Unserious attempts to interpret serious music. My parents were both music-school survivors and wisely spared me the same fate; I eventually took up the piano voluntarily, which removed any remaining basis for blaming them. I play because there are things in music that I understand only very imperfectly from the audience side of the keyboard, and because trying to produce a phrase oneself — however inadequately — reveals an astonishing amount about why it is beautiful.
Videos load from YouTube only when you press play. Without JavaScript, the poster links to the recording on YouTube.The recordings are here mostly as evidence of the attempt.
Beethoven
▶Adagio sostenuto from the Piano Sonata No. 14 (“Moonlight”). Played on a Yamaha G5 at our Faculty. Companion essay: Quasi una tragedia.
Chopin · waltzes
▶Waltz in C-sharp minor, Op. 64 No. 2. An excerpt.▶Waltz in B minor, Op. 69 No. 2.▶Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 69 No. 1 (“Valse de l’adieu”).
Chopin · nocturnes
▶Nocturne in B-flat minor, Op. 9 No. 1.▶Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9 No. 2.▶Nocturne in C minor (op. posth.).▶Nocturne in C-sharp minor (op. posth.). Companion essay: Nocturne for a good man.
Chopin · preludes, Op. 28
▶Prelude No. 15 in D-flat major (“Raindrop”). With scenes from Nolan’s Inception as a backdrop. The citation at the beginning is adapted from Pushkin’s Mozart and Salieri. Companion essay: The one-drop prelude.▶Prelude No. 4 in E minor. Companion essay: An E minor homecoming.▶Prelude No. 7 in A major.▶Prelude No. 20 in C minor. Companion essay: Like the last ray of May.
Songs and others
▶Carlos Gardel, Por una cabeza.▶Puccini, O mio babbino caro from Gianni Schicchi. Sung by the amazing Renana.▶Andrea Parodi, No potho reposare. My arrangement, also with the amazing Renana. Companion essay: No peace until the stars end.▶Leonard Cohen, Hallelujah. Unserious video shooting and editing, unserious piano playing. The only serious guy is Neri Topchiu on the double bass. Recorded at my home in Haifa. Companion essay: A secret chord.▶Scott Joplin, The Entertainer. Played on an old Steinway from the 70s at MFO in Oberwolfach. A fringe benefit of going to German math conferences.
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