[respox]

Hi!
Great to see people play the paraphrase! While I would agree with you that a calm and serene piece that is beautiful is more artistically attractive than a brute piece that is brute just to be brute, I think that it's exactly because of that that the concert paraphrase lacks something. The simple harmonies and simplicity make the Dearly Beloved arrangement in the PC very touching and nice, but when they get bloated with simple technical means (which are very hard to play nevertheless), it just doesn't feel right. While I love the Paraphrase, I have the impression that something is 'missing' in there, I would have loved to see some musical complexity. It's the same technical measures up and down and just moved by one note and then a a few notes further down, and you won't find something like this in Chopin I believe. It's sad and that's why I am looking forward to the second collection and would love to see some development in this area. (Many other of the PC arrangements have the same problem IMHO - being pianistically bloated, sounding much more difficult than the actual challenge, and being quite repetitive - but that doesn't neccessarily have to be something bad in every respect)

GermanSeabass' version, although sounding very similar, is essentially something else, as it tones down the difficulty because it is something like a "simplified version" in many passages if you want - while being a great transcription achievement given the time frame, and having some distinct and beautiful timbres in his own recording (of which I wished the official paraphrase had them). But if you want to learn the piece, go with the official score; while it is definitely much more difficult, actually knowing which notes to play and thus seeing and understanding the patterns makes it also somewhat easier and more manageable imho.

[The-Real-Link]

I am learning the Official version. I own the book.
I am by no way comparing the concert paraphrase to Chopin or Liszt. In truth, there is very little that can compare with them. Chopin in particular. The level of artistic and emotional depth that Chopin achieved with his compositions are unmatched, in my opinion. The Nocturnes, Preludes, Etudes, and Waltzes in particular. As you said. The concert paraphrase seems very Rachmaninoff-esque to me. It is, of course, not as difficult as Rachmaninoff, but it was definately influenced by his style. I guess it is still a matter of personal opinion. I know several people who abhor the music of W. Mozart. I love Mozart's music. I am a big fan of Robert Schumann. Many people can't stand the music of Schumann.

I have not heard GermanSeabass' version, so I cannot pass judgement on it. I can say that with the second piano collections I would like to see a return to the style of the Final Fantasy Piano Collection. FF8 in particular was amazing! They are difficult not because of the actual notes to be played, but because of the emotional and artistic competence required by them.

[MilesOfMusic]

I just recieved the book and I must say the arrangements are quite difficult. I think though now after listening to them for quite a while, the main features of the majority of these pieces are their technical sparkle. I think they would be great study pieces. There's a bit in the right hand in the finale of the sonata which I cant quite get my hand around in bar 49 (letter 'E'). And the concert paraphrase, looks like a workout! These pieces have been in I think a completly different style to the Final fantasy piano collections, but none really stand out as a really interesting arrangement. I hope the second piano collection is better. Has anyone else heard Sinister Sundown. Right now it's in a prototype stage of development, but it sounds like it would fit in with the 1st KHPC because its style is quite similar. Hope the rest arent.

*(FF VIII piano collection was amazing - I loved it)

[respox]

Hello!
@The Real Link, yeah I understand where you are coming from. After all, most of the game music arrangements are from a musical genre that is nothing that would be considered 'new' or 'contemporary' by classical standards. And the masters of the music that game music tries to imitate are still miles away. But that doesn't mean that game music is not enjoyable! Oh, and if you haven't seen GermanSeabass' version, then absolutely do so. He transcribed it himself in an excellent effort and it has some really beautifully sounds that sound better than the original version. Oh and I agree that the pieces from the FF8 (and for me also FF6) PC are very dense in a musical point of view.

@Miles of Music, I agree with you on the difficulty of the KHPC, and I would like to add that this difficulty seems to be a bit "profane" for my taste, it's very repetitive and sometimes gives the impression of having been included just for the sake of sounding impressive. As much as I love some of the pieces of the collection, I would really like to see an improvement in that regard in the next one, which is why I am really looking forward to it

[Harriet]

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