Week 4 - Return of the Finisher 🏆

Steve Price Very interesting piece, Steve! I remember you introduced us to Annette's music a while back - I must say I really enjoy her work. (Modern, but accessible.) One comment I would make about your interpretation (it's a question, really): would it make sense to preserve the sense of meter more? By which I mean, slowing down the quarter note passages, so that their temporal relation to the flourishes is more apparent. (The converse would also be possible - increasing the speed of the flourishes, but I don't think that is what's intended. And anyway, I like the way you're doing them now!)

Blaise Laflamme Thanks, Blaise. I appreciate it. This has been fun to work on. 

David Krupka I agree and think there are a couple of tweaks I want to make in future takes. I actually want to tighten up a couple of the flourishes. Since it is Neruda's ode to the guitar, I think Kruisbrink makes use of a lot of different techniques, but she might appreciate a little bit of fire in places to showcase that element. It will still stay pretty loose overall, though. The piece is marked liberemente and my current interpretation is based on how I hear the different phrases, a great performance by Serhat Bulut, and my own limitations since it's so new (It's not too technically difficult, but it's challenging to get anything like a clean take in a piece with sooo much space...things like releasing a string or breathing come across so loud, lol). It's also followed by a piece made up of a constant stream of arpeggios, so I like the idea of the contrast between the two. I really do appreciate the input, David. 

Steve Price I agree with you about the difficulty of playing passages that move at a very slow pace! All of a sudden, the smallest imperfections make themselves apparent, at least to the performer - perhaps less so to the audience. It also requires sustained concentration to play slowly (even in practice) and that is something many of us find difficult. (And even worse, in my experience, our ability to maintain focus deteriorates with age ... 🤕) Thanks for pointing out the performance by Serhat Bulut - not a name I know, but obviously a very fine guitarist.

Steve Price As already stated, what an interesting piece.  Usual I tend to shy away from the more modern pieces, but this on I was clearly drawn in.  Hope you post again after working on it some more.

Steve Price Nicely done. I really like the atmospheric feel and the tone color of this piece. 

Steve Price This is wonderful, Steve. I have a collection of Kruisbrink's works but this is one of the best I have heard from her. I hope/wish there is more. Are you going to present more from this collection?

Great performance and thanks for sharing.

David Krupka I am not sure why you think our attention deteriorates with.... oh look, a squirrel!

Dale Needles Ron Thanks for checking it out. I really appreciate the feedback. 

Jim King Thanks a lot, Jim. Annette Kruisbrink is interesting since she covers the full range from the most lovely little pieces to some really extreme modern works, so I really enjoy going through her music to find the sweet spot for me. 

Jack Stewart Thanks a lot, Jack. This is probably my favorite set by her, at least of the stuff that's close to my range. They're a mix of everything from the Ode to the Present, that's basically a rock song, to the Ode to Broken Things that sounds, well, broken. They're all pretty short, so the plan is to get one or two more up to speed for this. Thanks again.