stephen Heller: Prelude in C# minor, Op. 81 No. 10

[mymymyweb]

BRAVO!

[PSearPianist]

@mymymyweb Thank you!

[Htcgoodman]

My teacher sight read this in one sitting stumbling only once.

[PSearPianist]

@Htcgoodman Well, you have a very good teacher. I had to practise it to make the video!

[Htcgoodman]

@PSearPianist Haha I'm just giving you a hard time. I think this is a great video and it helped me hear the sounds of the Prelude at an exceptionally fast tempo! well done. She also has a Doctoral Degree in Piano Performance so it makes sense.

[DrMyrnz]

You have such dexterity in your fingers!

[PSearPianist]

@DrMyrnz Years of practice, I guess!

[thinkgreenlovepurple]

This is great, I'm learning this study right now and was looking for another interpretation, aside from the one on the RCM CD. I like the faster tempo, although I can't play it nearly as fast yet!

[PSearPianist]

@thinkgreenlovepurple Thank you! I do think the composer wanted a fast tempo to give the idea of a 'dashed off sketch'. I wish you success with your study of the piece!

[jamma140]

Great piano skills but play it a LITTLE bit slower(a teensy bit) cuz you can't really hear all the notes. but great piano skills!

[PSearPianist]

@jamma140 Thank you.  I think it needs to go at this speed, to capture the effect the composer wanted, even at the possible expense of clarity (depending on the acoustic).

[DrMyrnz]

this is awesome! you're a great pianist!!! stephen heller is my favourite artist <3

[PSearPianist]

Thank you. I hope you liked my speed for the piece!

[daviddebonomalta]

This is way to fast. I played this for my grade 10 exam that i did in august, I live in Canada. I got a 5.5/6 for this piece, a 93 overall for the exam which only 3% of people that take the grade 10 exam achieve. You play it way to fast, this is not a study as my teacher said, it's supposed to be played with the soul.

[PSearPianist]

I played it in the way that to the best of my abilities captures the mood that I think the composer wanted to achieve - as indicated in the fast metronome marking on my Schirmer edition. That could well be a different speed to what one would use in an exam. I am pretty sure that if, say, Lang Lang had this piece in his repertoire he would play it at least as fast as me.

[SerephinaQ]

@daviddebonomalta The beauty of not playing for exams is that you get to interpret the song yourself instead of playing exactly like the royal conservatory cd. I am sure he obviously would have had no trouble slowing the song down if he wanted - personally I think it sounds amazing :)

Sorry for bringing up something from ages ago but I always find it annoying when people say there's only ONE proper way to play a song :p

[omega255]

ive been trying this piece for ages, and i still cant get it right at those sorts of speeds. i remember trying to do it very quickly in the exam, and it went horribly wrong, but im determined to get it right.

great video, and you are a great pianist

[PSearPianist]

Thank you! I play it at a 'concert' speed, and you do not need to play it as fast as that for an exam. The important thing is to get across the feeling of a dashed-off pen and ink sketch, which is what the composer wants!

[ceduxi0n]

I stopped playing piano for 10 years and only picked it up again when I decided to drop everything I've previously been working on in university to become a music major. I played this piece a little slower, but it convinced the dean and department chair to let me take advanced courses and forego a few along the way.

I like your phrasing and how you played this piece, the areas where you pulled back, etc. I just want to say THANK YOU for posting THIS video :)

[PSearPianist]

Thank you for your comment. if my video helped in any way to advance your university music studies, I am delighted!

[ceduxi0n]

Actually, yes it did. I would probably never come across this Heller piece if it weren't for this video :)

[PSearPianist]

Few people know the other preludes, but this one is well-known to a lot of young players because it was recently in the UK ABRSM piano exam syllabus which is used quite a lot in the Far East as well as in the UK..

[ceduxi0n]

Well I live in the United States so I really don't have much exposure to the ABRSM :( Regardless, I love all the videos you've posted because they're not your garden variety recital material. Thank you, again.

[tinchofenix]

hi . i have a request if it possible ... i've been lookin for heller op. 125 no.6 from 24 studies ... but i can't find anywhere (really) .... is for listen of course i have the sheet but i wanna listen if you please can post that piece i would realy been greatful.. and help me to play it .. but i wanna listen ...

i like you videos .. i like Heller music :D

Sorry for my english rustic i`m from argentina

cheers :D

[PSearPianist]

Thank you. I don't have the Heller Op 125 studies, but I will see if I can find this one online!

[physikphilosoph]

hi!

i play it with much less pedaling, so in the later runs notes can be determined better, or distinguished better.

and less rubato, but I like your version!

[PSearPianist]

Thank you for your comment. I guess how one plays the piece depends on many factors, not least the acoustic, the tone of one's piano, and ones personal taste. I'm sure it could work with less pedal, but with a piece like this the individual notes are less important than the overall effect - here, a rapidly dashed-off sketch.

[nickligan]

i'm screwed for my exam in 3 days. ._.

so fast. and i cant even play like that for nuts =(

[PSearPianist]

As I have said to others - there is no need to play it as fast as I do for an exam. I am playing it in the way I think it should be played by someone who has learned piano for many years in a concert. Play it at a speed that is comfortable for you, but whatever you do just try to give the impression of someone dashing off a pen-and-ink sketch in your dynamics and expression. Good luck in your exam.

[ll19980408]

I'm doing my exam in three months and I pretty much get only one note right. Do you have any advice for me? =D you play awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PSearPianist]

Thanks for your kind comment. You have 3 months which should be plenty of time to learn this short piece - so don't despair. My best advice is not to rush it. Have a look at the advice I have given to others in the previous comments!

[tsuki94jy]

I'm taking my exams in three months and I have a huge exam coming up in school at the end of this year. I'm so stressed. And I'm still nowhere close to doing well enough, especially this song.

[PSearPianist]

Be patient, make sure that all your practice is really good quality work, and remember that you do not necessarily need to play this piece as fast as I do to do well in an exam. The key thing is to make the piece feel like the musical equivalent of a thrown-off pen and ink sketch.

[nickil1000]

FASttt...

[PSearPianist]

Yes - but that's the speed at which I think it should go (not necessarily for a grade exam though!)

[CwalkAsianStyle]

I had my exam today, but i didn't pick this song lol(x but you play it REAL well.

[PSearPianist]

Thanks for your kind comment - I hope your exam went well!

[signmypiano]

Loved it! Thanks Phillip!

[PSearPianist]

Thank you!

[ywclothing]

one word.... AMAZING!!

[PSearPianist]

Thanks for your very kind comment - I'm not sure I deserve it though!

[selfdystruktive]

wow, it's so good. i'm never going to get a 30 at the exam. love it.

[PSearPianist]

i'm glad you enjoyed it - but don't worry, I don't you do not need to play it as fast as that to get a 30 at ABRSM G6 (which is what I presume you are doing). The important thing is to play it as if 'thrown off like a pen-and-ink sketch' which is what I believe the composer wanted!

[darrens888]

this song is for grade 10 now :D in the new books

[godivaontherocks]

Wow...how do you manage to keep your eyes on the book all the time? I'm constantly slipping up. You're amazing - the timing, the tempo, and your articulation is impeccable! Brilliantly executed!

[PSearPianist]

Thanks for your very kind comment. I never had any aptitude (or proper training) for memorising but have a lot of experience as an accompanist, often following conductors while reading the score, so this is how I am used to playing. I'm particularly glad that you liked my brisk tempo, which I think is right for the piece!

[ywclothing]

you play so good I want to play like you :D

[PSearPianist]

Practise hard, and you could be better!

[nemesistherevenger]

I'm doing my exam this Friday. I really don't want to, because I believe that your life should not be governed by a piece of paper that states what grade you got based on a single, nerve-wracking performance. THis piece is one of my three pieces, and I both hate and love it, as Gollumn hates and loves the ring! Any tips on controling the 'arpeggio' like bit? THat's where my fingers slip the most.

[PSearPianist]

I do hope your exam goes well. For any exam (and I accompany instrumentalists in a lot of them!) you have to pretend that the examiner is a proper audience and focus on giving them what you would want to hear from another player whom you had paid to see! Re the arpeggios, all I can suggest is - do a judicious rubato - pull back a bit and put in some extra expression to compensate!

[steph1990xxo]

Amazing.

I like the speed. It should be fast!

Love this piece..

[PSearPianist]

Thank you - I'm glad you agree with my take on the tempo!

[prism690]

amazin playin.....really.....ur touch on the piano is gr8.....ur realll gud

[PSearPianist]

Thank you for your kind comment - I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[anna258]

Really good. I can't get it anywhere near that 138 mark.

:D

[PSearPianist]

Maybe you don't need to - there seem to be a lot of different ideas on how fast this piece should go. I like it fast myself.

[zrshwe]

This is Associated board grade 6 exam piece for 2007/2008. It is very nice, but I think it would sound better if it is played a bit slower.

[PSearPianist]

Thank you. I like the fast speed myself, as it conveys the feel of a rapidly executed sketch.

[cjpiano79]

Wow, definitely faster than I play it, but I enjoy your version, too!

[PSearPianist]

Thanks - there are definitely two schools of thought as to how fast this piece should be played.

[plopplip12]

Hmmm.

This certainly is a very good example for people who want to play it for the exam. I have only one criticism, however; Heller was a romanticist, and because of that period, I think that you should have added a bit more rubato.

That's just personal preference, however, and you take it however you want; I'm merely a 12 year old who can play the piano, while you are rather more experienced, I find.

[CrimsonDrift16]

hey the tempo is perfect...its give as 138=crochet...and its played perfectly....amazing job

5 stars

[yatesy917]

wtf u mong seriously i have tried this with a metronome also and its not this fast

[PSearPianist]

My personal preference is to play it fast - I have just tried it again at crotchet=138, and that is certainly a fast tempo. Rightly or wrongly this is how I want to make the piece seem thrown off like a pen and ink sketch.

[abigailweifeng]

wah...very fast.~~

is the real speed that fast??

[PSearPianist]

In my copy (Schirmer edition of the complete preludes) the suggested metronome marking is crotchet=138. That's slightly faster than a bar per second. I think that's the right speed for professional concert performance. However, if you are doing it for an ABRSM Grade 6 exam, I'm sure the examiner will accept a slower speed (you should see what the ABRSM Grade 6 book of pieces suggests). You should be guided by your teacher and not by me on this!

[wkdangel]

if possible could you check out my 3 new vids of the pieces I'm doing for my grades and give suggestions on how I could improve? Gigue, Rumba Toccata and Prelude in C Sharp minor

I've only got 1 week until the start of the exam period and I'm feeling nervous! especially since they haven't given me an exact date.

[oioisexymlaoy]

I'm glad i watched this video before i started learning this piece for my Grade 6. Sounds so much better at this speed. Very nice. Thanks for uploading

[PSearPianist]

Thanks for your comment. I think this is the right speed for the piece as a concert item - but it might not be the right speed for everyone taking Grade 6 - you and all other candidates should be guided in this by their teachers.

[dulycioso]

so fast but good

[PSearPianist]

It needs to be fast to give the impression of a quickly dashed off pen and ink sketch, which is what the composer wanted!

[jakbowtell]

Lovely!

:)

[PSearPianist]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[dingdongdumdum]

:D but but, my piano teacher wants the speed to be exactly the same as what they want so yeah. maybe I can tell her about this (:

[PSearPianist]

Yes, but you must always take her advice in preference to mine!

[dingdongdumdum]

omg. I am not going to be able to play this for my exam :S

[PSearPianist]

You don't necessarily have to play it as fast as I do - the important thing is that it is in character.

[dingdongdumdum]

but the speed is more or less like this. I'm only at the first page and the speed is not even twice as slow

[PSearPianist]

What you must aim to do is to make the piece sound as if it is 'thrown off' like a pen and ink sketch, which is what the composer wanted. I'm sure you can do that without playing it really fast. I often say to students that if you can't play a piece at the marked speed, you can compensate by putting extra expression or phrasing in to make the performance work.

[jennifersungx]

wow!

this is REALLY good.

it helped out a lot and im taking my exam on april 22!

good job!

[PSearPianist]

Thank you! I hope your exam goes well. Rememher that I play the piece at about the fastest speed it will take - but I have known the piece for more than 20 years. I would not have been able to play it that fast when I was doing my grade exams!

[toxicdiamonds]

I played this for my grade 6 exam!! You played it amazingly!

[PSearPianist]

Thanks! I hope you did well in the exam - you chose a good piece to play.

[toxicdiamonds]

I scored a distinction overall and I was awarded 28/30 for this piece! =] I've posted a vid of me playing this! It's not as amazing as yours though! :S

[happyshalalala123]

and you don't look at your fingers too! i do; it's difficult for me to not look at what i'm playing. how did you manage that??

[PSearPianist]

Because being mainly an accompanist, I have to keep an eye on the score - I have no aptitude or training for memorisation. However you will find that pianists playing from memory will often look at their hands while they play. Good luck with your exam - you chose a good piece to play.

[happyshalalala123]

you play so well :)

i'm playing this for my exam!

[menancyandsam]

Excellent. I may add that your sound quality has improved since your earlier Heller recordings. Have you changed your recording setup?

Keep the Heller coming. Do you know any from his Op. 138 (Album for the Young)?

[PSearPianist]

Thanks - my camera broke and I had to get a new one which has a stereo mic!

[brychar66]

00.34 begins a very Schumannesque passage. I don't know Heller or his dates but I imagine he was influenced by Robert. Lovely. Yes those last three chords - you get them just right. I very much admire your playing.

[PSearPianist]

Thanks!

[666Freiheil666]

its very very very beautiful...

[PSearPianist]

Thanks - it is an excellent little piece.