Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Valentina Lisitsa in Practice.... LIVE

I've checked back on this periodically throughout the day... and she's been practicing every time. True dedication.

I've enjoyed watching her today. I wonder how she can practice that long without doing some sort of injury to herself... apparently the long hours don't faze her! A lot to admire in the plucky woman.

When I was watching Lisitsa earlier, she was practicing Chopin's E-flat waltz (Op. 18) in what to me was a surprising mode: she was playing it at pretty much full speed, but would frequently interrupt the flow to repeat a short phrase over and over - still at tempo - in the midst of it. For those who remember the LP era (or earlier), you could call it a needle-stuck-in-the-groove effect.

Up until now, I've always instinctively separated up-to-tempo playthroughs from the repetitous work of polishing rough spots, and in fact considered it a sign of immaturity to mix the two the way Lisitsa was doing (possibly because I've often heard young children play that way). However, now that I've heard a real artist do it I guess I'll have to reconsider that position.

Just out of curiosity, though, do others on the forum use this "stuck needle" practice mode?

I've done it before, but like you I prefer to separate playthroughs from segment practice. I quit the "stuck needle" method precisely because it would get stuck of its own accord at exactly the wrong moment. You have to use the method that works for you, though, and that way of practicing apparently works for her!

I have to say I was inspired by this behind the scenes practice and had a fairly good (while short) practice tonight. Thanks for the peek, Val!

This is really cool. Being able to chat with other viewers is also a great feature. I watched her go through the entire Chopin Op. 10 and 25 Etudes. I think she was reviewing the pieces, and not really practicing, but nonetheless was very informative. She even chatted with us after she was done playing, and answered some questions. I hope more concert pianists start doing this. =D

I need to start practicing more.

I chatted with Val and wished her goodnight!

I've noticed she doesn't spend very much time on each piece. Of course, she has 55 pieces to work on...

Aww, I missed the chat at the end. I watched her go through the Chopin Op. 10 etudes, though, which was a treat. I actually fell asleep to them; that's why I wasn't there at the end. :P It's refreshing to see that she's as human as each of us, and that though her skill is very refined, she has to practice as well to keep it in top condition and improve herself. It gives inspiration to me seeing a professional go through similar steps to what I go through!

I understood exactly what you are saying; however, from your context of that last response you seem to be implying, from my perspective, that I overly "worship" Mrs. Lisitsa. I do not, however, I respect her and fancy some of her recordings of particular pieces. The reason why I replied to you in the first place is the fact that you left your comment a little "vague": "From what I've seen I don't like the way she practices. It leaves to much room for mistakes in my opinion." It could have been taken in any kind of way. I'm sorry I offended you or whatnot.

Can you, perhaps, expound upon your statement?

The live video feed is fascinating, though I have only briefly viewed it.

A few questions spring to mind:

Does VL usually practise this intensively, for 14 hours a day or is it a 'big surge' in preparation for a series of concerts?

Is this sort of practise normal for established concert pianists? I seem to remember, from long ago, a TV programme on Rubinstein in which he said that his daily practise was much less than that - I think it was about 3 hrs maximum (although others commented that he used his practise time very efficiently). But then again - the pressures on concert artists were probably much less in those days.

Lastly, in general, such sustained practise a good thing over the long term (I'm not referring to VL)?

It looked mind numbing to this very humble amateur pianist. The woman clearly knew most (all) the repertoire she was "practicing" and was just "running" through it, often listlessly. Obviously this window into her practicing life is nonetheless limited. But I do wonder if this style is conducive to great music making eventually. I tuned into the channel intermittently and mostly late in the evening, and frankly the quality of the practicing, as opposed to its duration, was not intensive. She repeated a few fragments of passages a tempo and moved on through an enormous list of pieces.. She looked exhausted and on auto pilot. It is hard to imagine that this could be very effective at her level, whereby what is needed is deeper insight into the music. Granted, she could be simply refreshing her memory. She did say that she has to practice 55 pieces towards upcoming performances, which is hard to imagine unless You Tube is included..
As I said, my perspective is limited since I am not a performer. So, as suggested above, it would be interesting to hear it from those who do perform..

About the 55 pieces that VL is working up.

Out of curiosity I checked on the concert schedule for Mitsuko Uchida (available on her website). She is performing a total of 21 pieces (including concertos and chamber works) during the period from May of this year to February 2011.

Often she will work up one programme (with a few alternative pieces) and then tour with it.

This seems far more 'sensible' (not that I am in anything like a position to judge). But then Uchida is a tremendously respected performer and draws large audiences where ever she plays, so she can set her own terms.

(Luckily, I see that Uchida is visiting St George's, Bristol this autumn. St. George's is a beautiful 'shoebox' Georgian church converted into an 800 seat concert hall. It is often used by recording companies and is absolutely perfect for chamber music - there is the feeling of intimacy which you rarely get in the standard 2000/3000 seat hall.)

My wife and I have been Valentina's hosts on several occasions. Once, when staying with us she played four different concert programs in six days (duo with Alexei, Tchaikovsky 1 & two completely different recitals). On two occasions when I went in to listen to her practice, she was reading "The History of Civilization" while playing. To answer John B's question, I think this is a "big surge" to be prepared for awhile. Once she has a piece "in hand," she doesn't need to practice it again for quite a long time.

darn.. i cannot sign up for the chat. (who's reading it anyway).

i love her relaxed low arms

I watched her practising Brahms 2nd concerto last night.Wow, that things a monster isn't it.
I'd be interested to know what the 55 pieces comprise of.I wonder if she's counting Chopin's op 10 as one piece or twelve.

To expand on my former statement my dislike for her methods was the fact that she's seemingly charging into pieces that are very rusty from the looks of it at a relatively high tempo which makes some passages full of hiccups.


I don't know her memorization method when she goes about first studying a piece although I know that she holds pieces in finger memory which must take some time.

In my opinion it seems that practicing in the start stop method at the point pieces were (mind you I did not see her begin on a new piece) would give to much room for holes. While on the other hand it's a very effective method for refreshing pieces that aren't so far gone or ironing out the kinks. If I remember correctly Lugansky give an example of this on the four Rachmaninoff Concertos.

Just for the record, I meant no disrespect or was I offended by any of the posted comments. I also apologize, because I realize that such a short comment leave a lot of room for a misunderstanding in the tone.

Rusty? Hiccups? I barely noticed a wrong note in her practicing.

Me neither.. which is why I wondered about the purpose. She also did not dwell on or repeat entire pieces, during the periods I watched.

Really, in the Brahms Concerto in seemed that she was stopping and even practicing hands separately. Although in the couple of Chopin Etudes I saw, it seemed that they weren't nearly as far gone.