<p>PAN Linzi</p><p>No.1 Chopin: Nocturne in C minor, Op.48 No.1</p><p>- It is unmistakable that you are a very serious musician and have a wonderful instinct for drama. You play with great commitment and your ability on the piano is absolute, and I am sure you have the basis for a wonderful career in music. </p><p>- Throughout the piece, one important element of this work that has kept me questioning your decisions was your tempo and its relationship between the sections. Tempo is related to what you want to say which of course can be quite individual. Yet, with Chopin his indication and consistent clarity of the totality of the work makes a great deal of sense, and therefore dictates on how much liberties we can take. </p><p>- “Lento” does not directly translate as just plain slowness in Chopin. It is more of a certain character. Listen to the “Lento” 3rd movement of the Sonata No.2 in B-flat minor “Marche funebre”. You should never sacrifice the movement of the melodic line for an idealistic “slow” tempo that satisfies the normal conception of “Lento”.</p><p>- The theme here is flexible and has inbuilt suggestions for breathing, like a song. For me the first four measures are unified by one breath. Furthermore, in 4/4 the hierarchies of beats are 1 then 3 and then 2 and 4. So if you play all of them the same way and with the same intensity, the music has no power to move. At the same time you must explore the harmonic progression as this is also a key element in our decision of tempo.</p><p>- I would advise you try to somewhat unify the work through a well selected tempo. I am sure you will see the value in this when everything comes together with greater satisfaction. </p><p>No.2 Chopin: Etude in F major, Op. 10 No.8</p><p>- A superb performance, full of color and wonderful acknowledgement of the great harmonic power of Chopin’s music. I liked very much the lightness of your right hand and your “cantabile” playing the left hand. </p><p>- Your forward motion was excellent, although if you could only observe the small pulsating accents that Chopin places on so many notes, it would have been even more brilliant. Your consistent tempo throughout was exemplary and your observation of details was also very gratifying. </p><p>- On a personal note, I never liked the idea of playing the last chords as if they were not important. Your idea of making a diminuendo there lacked conviction. I would much rather follow Chopin’s suggestion of leading the work to a positive conclusion.</p><p>- Nevertheless, a great performance, and I truly hope you will play all the other 23 etudes.</p><p>No.3 Liszt: Ballade No.2 in B minor</p><p>- It is indeed rare to hear such mature understanding of Liszt’s music that you display through this performance. It is obvious that you have given a lot of thoughts for this piece as it is a very difficult work to hold together. There are numerous moments that are glorious and I congratulate you on having a warm and inviting sound. </p><p>- Relations within the different tempos should be more clearly defined. “Allegro moderato” to “Lento assai” and “Allegretto” must be related - the “Allegretto” should not sound faster than the “Allegro moderato” and “Lento assai” is not a complete stop.</p><p>- Shaping the “Allegretto” melody is important. In measure 25 you seem to move towards the last eighth note. Keep this very steady. F-sharp major in its most sunny disposition. </p><p>- The use of pedal requires great care. For me the passage at beginning (and similar passages) has a tendency to be over pedaled, resulting in a wash of sound as if underwater. </p><p>- The passage starting from measure 86 is much more polyphonic and should be voiced accordingly. Again the clarity of lines is more important than loud virtuoso playing. Notice how the “p” in measure 96 is maintained with only slight crescendos leading 16 measures later to “ff”. All of Liszt’s music is full of examples of his demand for such control. And indeed Liszt’s drama depends on this kind of dynamic control to a great extent.</p><p>- After the first climax, do not let the sound go so quickly – in measure 129 Liszt so wisely does not give a dynamic indication hoping that we keep the tension and prolong it to its resolution only in measure 135 where a completely different color in D major is sounded.</p><p>- Color becomes even more important in the next section when the “Allegretto” melody is in D major, then G major, and slightly in E-flat major/minor.</p><p>- This ingenious introduction of the E-flat color is even more recognizable when the main subject turns from B major to E-flat major in the next section. It is essential to define these coloring to understand how Liszt planned such a large work.</p><p>- The following climax reaches “fff” in measure 207 and indeed should be larger than the first one – again keep in mind the larger structure of the Ballade which obviously Liszt had in mind.</p><p>- In measure 215 Liszt refuses to indicate a slower tempo – take care not to allow yourself the luxury of slowing down here as it might lead you to sound somewhat sentimental. Keep the tempo moving and use dynamics and articulation to produce interesting changes.</p><p>- For me the most beautiful moment of the Ballade and indeed the best section for you is the glorious “Allegro moderato” in measure 254. You really capture the true majestic sound of Liszt that is as close to speaking to us about humanity as Beethoven in the final movement of his Ninth Symphony. Well done!</p><p>- The final climax is the highest of them all, and again you must have the perspective to achieve this – the fullness of the chords with the urgency and large gestures of the upward swing of the scales must be much more fulfilling than what you displayed – but it will come in time.</p><p>- Leading to the coda is difficult to realize and you must work on this, especially try to gradually lead the “ritardando” from the fast passages to the “Andantino”. In your performance the “Andantino” seems to be faster as if you want to bring back the “Allegretto” tempo – Liszt is wise, he wants to conclude in a tranquil mode and sets a tempo that without any further slowing down gives us peace and finality.</p><p>Pan Linzi, you are a very talented pianist, and already in many ways mature and with personal ideas and convictions. You use your prodigious technique to enable the music to speak in a most natural way. You also pay careful attention to the text and take it seriously as it guides you through the composer’s intentions. You have a special gift and I do hope you will continue to develop and intensify your musical awareness.</p>