Play-throughs (with some a little yelling) of last week’s porch concert: Katerina Ruzickova’s Four Pieces for Piano, Lili Boulanger’s Trois Morceaux, Dorothy Rudd Moore’s A Little Whimsy, and Florence Price’s Silk Hat and Walking Cane. Plus a first play-through of Rachmaninov’s Prelude in G major, Op. 32 No. 5.
Archives for posts with tag: music
A project I hope will help me find meaning in these strange times. Also bits of, and questions about, Katerina Ruzickova’s Four Pieces for Piano, and a not-quite-memorized performance of Bach’s C# major fugue from WTC book I.
Almost done reading through Beethoven sonatas, Volume 2; some thoughts on hearing auditions; ornamenting Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu (and a glass-half-full report on a lackluster performance of it); the most obvious epiphany in the world, involving a moment with Led Zeppelin, with a shout-out to @yogawithadriene
Thank you for being my practice buddy!
On crafting a summer schedule and delving into Chopin etudes 25/1,2,5, and 6, plus a really nice melody by Muczynski.
In which:
A report on an informal house concert; why it’s hard to practice on vacation; last 10/7 before it goes on the shelf for a few weeks; early days in 10/11; the scariest measure in 10/10; beginning 10/8, and finding it strangely familiar.
Recorded March 19, 2011
In which:
Part of a “before” version of 10/10, including a momentary foray into theory geekdom; a slightly improved version of 10/11; just the sixteenths of 10/2; the danger in 25/12; a new strategy for 10/7; a quote from Schumann; why I find these etudes so challenging; cheating on Chopin with Mozart and Haydn.
Recorded March 5, 2011
In which:
The last 10/4 for a while; some good practice ideas for 10/2, and a realization about one reason I’ve been having trouble with it; finding out how well the Cortot exercise worked for 10/7; strange melodies in 25/12; some thoughts about memory and plateaus, which reminded me of a podcast I love; a reminder that the perfect is the enemy of the good.
Recorded February 26, 2011
In which:
A failed version of 10/2 (and some thoughts about why); newly discovered notes in 25/12; a new strategy for 10/7; 10/4 as a rhythm meta-etude; a painfully slow before version of 10/11; and a thought about balancing days.
Recorded February 19, 2011
In which:
A lengthy quote about George Sand from Proust; getting irritated with jazzy skeletons; a play-through of 10/1 before letting it rest for a while; a thought about 25/12 from this podcast; a memorized skeleton of 10/7; a play-through of 10/4; a partial play-through of 10/2; starting 10/11; and a plan for the spring.
Recorded Sunday, 13. February, 2011
Play It Again Swig 