alfor wrote:I have to decide whether to post the pile of 50+ scores still on my shelves. Is it worth the labour?
Who would be interested in some Riesemann, G. Weber, Gernsheim a.o.?
Please let me know by giving me a personal message.
Thank you!
Regarding the masses of individuals playing the piano, a number of 10.000 people should be interested in such rare material - but as you can see pianophilia has a mere 500+ members! And an estimated number of
3 to 5 people are actually playing my scans!
Alfor
You already know for sure my opinion on your Generosity
So, if you didnt Took me into your account it is min. 6
Keep doing it (i am sure every member with me)
Oren
I second Oren - you didn't count me either - though it is true that I can not play ALL of your scores. (There are some that I simply look at and sigh and don't even print out, let alone attempt to play). That doesn't mean I don't appreciate them all.
yes, I will continue my postings.
I just was (and still am) curious how many people would answer and show interest.
We have quite a number of people in this forum who prefer not to play (or "live"?) for the masses, but instead prefer to give rarely played music to a small number of connoisseurs who are able to really appreciate what they are doing.
...this is the essence of individuality and so I will give you more scores, even if they are only for a handful of individuals...
Best regards.
alfor
Best regards, Alfor S. Cans
Music is a higher revelation than wisdom and philosophy (Beethoven)
I also would like to echoe all the opinions, and I believe Alfor is so kind sharing so many pieces with us in a daily basis. However, I'd like to give some opinions about the forum, and I'd like to reinforce, it's only my way of seeing things.
1. Alfor only shares what he wants. We only download what we want. But, when we download any piece we could try to give at least some feedback. You don't have to play the piece, but thank the uploader.
2. I do not believe that with files that reach one hundred downloads or more, there's only three to five playing them. But as I said in point 1, most of them do not share their thoughts with us.
3. The amount of pieces is amazingy large. If it's great to have lots of scores, and so much music to explore, in the other hand, most users do not have time to play every piece ( still, they play some of them, for sure ), and many pieces Alfor uploads are of considerably great lenght. ( Speaking for myself, I have still so many to explore by Chopin, Brahms, Beethoven, etc... It's hard to absorve all the stuff. The members who have a much bigger repertoire than me, should give the example, and take the lead exploring the new composers.)
4. I speak for myself, but some may share my opinion, when I am looking for rare pieces ( with quality ), and for new composers. At the same time, we have to make some choices, because we can't play everything. All this to say, maybe Alfor could rest more often, and scan only the really, really good and rare pieces. I like everything Alfor posts, but I can't compare my joy in downloading the Mlynarski pieces or the Kaun preludes! They're both enjoyable, but I must add, I won't have time to play the Mlynarski ever, or I will lose room for more important composers.
5. The reduction of scans can also be made in the scores we already have. Maybe we don't need those improvements so often. I love the quality of Alfor scannings, but if I already have all the Bach works, one Alfor scan of Bach is like a candy with more sugar on it. I already had the candy, but now it tastes even better.
6. Once again, I just want to state this are my honest opinions, and I hope all the members understand. I am not talking to anyone in particular, but for all of us, including myself.
7. Alfor, keep up the good work. But do not exaggerate, you have to rest sometimes.
alfor wrote:I have to decide whether to post the pile of 50+ scores still on my shelves. Is it worth the labour?
Who would be interested in some Riesemann, G. Weber, Gernsheim a.o.?
Please let me know by giving me a personal message.
Thank you!
Regarding the masses of individuals playing the piano, a number of 10.000 people should be interested in such rare material - but as you can see pianophilia has a mere 500+ members! And an estimated number of
3 to 5 people are actually playing my scans!
Well. Alfor -- I for one was very pleased to see the Gunst! Scriabin's first biographer, I think, and friend of his and Goldenweiser etc. I will play those one day. I also was keen to see the Engel, which is very hard to find. I don't download and play everything. At the moment, I'm learning all of Iberia, plus concerti by Rachmaninoff and Scriabin, as well as some contemporary works (Radulescu, Aperghis) so you will understand I don't have the strength to play much more ... but I do quite often programme things you have found and posted, as you know! So the decision is yours, of course.
alfor wrote:I have to decide whether to post the pile of 50+ scores still on my shelves. Is it worth the labour?
Who would be interested in some Riesemann, G. Weber, Gernsheim a.o.?
Please let me know by giving me a personal message.
Thank you!
Regarding the masses of individuals playing the piano, a number of 10.000 people should be interested in such rare material - but as you can see pianophilia has a mere 500+ members! And an estimated number of
3 to 5 people are actually playing my scans!
Alfor
You already know for sure my opinion on your Generosity
So, if you didnt Took me into your account it is min. 6
Keep doing it (i am sure every member with me)
Oren
And Alfred you also know my opinion of your incredible generosity in providing us this rare and often times great material. While the download count may appear slim to you, be aware that not all pianists are computer literate (or want to be, for that matter). I know the joy my piano friends get when I hand them a great score--a great many of which you provided. And I'm sure I'm not the only one passing around your scores. I have found teachers around here jump at some of the simpler material--needing a break from the standard materials and many serious pianists out there are astonished at many of your finds. So my laser printer gets put to good use churning out multiple copies!
Thank you very much for more feedback than I was expecting.
There definitely is one critical point in posting:
When looking for rarities I often have to order (or buy) scores "blind" ("blindly"?*), i.e. I cannot estimate their quality before I actually have a look at them. So sometimes I am a bit disappointed. The Engel and Mlynarski pieces for example are more "lightweight" than I imagined. But as they are really rare and hard to get I nevertheless decided to post them.
So please accept my apologies in advance if not every work of Riesemann, Schäfer, Gernsheim, etc. which I will post in the next weeks is a true masterwork.
*what is correct English??
Best regards, Alfor S. Cans
Music is a higher revelation than wisdom and philosophy (Beethoven)
alfor wrote:Thank you very much for more feedback than I was expecting.
There definitely is one critical point in posting:
When looking for rarities I often have to order (or buy) scores "blind" ("blindly"?*), i.e. I cannot estimate their quality before I actually have a look at them. So sometimes I am a bit disappointed. The Engel and Mlynarski pieces for example are more "lightweight" than I imagined. But as they are really rare and hard to get I nevertheless decided to post them.
So please accept my apologies in advance if not every work of Riesemann, Schäfer, Gernsheim, etc. which I will post in the next weeks is a true masterwork.
*what is correct English??
Dear alfor,
I write not as a moderator now but purely personally. What you have just written is in fact a response to your own question about feedback and perhaps explains why there is so little and says something about your "rarities'.
Because you entitle your thread as "rarities" that literally means that what you post is unknown or virtually so. That in turn means that people will download your postings to see if it is something that they will like. If it doesn't interest them as much as they hoped then obviously they won't write a response to the melody of Thanks for posting it but I think it sucks, you don't want to hear that and they don't want to insult you for at least trying to spread the existence of unknown (possible) masterpieces.
I think for your own peace of mind and the request for feedback etc. I would assume that everyone is grateful for your postings but that not everything will be universally received as a lost masterpiece. There is an old saying " You can please some of the people some of the time but you cannot please everybody all of the time" and that is obviously the case here. What you must expect is that everyone appreciates your imput without necessarily having to say anything, look on it as a bonus if some people express their delight, but please do not expect it.
I don't know if you have ever played the organ in church, but if you had then you would know that I know what you are feeling, the only time people speak to you is when you make a bollocks of something, occasionally some people will stay behind to listen to something you have sweat blood and tears on and express their appreciation, but it is not usual. Just be thankful that no-one has written to say that you have posted a load of s**t, now that would be demoralising.
best wishes
brian
Alfred, while you may not know the content of a score before you get it, and you are "ordering blindly"....you have a mighty fine batting average! It can't be just luck.
