Piano Stories III Impressions

mysterious_x · Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 6:22 pm Post subject: Piano Stories III Impressions

The Melbourne performances were last night, and... what can I say? Alexey is simply incredible. I was fortunate enough to have had a 2nd row seat, so my friends and I had a great view. It was my first Piano Stories, being in Melbourne, and I have to say that if there's another, I'm not gonna miss it!

I won't spoil the track list for those in Sydney who want to find out on the night... but it was very well chosen. I only regret that I was a few minutes late and heard the first song from the back of the theatre. Sad

Then Ayako came on stage... and she looked stunning. I'd almost forgotten how graceful she plays, it's been that long since ANIF. Hiro came out too, and what pure class! Laughing

Seeing this trio on stage again was fantastic. Awesome job, guys!

And then I bought my CD which was kindly signed by the performers. I've already listened to it twice. Cool

Thanks to the performers and all the organisers - it was a great night!

What did everyone else think of the performance?

NoMaD · Newbie Joined: 16 Apr 2006 Posts: 4

It was also my first time to a PS concert and it was a great night. I couldn't buy any of the merchandise or else I wouldn't have enough for dinner! Sad

Should've bought more money with me.

Nonetheless, fantastic performance! I'll hopefully see you guys again at ANIF'06 in Melbourne.

The_Flauteest · Newbie Joined: 15 Apr 2006 Posts: 11

i'm so angry i missed it!!! I've been interested in the Eminence events for ages now but since they never came to Melbourne until now, i never had a chance. and now that they have, i missed it!!! Will they do ANIF06 in Melbourne? If so, i'm gonna fly back from Canberra just to see them for sure.

mysterious_x · Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 1:43 pm Post subject:

lesrais · Newbie Joined: 17 Apr 2006 Posts: 1

I saw the 7pm Melbourne show and I'm sad to say it was appalling. From my experience of piano playing I found Alexey an amateur who looked like he was sight reading or learning the music for the first time. He would often peer at his sheet music (I'm sorry, but professionals should play by memory). His playing stumbled along - it was unsure, clunky, lacked emotion and he made so many mistakes! The concert was saved by Ayako and Hiro who played beautifully (even then, Alexey's timing was off with them).

I was very disappointed by this concert! Sad

The_Flauteest · Newbie Joined: 15 Apr 2006 Posts: 11

lesrais, i wasnt at the concert so i dont know what it was really like, but i think ur one comment about how professionals should play by memory is quite wrong. personally i believe professionals should play by memory but just b/c they dont doesnt mean they're not professional. it's true that if u look at the younger, newer classical stars (Lang Lang, Li Yundi etc.), they're mostly playing by memory, but many older, established musicians don't play by memory. Geoffrey Lancaster (prominent australian classical pianist) actually believes memorising is a "circus trick", and although i completely disagree with that notion, it is a good example of how a real professional doesn't need to memorise.

but since i wasn't there, i don't know what he was really like. you're probably right about how he was sight-reading though, i heard he only got the music a couple of days b4 the concert. still, it shouldn't be that hard for him to sight-read, as far as i know most piano versions of video game music have simple homophonic textures which means they only have one main line going at once with a simple accompaniment (like Aeries' theme from FFVII and Eyes on Me from FFVIII). I find it amazing though how Nabuo always manages to nail the atmosphere immediately and so filled with emotion with such technically simple music.

-=SeRaPH=- · Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 8:57 am Post subject:

Thank you for all that came to Melbourne PSIII!!!

I'm here to tell you some situation we ran across with Piano Stories III and explanation to some of the performance issues we have had.

In the end, it is up to the audience to decide how a concert went and to my judgement, it went pretty alright, many of them very satisfied and happy about the concert. But as a musician, there are many things that could have been better.

I will list out some good and bad things about the concert and how it will be improved. Some points are just pure statements though Very Happy

1) Alexey do not need to play without music. Even in International Competition, modern music do not need to be performed by memory. Another factor is Alexey is playing music completely out of his usual genre whilst playing concerts at a pace of more than 2 concerts a day of different program. If you look at Pinchas Zukerman (Violin) for his debut performance in Carnegie Hall, New York, you can see he is looking at music although he is a world class performer, performing music that he can easily memorise. It's not that you have to play by memory. It's the end result, did it sound good or not?
2) Performance level was not the best. It will never be the best. Considering Alexey was only allowed to touch any piano from 1330 on concert day, with two piano keys out of action, he did very well to balance the situation. It is disappointing to see National Theatre renting out pianos that are in a condition of low maintenance.
3) Last minute program changes -> My bad... I have changed some program last minute to spice things up. This is error on my part as Alexey had several different concerts a day or two before the concert and I didn't calculate enough time to go through some music. Transcripted material such as one of the encore pieces didn't arrive as predicted in our timeline. He got the music on Friday... Crying or Very sad

4) Lack of emotion? Not really. There are mainly two types of performers in the musical world (who are both very good). Myself and Ayako are the types to express music outwardly by our body language and facial expressions whilst we play emotionally too. Alexey is one of the rare breeds who does not convey emotions through external expression but only through the music he plays. It is seen more often in old school Russian performers such as Igor Oistrakh (compare him to Maxim Vengerov). However, I personally think Alexey was shaken by the fact of completely out of function two keys he often used. Although they say "bad workman complains of his tools" or something... you can't do much about a broken tool.
5) From all the points in defending Alexey, I myself thought he can perform better too. We are organising sessions to go through the music again so that this will not happen. Now he ain't got much excuse now that he's playing on a well maintained Steinway at the Conservatorium of Music. For all those people who gave us feedback, we greatly appreciate it and for some who didn't appreciate the concert, please give us a bit of leeway and come back for the next concert. I assure you as director of A Night in Fantasia, you will enjoy your concert. If you don't... then you can speak to me and I will arrange something to satisfy your... dissatifaction!

Zan · Eminence Crew Joined: 09 Sep 2005 Posts: 16

I thoroughly enjoyed it myself. I did notice in some pieces, it sounded like there was a key missed pressed but I assured myself it was not possible, Alexey was a professional! Smile

Regardless of the technical difficulties, it was an awesome performance.

I like the use of the PA system to make annoucements made prior to playing the pieces. It's much better then the previous Destiny concert in that area since it was easy to here what you guys were saying and which piece the concert was up to. I would have enjoyed watching some presentation (slide show prehaps?) in the background but I understand this takes sometime to prepare. Adding some visuals could spice it up but it's not neccessary.

All in all, a great performance. Can't wait for the ANIF06!

Just a side question, I've been to both Destiny and Piano Stories concert now and have noticed that many of the pieces are are mainly focused on Joe Haiashi and Nobuo Uematsu's compositions, and although I'm a big fan of both of them, there are other composers which I would like to hear pieces from but haven't seen any. Music from composers such as Noriko Matsueda and Takahito Eguchi (FFX-2), Toshiro Masuda (Naruto), Ooshima Michiru (Full Metal Alchemist) and Kajiura Yuki (Tsubasa Chronicles) have really nice pieces. Are there issues with playing pieces from these composers like licensing and such?

This will also tie in with a query regarding the Journey's on a Piano CD. I've noticed again mainly pieces solely from Nobuo and a few from Joe, yet my favourite pieces (I can't mention the names in case I spoil it for others), weren't on it! =P My gripe is it's relatively easy to find FF OST's and piano collections yet harder to find music from Joe. Any reason for doing so?

J-Hisaishi · Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 1:01 pm Post subject:

Very good explaination -=SeRaPH=-..
The only point I am against is number 4..its true that a piece of music can play in two way, but in my thought, modern animation music needs to be play with emotion (At least for Japanese Animation). Why, animation music was wrote for a certain scene to express its meaning (eg sadness, happyness etc), how can such music play without emotion. Emotion doesnt need to be express visualy from the player. I think music without emotion is not a music...Perhaps Alexy should listen to the original music and feel what it was written for.

squall3031 · Regular Joined: 04 Sep 2005 Posts: 116

well, i came to 7 PM session.

I got to say, the music selections were arranged in bad order. i meant, i got sleepy at one point because i listened to the slow musics in 2 or 3 in a row (especially in the first half). The only play which had me excited in the first half was Vamo's alla flamenco.

2nd half, well, i only enjoyed the part where hiroaki and ayako joined to play.
but overall, i would say my money didn't go to waste because i witnessed great music play ^^.

Keep it up Wink

i'll be going to the next event as well.

mysterious_x · Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 6:36 pm Post subject:

-=SeRaPH=- · Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 7:31 pm Post subject:

J-Hisaishi · Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 9:35 am Post subject:

mysterious_x · Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:39 am Post subject:

The_Flauteest · Newbie Joined: 15 Apr 2006 Posts: 11

even "old classical music" requires emotion, most of the time much more than modern anime/movie music. It's like vintage wine. you just gotta know how to taste them.

EDIT: and by the above, i did not try to imply that "you are superior and more elite" if you can appreciate older classical music. simply, don't underestimate it's depth and musical content just b/c you don't fully understand it. Wink

-=SeRaPH=- · Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 1:54 pm Post subject:

Tali · Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 2:05 pm Post subject:

Very well done I think.. I especially loved when Aya and Hiro were on stage. I looove watching them perform

As Zan said, some visuals like in Destiny would have been nice, again, but it still went well without it.

One thing I would suggest Hiro, is that maybe you should grab a microphone when you speak to the auidence? I was far at the back and I couldnt hear you too well, which was a pity cos everyone was laughing Sad

squall3031 · Regular Joined: 04 Sep 2005 Posts: 116

Charly · Newbie Joined: 14 Jan 2006 Posts: 40

I loved the concert! I'm not going to say much more. It was stunning.

Visuals would be good though. I saw the screen and expected some videos to be played for each song. That would be great, but would it be a distraction for the musicians?

Tali · Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 8:58 pm Post subject:

Thats what they did in Destiny.. but the muso's werent facing the screen. It looked good to me, but I dunno what the muso's thought of it

Nephtis · Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:26 pm Post subject:

J-Hisaishi · Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 9:10 am Post subject:

If I offend any one, please accept my apologies, but after all this is a personal opinion.

-=SeRaPH=- · Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2006 10:45 am Post subject:

No offence taken.

It's just very interesting how people takes things. People can appreciate some views and not others. As a performer, I aim to be playing in a versatile style to fit audience with a lot of taste.

mysterious_x · Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2006 2:44 pm Post subject:

Nephtis · Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2006 5:08 pm Post subject:

I take it from your comments that you attended the first session. In the second Hiroaki introduced suteki da ne, which in retrospect was a good move. He talked about Uematsu, made a few jokes and I feel awakened to crowd. Perhaps it would be best to do this for some of the songs to mix it up a little.

mysterious_x · Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2006 6:20 pm Post subject:

The_Flauteest · Newbie Joined: 15 Apr 2006 Posts: 11

yeah i agree. if a performer interacts with the audience during a concert, the performer will no longer be percieved as just a stranger on the stage (or in some cases, a celebrity beyond normal reach) and will make the audience feel more comfortable and engaged. It also helps to break a litte bit of the tension from the formal setting of a concert hall. And it doesn't have to be humour, just simple charm will give that effect. I guess in a way, it shows humility from the performers.

as for the thing about mobile phones, i'm not sure if it's such a problem as long as it's done right. I once went to an ACO (Australian Chamber Orchestra) concert where the concertmaster said "And please, i understand if people need to cough since it's winter and the flu's been going around, but at least do it in time". I guess you had to be there (and said in the right tone) but it was amusing at the time and wasn't at all out of place.

teehee · Newbie Joined: 19 Apr 2006 Posts: 10

is it to early for someone to post up a track list of sorts of what were played at the perfomance? or even just a rough count of how many were played from which anime/game/other?i managed to miss this one (and this was going to be my first time too Sad

) i'd just like to get a better idea of what i missed and if i'm familiar with many of them.

elatin · Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2006 12:20 am Post subject:

Just came home from the night session in Sydney and I absolutely loved it! Of course not evey performance can be flawless, because performers are only human, so I'm more than happy to overlook the few mistakes made [like Hiro beginning to play 'Merrygo Round of Life' from Howl's Moving Castle instead of 'Two of Us' ;P hehehe, I don't know if anyone else picked it up...but it did get me a little excited -I love Howl's Moving Castle]. Anyhow, even though i thought the pefomances were lovely, I must admit that some songs did seem fairly longwinded, like Aerith's theme being repeated...great melody, but I thought it dragged on a tad too long. And also, i don't have anything against musicians who refer to sheet music, but I did find myself thinking that Alexey was sightreading, but then I would think...as if he'd be able to pull off playing like that if he was just sightreading...but yes. hahaha not sure what my point was after all that...

But I'd have to say my favourite songs were: Two of Us, Those who Fight, FFX Ending Theme(!!!!), HANA-BI, Two Heart not Captured and Decisive Battle.

But yes! Can't wait for the next Eminence event ^_^!

chocohi · Mega Forum Addict! Joined: 09 Sep 2005 Posts: 518

yup! i thoroughly enjoyed the evening session, got home not too long ago (took ages to get home XD)

but i got front row seats and it was great. sure there were some mistakes, but alexey blended it into the song pretty well to cover it up like a true professional haha.

The performers were great, i loved the expression alexey had put into majority of the songs. My friend was complaining that Alexey bashes the keys too much like me HAHAHA. but i thought it was great =] The performances with hiro and ayako sounded beautiful as well, the harmony sounded slightly off though in one of the songs. (sorry about refering to you so casually, its just easier - still hold respect for you guys hehe)

some timing problems on a few songs i think or alexey was chucking rubato everywhere lol, but hey loved it =]

and oooh man, decisive battle, woooooo that was fun to watch. same with those who fight.

Overall an excellent job guys, looking foward to ANIF06. (as well as the 2005 cds and dvds =P)

Keep up the good work!