minor, op. 9, no. 1 iternabe — Sonata in A minor, K.3, L.378 by Domenico Scarlatti Peyton — Arizona Sky — Original song Nightowl — Climb Every Mountain by Rodgers & Hammerstein KevinM — Songs Without Words 19,1 Felix Mendelssohn, the very first in the series MarieJ — Written on the Sky by Max Richter mel_lem — Oquirrh Mountains Shining by Kevin Olson rogerch — Spring Storm JillCrosslandPiano — Schubert D946/2 (No 2 from the Three Piano Pieces) Jane — Berceuse, Op. 57 by Chopin ShiroKuro — Miracles by Alexis Ffrench navindra — Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas by Hugh Martin & Ralph Blane You can reply to each performance directly. Enjoy! This is an archive of the recital announcement. Don't miss out on PianoTell's 8th recital! 🎱 This is an opportunity to share your music if you are a seasoned player, showcase your progress milestone by milestone if you're an active learner, stay motivated and on track, or simply contribute to the community fun! One might even argue that performing is truly what it's all about. For inspiration and a general idea of the recital format, just take a look at past Quarterly Recitals: PianoTell Recital #7 PianoTell Recital #6 PianoTell Recital #5 PianoTell Recital #4 PianoTell Recital #3 PianoTell Recital #2 PianoTell Recital #1 Everyone is welcome and what you submit is up to you. For questions or comments or updates on the recital, please go here instead. Submit your performance now! To submit your performance, simply reply to this post and fill in the details. If you don't yet have an account on PianoTell, the sign up process is very easy and completely free. Just look for "Sign Up" at the top of the site. Your submission will only be visible to yourself and the recital coordinators until the recital goes live on 15 May 2026. You can look at PianoTell Recital #7 to get an idea of what the recital will look like when it goes live. Template **Performer:** Name or Alias, Location, Experience. **Piece:** Title by Composer **Comment Policy:** (See below) Replace this line with the link to your performance. **Source of music:** ... **Instrument:** ... **Recording method:** ... **Additional info:** ... if(window.hljsLoader && !document.currentScript.parentNode.hasAttribute('data-s9e-livepreview-onupdate')) { window.hljsLoader.highlightBlocks(document.currentScript.parentNode); } You may use the following template to specify the Comment Policy: No Comments Please! Positive comments only (no criticism or suggestions for improvement please). Positive comments and suggestions for improvement (no direct criticism please). All comments; anything goes! Link To Your Performance: If you have a video, that's great! Otherwise, audio-only is fine. Upload your performance to YouTube, Vimeo, Gumlet, SproutVideo, Rumble, SoundCloud, or Google Drive. Your media may be public or unlisted but private will not work. The direct link needs to be posted so that the performance is embedded on PT. Ask for help! Dropbox option: If hosting your performance using YouTube or other service is not possible, then you may submit your audio (e.g. MP3) or video file (e.g. MP4) here instead. In your recital submission, you can just say you uploaded your performance to Dropbox. Submitters are requested to keep their performances up for at least a period of 90 days and as long as possible after that. Do you want to host your performance elsewhere? Please let me know so that it can be tested. Example I hope Tom doesn't mind that I used his video purely for illustrative purposes with some fictional details. **Performer:** Tom from California, USA. I've been playing piano on and off since I was a kitten! **Piece:** Serious Piece No. 1 in C# by Jerry **Comment Policy:** All comments; anything goes! https://youtu.be/QpEfHVFilRc **Source of music:** This was composed and shared with me by my friend Jerry. **Instrument:** NY Steinway D **Recording method:** iPhone X with large condenser microphones. **Additional info:** This wasn't the performance I had exactly planned. A lot went wrong, but I dealt with it in the best way I could. Regardless, I'm quite pleased with how this turned out and I believe the audience enjoyed it. Thanks for listening! if(window.hljsLoader && !document.currentScript.parentNode.hasAttribute('data-s9e-livepreview-onupdate')) { window.hljsLoader.highlightBlocks(document.currentScript.parentNode); } Performer: Tom from California, USA. I've been playing piano on and off since I was a kitten! Piece: Serious Piece No. 1 in C# by Jerry Comment Policy: All comments; anything goes! Source of music: This was composed and shared with me by my friend Jerry. Instrument: NY Steinway D Recording method: iPhone X with large condenser microphones. Additional info: This wasn't the performance I had exactly planned. A lot went wrong, but I dealt with it in the best way I could. Regardless, I'm quite pleased with how this turned out and I believe the audience enjoyed it. Thanks for listening! Have fun!

Seeker

iternabe Thought I'd chime in here with some additional thoughts and responses.

We worked on this piece from the two volume set edited by Ralph Kirkpatrick for Schirmer https://www.amazon.com/Scarlatti-Sonatas-Volumes-Schirmers-Classics/dp/0793526116. I met him when I was at Yale School of Music playing harpsichord for a (think it was) violinist for a jury. He is certainly expert on Scarlatti and the style; there's a lot of useful information in the preface.
It was good that iternabe waited until AFTER working on the piece BEFORE looking at the Longo edition. I recommend this as a practice so that you get your own ideas prior to looking at an edition which is very personal. Probably the biggest example that comes to my mind is the Schnabel edition of the Beethoven Sonatas. Comparison with an "urtext" can be really instructive, and before you ask, yes, I think Schnabel's edition is worth having and consulting, but I do not recommend trying to be another Schnabel. Find your own way.
On sitting lower - I strongly disagree with the assertion that playing in a low seated position, "...for most, ...can lead to strain once one starts playing faster more technically demanding music...". While sitting low might, in some cases, contribute to strain in combination with other technical defects, just sitting low has not had that effect on me or my students. I base this on my own experience as a student of David Saperton (taught Bolet, Simon, Foster, Masselos, et al) and much later, of Peter Feuchtwanger. I came to my first Feuchtwanger Master Class in Huede, Germany in 2009 - a high sitter, elbows out, hold the ball. I was first up after their lunch (I staggered in somewhat jetlagged having arrived just the night prior and taking a train that left me next to an empty field and no way to call a taxi (but how I solved that is another story). I went to the piano, adjusted the bench up as far as I could, sat to play, and..."Andrew, you are so high, could you sit a little lower?". I did as requested, began again, and once more "Andrew, you're still too high, could you sit a little lower?" This went on 3 times in all, and on the 4th try, as I put my hands on the keys, "You are so close, could you move the bench out please?" This only happened TWICE, but then I was finally in position to play. Did it feel natural? No, not at that moment, where I was about to play in front of a class full of seriously staring seriously German pianists watching my every move. But I prevailed and played.-
He told me that he very much liked the way I played, how I sounded, asked if I ever felt uncomfortable, pain, and so forth, to which I replied "some times". He answered "I can help you", and so we began. I was willing to have "Beginners Mind" one more time.
What I can say now, on the other side of a transition from high/close/hold the ball to lower/further/flat hand & fingers curved at first joint/wrist at rest BELOW the surface of the keys, is that I play better and with more ease than ever before. I went back to Germany 3 years later to play Rach 2 to much praise from him and the applause of my peers; I had trouble playing it as a high sitter; almost none after making the change.
The other thing I will say is that the QUALITY of the sounds my students and I get playing in this way is better that what I was getting before - it is "Bel Canto" playing, and all my students, even the least advanced, play musically and lyrically using their hands and body in the ways I teach them.

I hope this is useful information. If you want to dialog with me about any of it, PM me here or use the contact form at the bottom of any page on my website at https://andrewkraus.com.

Nightowl

MarieJ Thanks! 🙂 It helps that this piece is from one of my favourite films, so I was happy to keep playing it until I knew it well enough to relax when I hit the red button.

pianoloverus

iternabe And those fast scales at the opening of each section - every time I thought I got them, my teacher reminded me they need to be more even and crystal clear, and we tweak more minute details of my technique again. I can still hear where they are not up to par in this recording - they will remain in my daily warm up routine for a long time.

Other than the 5 note left hand scale passages you mention you seem to have solved the other technical problems very well especially considering the amount of time you been studying piano. As in virtually all your recordings, this one shows careful thought, conscientious practice, and excellent instruction.

CHAS

Jane — Berceuse, Op. 57 by Chopin

Lovely Well played

mel_lem

Thank you all rogerch ShiroKuro KevinM Sophia MarieJ for nice and encouraging comments on my performance! I am looking forward to participate in the next recital.

I have a digital piano (on loan) to practice on while I am waiting for the shipment of my new piano. The keys are a bit wonky so I am not so excited about practicing on it 🤣. So for the time being, I rely on the practice rooms during my off days.

ShiroKuro

mel_lem my new piano

How exciting! What are you getting?

mel_lem

ShiroKuro I upgraded to Kawai Novus NV6. The shipment will arrive in July.

KevinM

That is very exciting.

I will be interested in your opinion of NV6 once you have had chance to use it for a bit and find the settings you like.

ShiroKuro

mel_lem that is going to be so great!! I’m so excited to you! So, about two months before it comes? You can think of your playing now as preparation for the new instrument, which must be quite motivating!

navindra

Sophia — Moon River by Henry Mancini

Oh I love it! This one hit me in the feels. So nostalgic and played so lovingly. Very nice arrangement too. And you didn't miss a beat turning those pages! I've also been working on a different arrangement for too long now and I'm barely halfway through.

Bravo! I think this one was your best yet! 👏

Sophia

Thanks so much for the kind words, Nav ❤️

Rubens

ShiroKuro — Miracles by Alexis Ffrench

Wow! I got an email notification today that brought me back here from the "dead"😆. Shiro, this is so amazing, brought tears to my eyes! It sounds as good as the composer's rendition to me. I knew I didn't transcribe it for nothing! Thank you for doing justice to this beautiful piece!❤️

ShiroKuro

Rubens this comment makes me soooo happy!! You most certainly didn’t transcribe it for nothing! This piece has become one of my most favorite things to play. I played it for my piano jury in May (for which I received a grade of A+ 🙂 . And I plan to keep it in my fingers and include it whenever I perform/play for people. In fact, I’ll be playing for my (82-year old) mother tomorrow when she comes over for dinner. And now @KevinM is working on it.

So again, thank you thank you thank you ❤️🎶❤️🎶❤️

Sophia

Rubens I knew I didn't transcribe it for nothing!

You did not! Even I benefited from this, indirectly. Because of your kindness, Shiro decided to pay it forward and did me a kindness recently 🙂

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