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HomepageFriday, June 7th, 2019
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The biggest change I have made in my retirement home performances is the level of mastery of the pieces I perform. I have been reviewing the recordings made throughout the years, and even though there are some good moments in my performances, I still wish they were more polished. As a result I have been deferring the performances of my more impressive pieces, and relying on pieces I learned when I was younger. Those pieces I learned as a teen are a little more polished and easy to play, since I have been playing them for a longer period of time.
I have been pleased by this result,
however I am getting a little bored playing easier pieces that I know.
The other day at Alexander Gardens I was getting a little tired of
playing Disney tunes mixed with my easier repertoire, so I snuck in
some pieces by Liszt and Brahms to make things more interesting. I am
glad I did so, but I think I will only save that for special occasions.
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Tuesday, June 25th, 2019
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Yesterday I played at Heritage House, and what made me most excited to go there was the fact I had one more month of praciticing Prelude 5 accomplished, compared to the last time I went. Thinking about it, I am not completely sure played Prelude 5 last month, but if I did I must have felt especially confident, or I must have played it only decently and not competently. Whichever the case, this month I played it without stopping or making any huge errors. I followed all the new dynamics I have been incorporating, including the correct pedaling, and it was not too out of control. It was a little loud even though I closed the piano lid, but that is expected with this piece.
Something I have to work on with
Prelude 5, is that I get flustered when playing the triumphant
sections. At that point my fingers start shaking and twitching and I
cannot have that happen with a Rachmaninoff piece. That always happens
in the beginning stages of performing new pieces though and it just
takes some time of comfort and performing practice before it goes away.
When I get to that point it feels much more natural to play the piece
in it's fullness, letting go of any awkward and unsure playing. I look
forward to that day, however by that time I will probably be very tired
of playing it just as I am with his C# minor prelude.