As a Chopin music lover, I really enjoy learning about his music through your analysis and explanations. Thank you very much for that! My favorite interpretor of Chopin's music, and in general, is still Alexei Sultanov. I like him very much as a great great pianist and a great great human being! Greetings from Croatia!
All of your videos are amazing! I love them and I learn a lot from them. I deeply admire your effort preparing, playing and recording all of that! I'll certainly appreciate a lot a "how to practice" video! Thank you very much for this channel!!!
What a wonderfull and deep explanation of this fantastic Chopin' s masterpiece. Thank you very much dear friend of mine. I' m proud to listen to your lesson. Bravo!
Awesome, thank you Greg. A very nice piece to play, although I tend to stumble over the transition from bar 7 to 8, where the left hand has to make a jump whereas the right hand is rushing to the reprise. Obviously a good excercise for the brain ;-)
Thank you so much! I’ve been working on this piece for quite a while now. And I would love to watch a video about how to efficiently practice this piece! I hope you keep continue making these kind of videos! I really enjoy them especially the Ballad in G. And by the way you, are you also going to make an analysis video about Chopin etudes?
Hi, just saw your comment. Yes, the Etudes will be published in December/January. Ok, I'll try to prepare the tutorial video as well. In the videos about etudes I'll probably focus on their difficulties as well!
I really enjoy watching your videos. I'd appreciate it if you can also touch on the use of pedals as I always have doubts on when to release the soft pedal. Thanks!
Hi professor Niemcruzk, could you please let me know how i use the pedaling from bar 13 -24? Pedal Every beat because of the melody? Would like to hear from you🙏 thank you
Hi Greg, Chopin competition was over. And I have more time to start watching your lecture videos again. Well, I have been watching your videos in an unorganized fashion ... having watched anything it came up on my laptop screen "next". Is there any order(s) you recommend for a beginner like me to watch your videos? Or, it doesn't matter?
Hello. Yes, definitely there is an order. You should start from Mazurkas. Check my playlists and find the one about the Mazurkas. And start from the first one - op.6 no.1. and than you should go up with numbers; op.6 no. 2 , 3 ,4 etc. And than you should also go up with the numbers of Opuses.
@@gregniemczuk Thank you very much!! I will follow your recommendation. Should I move on to Nocturne or something else after Mazurkas? I think going through Mazurka will take time for me. And I don't need your recommendation now, but I would appreciate it very much if you think about it. Thank you again and have a great rest of the week!
I think he wrote this after he heard the other composers, impromptu, and knew he could do so much better, which, of course he has. they are not in the same class at all
Chopin's use of asymmetrical rhythms...3 in the left hand against 4 in the right hand...is both intriguing and ingenious! But he obviously did this intentionally, because he could have easily used a straightforward symmetrical rhythm of 4 against 4 in both hands. So, in many ways this "Impromptu" is in essence a rhythmic "Etude". Compare this piece to the First Impromptu in Ab Major, Op. 29, where the rhythm is a simple 3 against 3 in both hands. Another Chopin piece that uses asymmetrical rhythms is Prelude No. 8 in F# Minor, Op. 28, where a very similar Etude-like problem exists with 3 in the left hand against 4 in the right hand. Thank you for doing such a fine analysis, Greg!
@@gregniemczuk Yes, I totally agree with your comparison regarding the asymmetrical rhythm in the Valse Op. 42. What’s so interesting about the Valse Op. 42 is that we have 3 in the left hand against 2 in the right-hand MELODY (only)…even though the notes themselves are NOT asymmetrical (3 against 6). This poses a totally different technical problem for the pianist, compared to the Fantaisie-Impromptu or the Prelude in F# minor…where the notes are an asymmetrical 3 against 4. As you said, this is fascinating! Peter (your FB friend)
I'm a little sad you didn't discuss the 1835 version any more than a (very) brief mention of it at the beginning... having heard many recordings of 1834 and Rubinstein's recordings of 1835 (which are the only ones I know of) and having read through both, and even having note by note, marking by marking compared the two, I have to say I'm immensely disappointed that 1834 became wildly popular and 1835 was almost unanimously ignored when Rubinstein came into possession of it. There are so many significant differences between the two, to the point that I actually grew to dislike 1834 significantly but still love 1835. I have no problem with people who have listened to both extensively ending up preferring 1834 over 1835 but the complete lack of anyone talking about it, let alone actually playing 1835 is just saddening to me. My personal opinion is that 1835 sounds vastly more finished and more musically cohesive to me, but even if some 90+% of people disagree with me it should be reasonable to at least consider both when looking at the piece. Edit: having proofread this one last time after posting it, I realized that my tone might seem very negative. I want to clarify that I really enjoyed watching your analyses of Chopin's works so far and have, although not having consistently agreed with your interpretation (which is probably a good thing, imagine if everyone thought of music in the same exact way!), have found new and interesting details in pieces I love that I never noticed before thanks to your videos.
Thank you so much! You are correct. I should have mentioned both versions!! The thing is, that I played both and I personally prefer the simpler one, the earlier one. Maybe I should prepare an extra video about this second version. I'll think about it. Thanks for this important point!
@@gregniemczuk Thank you for the reply! I'd love to see a video on it, although if you don't have time for it for a while or decide not to I'd understand.
Thank you for your very interesting comment. I am sitting here with the Henle edition of the Chopin Impromptus which contains both versions. They both are from 1835 so let me talk about the autograph version (the version Rubinstein discovered 1960) and the Fontana version (the normal one,used in this video). There are of course 1000 more recordings of the Fontana version. Also Rubinstein himself played this version in his recordings from the fifties of course. In his 1964 stereo recording he played the autograph version. Claudio Arrau recorded the Fontana for American Decca 1953 and the autograph for Philips 1980 .Also Nikita Magaloff recorded both versions with some 20 years apart. In the Henle edition both versions have 138 bars , but Rubinstein cut out bar 121 and 122 in his 1964 autograph recording. Arrau played it complete as in the Henle Edition.
@@mikelemie768 The differences are sort of difficult to summarize as "main differences," because they're more so a lot of small, fine-tuning tweaks rather than big changes (which isn't to say that they are not significant to playing or listening, quite the opposite is true). There are still some general statements that can be made though, so I'll list some here: The left hand harmonies and shapes have been changed in many ways, almost every measure is different in some way The phrasing/voicing for the right hand in the two e major sections is marked very differently, with phrase lines and a second quarter note line as opposed to quarter beat slurs and accents The left hand keeps the triplet polyrhythm through the coda section as opposed to switching to 8th notes There is also a near complete lack of pedal markings There are also many other reshufflings or adding and removing of notes but this comment is already long enough. I am fairly enthusiastic about this topic though so perhaps one day I will make a list in a document of all the differences I find in the edition I have (henle).
It occurred to me when I heard the first version by Mocheles, that it was kind of silly and very much sounded like circus or carnival music. I thought Chopin might have heard that and thought “oh jeez, I’m going to fix that” and gave us something with character, but who knows what the truth is. I spent a lot of time trying to learn this one and gave it up maybe not forever but for a while because the left hand was always open and stretched out and it aggravated my carpal tunnel syndrome and my fingers got all numb. That’s my excuse. 😝
Emotions and impressions are too different. They give so different impressions of feelings. They give different messages. Meaning, feelings and messages make any music piece different than others. And Chopin's fantasy has much more beautiy and depth but the other one is superficial and childishlike playfulness
As a Chopin music lover, I really enjoy learning about his music through your analysis and explanations. Thank you very much for that! My favorite interpretor of Chopin's music, and in general, is still Alexei Sultanov. I like him very much as a great great pianist and a great great human being!
Greetings from Croatia!
I would love love love to see your idea of a video about how to practice this piece. That would be absolutely amazing!
Thanks for reminding me!!! I'll make it soon!!
Same here!!
@@gregniemczuk Yes a video on how to practice Fantaisie-Impromptu would be fantastic!
All of your videos are amazing! I love them and I learn a lot from them. I deeply admire your effort preparing, playing and recording all of that! I'll certainly appreciate a lot a "how to practice" video! Thank you very much for this channel!!!
What a wonderfull and deep explanation of this fantastic Chopin' s masterpiece. Thank you very much dear friend of mine. I' m proud to listen to your lesson. Bravo!
I wish I had a teacher like you....
Awww, thank you!
Thank you for your dedication. Chopin wins!
WOW - THIS was so fascinating to compare with the Moscheles! Thank you!
Indeed!!!!
Thank You for an incredibly beautiful video and please for another one - how to practis this amazing piece! 💗
Its always a pleasure to accompany your lessons
Fantastic analysis! Thank you
Thank you very much,
I enjoy listening to these Analysis videos, especially the Nocturne in B-major Op. 9 no. 3 video which I think is my favorite
I'm so happy to hear that! Thank you! It was a lot of work for me but knowing that it's important for people makes me so happy!
Fantastic!!! Bravo!!! I never, never had heard anything about that. Your sensibility is beautiful. Thank you so much!.
Thank you Tania!!!!!
Brilliant!
Absolutely wonderful !
I agree that hearing your study and practice ideas would be fantastic.
Thank you!
Enjoyed your explanation about this piece, really a new discovery.
Thanks. I'm glad!
Great video 😊 Saluti from Italy 🇮🇹
Thank you so much for your teaching!
Thank you for watching!
Amazing breakdown and analysis. Thanks for posting this.
Yes I would like a video on how to practice this.
Thanks Greg! I am playing this for my friends next week and I have got some inspiration. Great😊
Cool! Good luck! Thanks for watching
thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Thank you so much!
Love this analysis so much, Greg. This is again so useful to me. I'm going to book an online lesson!
Wonderful!! Ok, just write me an email on gnpiano@aol.com
@@gregniemczuk Just sent you an email. 🥳
Yes … I will look for video on how to practice ! Thank you so much
Fascinating! Thank you so much!
Thanks!
This is Magic!
Gracias
Thanks amazing tutorial ! 🎹🎶🌈🎬👏
Thank you!
Awesome, thank you Greg. A very nice piece to play, although I tend to stumble over the transition from bar 7 to 8, where the left hand has to make a jump whereas the right hand is rushing to the reprise. Obviously a good excercise for the brain ;-)
Thank you so much!
I’ve been working on this piece for quite a while now. And I would love to watch a video about how to efficiently practice this piece!
I hope you keep continue making these kind of videos! I really enjoy them especially the Ballad in G.
And by the way you, are you also going to make an analysis video about Chopin etudes?
Hi, just saw your comment. Yes, the Etudes will be published in December/January. Ok, I'll try to prepare the tutorial video as well.
In the videos about etudes I'll probably focus on their difficulties as well!
@@gregniemczuk yayyy!!!
I really enjoy watching your videos. I'd appreciate it if you can also touch on the use of pedals as I always have doubts on when to release the soft pedal. Thanks!
You demonstrated this music so beautifully, I wonder if you have any live performance video of this piece
Yes I do but from 5 years ago! th-cam.com/video/9HE3C1DQguQ/w-d-xo.html
Hi professor Niemcruzk, could you please let me know how i use the pedaling from bar 13 -24? Pedal Every beat because of the melody? Would like to hear from you🙏 thank you
Yes Daphne!
Hi Greg, Chopin competition was over. And I have more time to start watching your lecture videos again. Well, I have been watching your videos in an unorganized fashion ... having watched anything it came up on my laptop screen "next". Is there any order(s) you recommend for a beginner like me to watch your videos? Or, it doesn't matter?
Hello. Yes, definitely there is an order. You should start from Mazurkas. Check my playlists and find the one about the Mazurkas. And start from the first one - op.6 no.1. and than you should go up with numbers; op.6 no. 2 , 3 ,4 etc. And than you should also go up with the numbers of Opuses.
How to understand Chopin's Mazurkas?: th-cam.com/play/PLXV2RLvTljMiK0T52I69DXt-J3QBCiOi5.html
@@gregniemczuk Thank you very much!! I will follow your recommendation.
Should I move on to Nocturne or something else after Mazurkas?
I think going through Mazurka will take time for me. And I don't need your recommendation now, but I would appreciate it very much if you think about it.
Thank you again and have a great rest of the week!
@@hiroshitanimoto6234 maybe Ballades, than Valses, than Polonaises, than Barcarolle, Berceuse, Scherzos, Sonatas Nocturnes, Fantasy in F, Preludes.
This is the chronological order of my videos.
Isnt the main riff oddly similar to one of the last measures of beethoven moonlight sonata mvmt 3?
It is!!!
I LOVE UUUUYY
Did u ever post that vid about how to practice this ?
Thanks for translate in English.
I think he wrote this after he heard the other composers, impromptu, and knew he could do so much better, which, of course he has. they are not in the same class at all
Chopin's use of asymmetrical rhythms...3 in the left hand against 4 in the right hand...is both intriguing and ingenious! But he obviously did this intentionally, because he could have easily used a straightforward symmetrical rhythm of 4 against 4 in both hands. So, in many ways this "Impromptu" is in essence a rhythmic "Etude". Compare this piece to the First Impromptu in Ab Major, Op. 29, where the rhythm is a simple 3 against 3 in both hands. Another Chopin piece that uses asymmetrical rhythms is Prelude No. 8 in F# Minor, Op. 28, where a very similar Etude-like problem exists with 3 in the left hand against 4 in the right hand. Thank you for doing such a fine analysis, Greg!
Yes exactly! We have similar problem also in the Valse op.42. Fascinating!
@@gregniemczuk Yes, I totally agree with your comparison regarding the asymmetrical rhythm in the Valse Op. 42. What’s so interesting about the Valse Op. 42 is that we have 3 in the left hand against 2 in the right-hand MELODY (only)…even though the notes themselves are NOT asymmetrical (3 against 6). This poses a totally different technical problem for the pianist, compared to the Fantaisie-Impromptu or the Prelude in F# minor…where the notes are an asymmetrical 3 against 4. As you said, this is fascinating! Peter (your FB friend)
I'm a little sad you didn't discuss the 1835 version any more than a (very) brief mention of it at the beginning... having heard many recordings of 1834 and Rubinstein's recordings of 1835 (which are the only ones I know of) and having read through both, and even having note by note, marking by marking compared the two, I have to say I'm immensely disappointed that 1834 became wildly popular and 1835 was almost unanimously ignored when Rubinstein came into possession of it. There are so many significant differences between the two, to the point that I actually grew to dislike 1834 significantly but still love 1835. I have no problem with people who have listened to both extensively ending up preferring 1834 over 1835 but the complete lack of anyone talking about it, let alone actually playing 1835 is just saddening to me. My personal opinion is that 1835 sounds vastly more finished and more musically cohesive to me, but even if some 90+% of people disagree with me it should be reasonable to at least consider both when looking at the piece.
Edit: having proofread this one last time after posting it, I realized that my tone might seem very negative. I want to clarify that I really enjoyed watching your analyses of Chopin's works so far and have, although not having consistently agreed with your interpretation (which is probably a good thing, imagine if everyone thought of music in the same exact way!), have found new and interesting details in pieces I love that I never noticed before thanks to your videos.
Thank you so much! You are correct. I should have mentioned both versions!! The thing is, that I played both and I personally prefer the simpler one, the earlier one. Maybe I should prepare an extra video about this second version. I'll think about it. Thanks for this important point!
@@gregniemczuk Thank you for the reply! I'd love to see a video on it, although if you don't have time for it for a while or decide not to I'd understand.
Thank you for your very interesting comment. I am sitting here with the Henle edition of the Chopin Impromptus which contains both versions. They both are from 1835 so let me talk about the autograph version (the version Rubinstein discovered 1960) and the Fontana version (the normal one,used in this video). There are of course 1000 more recordings of the Fontana version. Also Rubinstein himself played this version in his recordings from the fifties of course. In his 1964 stereo recording he played the autograph version. Claudio Arrau recorded the Fontana for American Decca 1953 and the autograph for Philips 1980 .Also Nikita Magaloff recorded both versions with some 20 years apart. In the Henle edition both versions have 138 bars , but Rubinstein cut out bar 121 and 122 in his 1964 autograph recording. Arrau played it complete as in the Henle Edition.
What's the main differences?
@@mikelemie768 The differences are sort of difficult to summarize as "main differences," because they're more so a lot of small, fine-tuning tweaks rather than big changes (which isn't to say that they are not significant to playing or listening, quite the opposite is true). There are still some general statements that can be made though, so I'll list some here:
The left hand harmonies and shapes have been changed in many ways, almost every measure is different in some way
The phrasing/voicing for the right hand in the two e major sections is marked very differently, with phrase lines and a second quarter note line as opposed to quarter beat slurs and accents
The left hand keeps the triplet polyrhythm through the coda section as opposed to switching to 8th notes
There is also a near complete lack of pedal markings
There are also many other reshufflings or adding and removing of notes but this comment is already long enough. I am fairly enthusiastic about this topic though so perhaps one day I will make a list in a document of all the differences I find in the edition I have (henle).
It occurred to me when I heard the first version by Mocheles, that it was kind of silly and very much sounded like circus or carnival music. I thought Chopin might have heard that and thought “oh jeez, I’m going to fix that” and gave us something with character, but who knows what the truth is.
I spent a lot of time trying to learn this one and gave it up maybe not forever but for a while because the left hand was always open and stretched out and it aggravated my carpal tunnel syndrome and my fingers got all numb. That’s my excuse. 😝
This guy on his head is actually Chopin.
🙏🙏🙏👍
Yes how to practice this piece would be very interesting. Might make my piano teacher of 9 years roll over in her grave!
Emotions and impressions are too different. They give so different impressions of feelings. They give different messages. Meaning, feelings and messages make any music piece different than others. And Chopin's fantasy has much more beautiy and depth but the other one is superficial and childishlike playfulness
I love your video , it's fantastic ! thank you!
Thank you!!!