Hi Henry
First of all, I love this recording. If you were to someday release your music professionally, yes I would re-record it. But I love how you captured a moment in time that'll never be forgotten. I love the imperfections, the mistakes don't mean a thing. It's like when someone is giving a great speech, and they stutter a little; does it really matter? Or when actors purposely stutter and fumble their words a bit. They do it on purpose because it's more real, and that's how your recording felt to me. I love the bell at the end too, it was perfect timing haha.
You do a really good job at developing your material. All of it makes sense since it stems from previously introduced themes. And speaking of themes, they're fantastic. I especially like the end of the A theme (bars 19-23). Sometimes I hear certain parts of a theme or a piece in general and wish the composer did more with it, but I think you gave us listeners just enough of it. Your piece made me think of Beethoven, sort of in texture, but also the way he treated material and saved moments of the theme to savor until the end (I'm thinking Appassionata mvt.1).
The B theme is very well done too. Your music is drenched with emotion, something not everyone can achieve. I really like the parts where you added the trills in it too; you're quite the player, and this was 10 years ago!
I really like the transition into bar 56, but I wouldn't have written that section that way. Half note = 176? I would have used quarter = 176 and halved all the note values, but that may just be a preference. Bringing back the B theme was nice with the triplets underneath, and then the dramatic section at bar 84 was very cool too. Very "symphonic" use of the piano there.
All the development leading back to the introduction at bar 151 was great too, I like all your compositional technique. There were a few moments where you use low whole or half notes to transition to something, I'm not quite sure I'm a huge fan of it. It definitely works, but something just felt missing. For instance at bar 212, I would have done a slow rising figure with an accelerando or perhaps feathered beaming to mimic the left hand in bar 213 to get to that spot. I just think it would have been smoother, but like I said, what you did works (I'm just being nitpicky :P).
My only real gripe with the piece is the coda section at bar 221. Yes I know you developed the chordal section you had previously, but to me it just came out of left field. I will say that this was my FAVORITE section though. Your melody is extraordinarily beautiful here, but to me we had several minutes of a Beethoven style, then all of a sudden we were getting Chopin. I loved the musicality of it, but I felt like it was tacked on instead of making sense as to where you were taking us. The ending is quite nice as well, and you should be proud of this one!
Overall, very well done, Henry! You've got great composing chops, as well as piano skill. I'm glad you posted a live recording, even with it's faults. I'd rather hear you play it with a few minor mistakes then listen to a robotic midi rendition, we just don't get enough of that around here. I've posted a few older pieces here as well, but I'm very interested in what you're working on currently! It was nice to hear this, and it would be great when you post something recent so I can hear how you've developed as a composer. Wonderful job, and thanks so much for sharing!