Here is the next track in the Virtual Master Class Project. This is a recording of the third movement of Beethoven 5. Leave criticism, advice, practice tips, and the like by clicking on the ‘comments’ link below the player.
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E-mail me submissions here (jsh177@yahoo.com)
Beethoven 5
Candidate 5
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I would be surprised if someone find something negative to say. Virtually perfect, in my opinion.
Make sure to fully give rhythmic value to the pickup C natural at the beginning.
It is also traditional to come down dynamically in the middle of the first full
bar of eighths, so that you can crescendo into the G half note in bar 3.
I think the eighth note articulation was cleaner when you had it softer at
the end of the excerpt, but in the louder sections, try using more vertical
energy in the stroke, so that the stick is grabbing the beginnings of the notes,
and then releasing for the body of the note. I do this stroke off the string,
thrown, with my whole arm, giving bite to the beginnings of the notes.
In the quarter notes in the first few lines, try to make one long phrase
throughout. Sometimes the articulation was so cutting on each quarter
that the line was lost. Check your octave G’s for intonation, and always
phrase the whole series of G’s, not each bar.
A few observations – first off, the whole thing is fantastically clear. Great job. There is one spot where you hang on the quarter note at the end of a phrase too long, almost as if its a half note. Its hard to tell from the recording, but I think there should be sharper articulation on the 8th notes in general. Finally, it is a bit on the slow side in my opinion. Obviously performance tempos are subjective and there is a tradition of WIDELY ranging tempos for this movement, but I think current fashion is to play it a bit closer to dotted quarter=88. Excellent work overall, though.
A few observations – first off, a strong performance overall, with good intonation and bow control throughout. My suggestion would be to work on the excerpt with a good deal less bow closer to the bridge. There are instances where the string is rattling against the fingerboard, be careful to be too close to the fingerboard, as the string is more flexible there (especially during the B-section). Remember that this is a scherzo and your phrasing of the 1st section did not reflect the rhythmic fact that this is just a minuet sped up to a fast degree. Some of the quarter notes were a bit long, and overall I would like to hear more crispness with the articulation. That said, the decrescendos were well controlled and by far the bast part of the performance. Good luck and good work.
The first C was the appropriate length, but the pitch was not entirely clear. The 8ths were sometimes unclear in the lower register, probably due to too much rosin or a bass with an excessive amount of natural surface noise. Less rosin and a more off the string bow stroke might help. Dynamics were spot on. Pitch was spot on. Timing was great, but there were 2 spots where the rests were not played the correct length. The style was very reflective of the period.