PIAS 118
I’m back after a long hiatus. Here’s why I was gone, plus Nouvelle Etude 1 and bits of Op. 25 4, 6 and 11.
A report on how practicing Chopin helped me play Brahms last week; some quotes from Chopin (and one from Chuck Close); thinking through my next performance (with a request for your ideas); snippets of all 24 etudes (I’m ignoring the other three for now); an impromptu play-through, with some yelling, of 10/5; how I’m practicing 10/11 (and a couple of minutes of actual practicing).
Thanks so much to listeners who have written reviews on iTunes. Unless I get 100 reviews by December 20–and it doesn’t yet look like I will–there will be only five more episodes of this podcast. Thanks for being my practice buddy!
Putting play into practice; two silly things I did this week, including putting words to 25/4 (with different versions for different editions); a new approach to 10/1 and 10/2.
Trying to concentrate with a toddler; a couple of tricks from backstage; wrestling with articulation and pedal markings in 25/4; permission from Chopin’s TA.
The very first listener question, the answer to which involves babbling about harmonies in 25/1 in possibly excruciating detail. The importance of mapping and landmarks, and a cautionary tale. This week’s practice strategies for 10/2, 25/4, and 25/7. Also: a rule about performing and caffeine.
An attempt at 10/2; the left hand of 25/4; some thoughts from the MTNA conference (including how Menahem Pressler talks about legato); how to practice an orchestral part.
Play It Again Swig 