<p>GU Jingdan</p><p>Chopin: Nocturne, Op. 27, No. 1. </p><p>You show a beautiful tone and a fine legato. Everything sounds very smooth and musical. The singing voice (melody) is rather monochromatic in conception. You don’t seem to be aware of different shades of sound, particularly the ones “coming down” at the end of phrases. An added diminuendo could make your playing more touching and poetic. Those moments of intimacy can make a difference between a routine and a great performance. You always take the music very seriously. I advise you to listen to recordings of the great pianists of the so-called Golden Age (Rachmaninoff, Hoffman, Friedman, Moisiewitch, Cherkassky, etc.) in order to become familiar with an expressive style which is not “crying” all the time. A smile once in a while can be welcome. The middle section creates intensity by an increase in volume rather than by stressing the growing agitato character. The left hand octaves start too slowly and are played too carefully. I commend you for achieving a nostalgic feeling upon your return to the A section. </p><p>Chopin: Etude in F Major, Op. 10, No. 8</p><p>The left hand should sing more. The final result sounds more like an “etude” than a beautiful piece. More color changes are needed in the right hand, from legato to non-legato, from a deeper to a lighter touch, etc. The ending is rather routine. I also find the performance a bit too slow. </p><p>Chopin: Polonaise in F Sharp Minor, Op. 44</p><p>A great choice of piece for the competition. Be careful with the pedal so that you do not erase the rhythmic feeling of the Polonaise. The right hand octave scales going up should be more melodic rather than brilliant (Chopin, not Liszt!). The pedal in the connecting section, between the Polonaise and the main Mazurka, should follow Chopin’s markings, which are more interesting and daring by the momentary blur achieved. The Mazurka section is too square. Smile! This is not such serious music! Give a sense of improvisation!</p><p>In sum: you are talented and a serious student. You need humor and personality. Everything you do is predictable. You seem to be following your teacher’s instructions. They are excellent, but you must make the music come from yourself so that you can approach an artistic level instead of merely sounding like a very talented student.</p>