Chopin Ballade, opus 47 in A flat major, Melanie Snow Thompson

[ErikaRagazzi]

CooL ❺stars ★★★★★

[RabAdamson]

Beautiful *****

[melaniejsnow]

Thank you, Rab! Have a great night!-M

[joestephens3]

Great playing of the "Ondine" etude!

[RobertoFasciano]

wonderfully and artistically played!

[melaniejsnow]

Thank you so very much! My best wishes to you.

[lynndelano]

Please reenter this summer. You have the whole package. And like Van Cliburn, there may be more technically proficient but the whole package is all that really counts. He is by far our favorite and you could easily be a favorite to many, too! Good luck from Fort Lauderdale, FL.

[melaniejsnow]

Thank you for the encouragement. I've been thinking about reentering this summer. I have one or two pieces I might be able to pull out of my hat by then. Thank you for your faith in me. Best wishes.

[DancingOwl]

Very nicely played, such a pleasure to listen to.

[ritacos]

Great performance!

[melaniejsnow]

Thank you very much!

[NikonPhoto07]

This one could have gone on for hours. Awesome!!!

[melaniejsnow]

It does seem like that doesn't it. I'm glad you liked it.

[melaniejsnow]

Thank you once again, Brian. Have a great day! Mel

[wbarreguy]

Absolutely amazing.

[melaniejsnow]

Thank you!

[dmcII]

Very nice. This is a tough piece and you've done well with it. I'm working thru an injury issue at the moment but I hope to enter the VC competiton next year.

My only thought is that you seem a bit too concious of the camera. Its distracting to me as a listener/viewer & I suspect it also takes your attention away from the music. I know a camera can do that. If you can fix that, I think you'll do well because besides being talented, you are very attractive. A great combo ! Good luck !

[melaniejsnow]

Thank you for your kind comment and for the advice. I do tend to be a little camera shy. I hope your injury heals quickly so you can prepare yourself for the VC competition. Best of luck to you too!

[ArthurClairFR]

You are a beautiful woman pleasant to watch and hear.

I like also : "Our Story" (v=rn6c1u_T_HI) or "Rue des Cascades" by Dave Thomas (daveisthemusic) and more recently, the Impro "Le thème qui vous prend dans ses bras" by Emile Lelouch (lelouchemile, v=MD6_nemndsU).

I subscribed to your channel. :))

[melaniejsnow]

Thank you for viewing and your sweet comment.

Thanks for subscribing!! Best wishes.

[Escagedo3rd]

Wonderful!! Great!!

Thank you for sharing this music.

Five stars

Eloy

[melaniejsnow]

Thank you, Eloy, for viewing and your encouraging comment.

[lamcao]

very nice... thanks for the comment by the way :)

[melaniejsnow]

Thanks for the comment and for listening! and  you're welcome.

[DsmB2007]

Chopin is in my TOP 3!!! =)

Wonderful playing..!! Fantastic!! =)

[melaniejsnow]

Thank you! Chopin is my all-time favorite to hear and play.  best wishes

[xalamac]

Melanie, I saw the video of the winner of the Amateur's competition, and I only have one word............RECOUNT!

[melaniejsnow]

Thanks for your sweet words. It was a great experience for me, and it pushed me to finish memorizing this piece.  I hope to re-enter next summer.

[xalamac]

Melanie, I missed the deadline to vote for you in the Amateurs' competition, and I'm very disappointed, because I REALLY wanted to vote for you! I hope, and I pray that you win this competition. You're marvelous! :-)

[pianocraze100]

You started out nicely. However, it would be much better if you instill more passion into this piece.

[jes9015]

Hello, "fellowette competitor"! Thank you for checking out my video and for your lovely compliment. You have here an incredibly sweet, emotionally connected performance of this Ballade, so much so that it makes me want to study the piece myself. Thanks for the inspiration!

Best wishes,

Jeremy

[xalamac]

Who in the WORLD gave this three stars???

[equitater]

Good for you!! I am entering one of the Adult Comptetitions this summer.

[melaniejsnow]

Thank you for commenting. Good luck to you in the Adult Comptetion. Let me know when that is and I'll tune in.

melanie

[xalamac]

By the way, "Funeral For A Friend"/"Love Lies Bleeding" would make a GREAT birthday gift!

[xalamac]

Wow, I didn't think you'd find it that quickly! It's 30 years old. I'm REALLY looking forward to hearing it, and thanks!!!!!

[xalamac]

Are you also a composer? If you are, could you post one of your originals? I have a birthday coming up a week from tomorrow (Mother's Day), and it would make a GREAT birthday gift! :-)

[mountaincookie]

Mellie, I thought you did an amazing job with this piece! I know how much effort you've put into it and your performance shows it. I know Elsa has given you nothing but positive feedback so don't be discouraged when a "college student" considers herself qualified to give less than constructive citicism. She takes herself far too seriously and should withhold her "critiques" until she matures a bit. Of course, she is entitled to her opinions; hopefully she'll think twice before sharing them.

[xalamac]

I meant to say the YouTube amateurs competition.

[xalamac]

Melanie, you're a marvelous pianist. You have my vote for the Van Cliburn amateur competition. BEST OF LUCK!

[melaniejsnow]

Thank you for voting for me and for your encouragement.

melanie

[NinaWaterfall]

Wow. I really enjoyed hearing/watching you play. --Nina (one of Deborah's students)

[melaniejsnow]

Thank you for tuning in and thank Deborah for telling you about me. Best wishes and happy playing!

melanie

[melaniejsnow]

Hi Deborah!

So great to hear from you! Thanks for viewing and commenting. Hope all is well.

Melanie

[melaniejsnow]

Thank you. I've been worried that it's a bit under tempo. This piece will probably be a lifetime project. Chopin deserves that don't you think?

melanie

[risingpianofire]

Melanie,

I admire your playing very much. I've particularly like your control and ability to bring out the music. It's always great to hear a "slow" version.

[stxer]

Hi Melanie! you have a good handle on technique and Chopin's intent. You asked for comments. As a piano major in college, I've played dozens of Chopin's works. I think your tempo here is too slow for a performance. It's a great tempo for practicing and listening to yourself. Speeding it up carries risks! Second comment is that I feel you're holding back. Let go! Take a chance! Don't be so careful! You'll have more fun and it will sound much more spontaneous. Where did you study, just curious?

[melaniejsnow]

Thank you for listening and commenting. I studied for a while at Boise State and then at University of Utah. I have continued to study with a teacher for the past seven years after putting my music on the back burner for quite a while due to having kids etc. I have heard several speedier versions of this piece and feel that some of the beautiful detail is lost. I think if I wait to sound like Horowitz to perform this piece it may never happen. Where do you go to school?

melanie

[melaniejsnow]

Thank you! I think it's Chopin who is the really great one though. Best wishes!

melanie

[a510m]

Lovely performance, nicely done!

[melaniejsnow]

Thank you very much! I think this is a piece that will always be a work in progress.

mel

[melaniejsnow]

Hi Xavier,

Thank you so much for tuning to my channel and for your compliment. I would love to learn your request. I'm trying to find the sheet music for either of the Elton John pieces you requested and so far I'm not having any luck. I love Elton John and do have the sheet music for quite a his greatest hits. If I can't find what you're requesting, how about Levon or Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word. Let me know.

Melanie

[xalamac]

Melanie, I'm listening to you for the first time. You're an amazing pianist! I have a birthday coming up on May 11th. My all-time favorite song is "Funeral For A Friend"/"Love Lies Bleeding" by Elton John. If you can figure it out, I'd love it as a birthday present. If not, anything else is OK.