My first Chopin waltz.When I first heard a recording of this piece, I was struck by how bright it sounded because typical interpretations tend to be super light and brilliant with a lot of sparkle. But I quickly became much more interested in the slower, more lyrical B section as it added some interesting contrast.
Of course, it all makes sense given that the waltz is called “Valse du petit chien” (Waltz of the puppy). You get a sense of the puppy’s playfulness in the A section followed by its cute laziness when napping in the B section, and the whole piece just feels like a lot of fun. And of course, the dancelike feel of the inherent waltz adds a lot of charm to the piece as well.
This piece wasn’t too difficult to learn as the runs in the A section sit very nicely on the hand. However, it was still a bit difficult to finalize because I never found a way to play the trills the way that I wanted: they always ended up a bit too heavy and a bit too loud. Maybe I can blame the heaviness of the keys on my piano, but I’d rather think that there’s perhaps something more that I could have done, maybe with a wrist rotation or something like that.
Controlling the A section too turned out to be a bit of a challenge. Because of how good it feels, I can play the piece much faster than what would be advisable or musical, so choosing the right starting tempo and not rushing was paramount to a good performance.
Of course, I can’t talk about this piece without talking about the B section. In the midst of all this speed, sparkle, and fun, we get this incredibly smooth, connected, calm, and lyrical section. It’s a part that I can relax into, take my time with, and really feel and enjoy.
And then that receives some juxtaposition from a bouncier, drier second half that is somehow even more fun than the fast runs because of how much character is imparted in those notes.
Finally, the A section is reintroduced with even more vigor and charm than before, sweeping us up in one final dash to the finish. Fun!
In learning this piece, I basically spent a week learning the notes, then kept it on the backburner until my recording day in July, which, if you’ve been following the channel, you’ll know that it was perhaps my most relaxed recording day in the sense that I put no pressure on myself to get a perfect take, simply because I was so burned out from the videos I was making.
So unfortunately the left hand sounds a bit uneven, the right hand misses a few notes and is a bit rough around the edges, and I almost wish that there was a bit more character in some of the bounces.
But while this wasn’t perfect, I am still quite pleased with the result.
It was interesting though to see how my interpretation came together. Of course I listened to Lisitsa’s interpretation (analysis here: ), and I imitated her slowness in the B section. I also listened to Cateen’s, and I mimicked the way he ramped the tempo back into the A section coming out of the B section, as well as some of his textures in the A section.
Anyways, this was a fun little project, and I hope you enjoyed my performance!
Until next time,
- Watt
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