Yup, it's getting close to that time again!

Have your piece selected yet? How's it coming along?

I've been working almost 2 months on two pieces. The piece I decided on for the recital has come along, but there are just those spots that I get hung up on. Since the recital looms, I think I need to spend some time just really focusing on those spots again and try to clean them up the best I can.

You?

Holy smokes!!

Seems like only yesterday I was ill prepared.

Why does this keep happening to me!!??

I'm in a state of barely restrained panic, as usual. I've got the piece I'd like to play (the Lee Galloway arrangement of Canon in D) memorized and about 80% there. The challenge is to play it at tempo without major bloopers... in the harsh glare of the Red Dot. It didn't help that I was on vacation 2 of the last 3 weeks and couldn't practice.

[take deep breath, remind self that four weeks is ample time.]

The piece I want to play for the recital is one I learned a few months ago, but I had set it aside for a while. I started looking at it again this past week and played through it at my lesson yesterday. Ughh. I need to do some serious work on this!

I missed the last recital....hopefully my Venetian Boat Song will be 'submittable' for this one... I'm also away for a couple of weeks and will be unable to practice... :-(((

I'm going to try not to wait until the last mintue to record my piece. Recording is nerve-wrcking enough!

So sorry Theodor. You will soon play again! There is future filled with fun and painfree playing awaiting you, hopefully very soon...

As for my own preparations, I am considering joining the recital this time. I am working on "The Clown" by Kabalevsky. It's huge fun to play, but I'm not sure if I will be able to have it ready on time... and I don't know how to manage to record it. (Have to search for that thread with recording advice)

The unsung heroes recital is coming up in August and my unsung hero's composition needs to receive some focused practice.

I better git'er done! Daily practice is the current prescription.

Glen

I've got a new Vinciguerra underway. I hope I'm ready in time !


(Sorry you're out of the loop this time Teodor, hang in there - you're doing the right thing, and you'll be even better once you start up again!)

Well having wandered (and I do mean "wandered") on the golf course in New Hampshire for my vacation recently and what with weddings we're committed to in August and my granddaughter's 1st birthday I've become a little rusty lately on the keyboard and will be skipping the August recital. I hope to relax and listen in though on all the music you all will be offering. Hopefully I'll be back with a vengeance in November. Success to everyone.

Andy

iffy...

Recital piece is coming along. I've been steadily practicing it quite a lot but I know getting a good recording with the red dot going may be a challenge this time. But, I've always been able to pull it off in the end so I have confidence that I can do it.

I just got done with a bit over a half an hour practice time, now I'll go pull some weeds in the garden before returning to practice some more. I guess the one fun part about this piece is it is one that I've been wanting to learn for a while and that has been keeping it fun and I think it will be heard coming from my piano for a long time to come.

My August piece is in the can - currently working on Nov. Recital piece (among others).

Those of you who would like to have one of your previous Recital pieces heard again can do so here:

The Recital Reprise thread

JF

It will be tough for me this time...hoping to get something up to par for the recital. JF - way to be on task! I'm jealous! Summer is difficult.

I'm working on first mvt of Beethoven's Sonata #8---and it's pretty rocky at the moment, and I don't mean like rock and roll either! I've "test recorded" but make enough catastrophic mistakes (the kind where I've lost the beat and have to start again) so it needs more repetition. Lots more repetition.

I'm taking a gamble on performing an "epic" musical piece this time which means your all in store for a possible epic performance. Then again, it could easily turn out to be an epic failure as well! Possibly a little of both, who knows.

This piece has been voted as both the best AND the worst song of all time! (Depending of your interpretation of the lyrics ).

In addition to the gamble on song selection, I decided to throw an additional wrench into the mix by performing the entiire piece by ear (due to the lack of sheet music available) so the outcome is certainly up in the air.

The piece??.....Macarthur Park. you've been warned!

Me and augustina are going to do a duet this time for recital. We see how it goes :P

should be fun!:)

As soon as you said this, I guessed "Macarthur Park" because of the Dave Barry book about worst pop/rock songs ever (in which Macarthur Park won first place).

But it's a great melody, so I can't wait to hear your rendition!

my oh my does this speed around!

I have not yet fully responded to the last recital inc the nice comments people had to say about my piece.

Of course I am glad has picked up and turned a complete 360 but this also means hardly any time to get other stuff done. Of course it's probably also a good idea that this site is filtered at my work now (all sites are) so my online time is limited..

Gonna have a busy weekend trying to play catch up and get everything else updated..

4wks, so that gives me at least 5 since there is a 2wk time line to get them in..

- SC

love that smilie, TTigg!

...but your math is a bit off. The website will open for submissions Aug. 1, with the deadline being 9:00 pm the night of the 14th, so you have exactly four weeks plus 1 day.

I look forward to hearing what everyone else plays. Sadly, it will not be possible for me to participate this time since I still have a finger cast. I literally haven't touched my piano in weeks. It's frustrating, but far less so than attempting to play with a "missing" finger on the left hand. MacArthur Park is actually a pretty melody - BUT the lyrics are pretty goofy IMHO. So unless you sing it too, I'll enjoy that, S-H.

I had better get my skates on then!

phooey on all of you.



Cathy

This is sad that so many people aren't sure if they're going to be able to participate this time around. But maybe we'll get some new people to join us. Teodor and Dennis, hope your injuries heal soon so you can play with us next time.

Actually Dennis, Macarthur Park is a beautiful love song which is the way the composer (Jimmy Webb) intended it to be. It's just that many people don't understand what he is refering to.

"MacArthur Park" is a real place in the westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. This is where the composer (Jimmy Webb) had a real life infatuation with a girl named Suzy Ronstadt, (Linda ronstadts cousin) years ago.

The song is basically about how much effort and hard work Jimmy had put into trying to establish a romantic realationship with Suzy but it just wasn't meant to be.

The line "Someone left the cake out in the rain......it took so long to bake it, I don't think I can take it because I'll never have that recipe again..." is actually refering to the efforts Jimmy had made trying to establish a relationship with suzy but to no avail. It also refers to someone on that day in the park who actually DID leave a beautiful cake out on a picnic table when it began to rain when they ran for cover.


Jimmy had actually seen this event take place just after being with Suzy and in a way made a kind of connection with the cake that someone had taken so much time to bake and decorate but ended up unattended, just soaking in the rain.

"The sweet green icing is melting down" is sort of a reference to all the hard work and effort he put into his relationship which was all for nothing. Kind of like watching the beautiful cake get destroyed in the rain.

There's more, but that's what the *addl comments* section is for in the recitals.

Stay tuned.

After all these years what a revelation I always thought it really was a song about a cake left to crumble in the rain, which was sad enough. Who would have guessed such a remote but personally disappointing symbolic meaning?

The only consolation was that Donna Summers later recorded it as a disco anthem (which was sort of the "new icing on the cake", so to speak).

And I think he spelled his name Webb (but we know who you mean),

Looking forward to hearing your (hopefully non-disco) version SH!

JF

Is this for some kind of online recital for members of the Piano World Forums?

Mr Linus: It is Take a look through this forums archive for the threads about each recital if you fancy listening to any of the previous submissions, some of which are fantastic!

As for my piece, for a change I've managed to get a reasonalbe recording done today, usually it's the last minute and submitted just before the deadline

There's still several mistakes in it which I'm hoping to get rid of in the next few weeks, but I'm happy enough with this recording to submit it if I can't get a better one.