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Still working on my competition pieces, the Bach G minor P&F from WTK II and Mazeppa, slowly and patiently. Also working in some of the Debussy etudes. There really isn't anything in the literature that can prepare you for these.. they require a technique all their own.

What competition is that? I didn't know.

-J

Today I began Chopin's F minor etude, op.10/9. A nice benefit of a teacher with smallish hands: she knows lots of good fingerings for people with smallish hands.

-J

Me too! I have played them both before but am planning them as part of a recital I am preparing for the summer. I will pair the Liszt with En Reve, and Valse Oubilee No. 1. Also, I will include some lesser known Ravel pieces such as Menuet on the Name of Haydn and Menuet Antique along with 3 Scarlatti Sonatas.

A small local competition, the USOMC. I don't do many competitions because I don't like the high-stakes nature. I just need something to commit me to improving..

Bonus Festivus to all! ~
my menorah is firing overtime, since we're down in the 30s here in Arizona.

To Tim Adrianson: If you're up for the Harbison 2nd Sonata, then look into my WIZARDS or Jupiter's Moons (instead of the little Hitchin' - a travellin' groove. [ WIZARDS gets it formal Carnegie Hall premiere in early March, at debut recital by Young-Ah Tak. It's also on the 2012 Kapell rep list.]

A New Year's note: my 2009 CONCERTO for Piano and Wind Orchestra 'Solar Traveller' gets its Midwest Premiere in February, in Minneapolis. Tim Lovelace is soloist.

-- And what am I practicing? For upcoming chamber music recitals ...Medtner 3 Nocturnes (vln. + pno.) and the Mendelssohn d minot Piano Trio. For myself: Tombeau de Couperin, and the CF Peters collection "Waltz Project".
(Just played the Poulenc 4-hands Sonate last week - that first movement is a riot.)

Good wishes from the USA ~
Judith L. Zaimont

Well, I'll certainly take a look at "Wizards" and/or "Jupiter's Moons", in response to your specific suggestion. I would agree that "Hitchin'" is not a major statement, but I have a special fondness for ingratiating, interesting, well-crafted minor pieces, and "Hitchin'" definitely falls into that category.

Brahms 1st concerto.

Schumann Fantasy mvts 2+3, Haydn Sonata no. 50 mvts. 2+3, Bach prelude and fugue in g minor, Beethoven concerto 4. All at once!

Schumann/Liszt Widmung
Rachmaninoff op. 16 no. 6 (Bringing this back after having some trouble before)
Schumann's Carnaval

I've quit lessons because of the lack of time and also cause I've realized my teacher taught me all she could. Anyway, I feel a duty to play some non late romantic pieces! I'm looking at something Debussy or early Beethoven. Maybe L'isle Joyeuse or the Pagode not sure

Thanks for dropping by!! Really liked your Impronta Digitale when I heard Olga Kern play it..

In progress:
Chopin Ballade no 1
Beethoven Moonlight Sonata 3rd movement
Chopin Nocturne 9/1

Long finished but still touching up:
Chopin Nocturne in C-sharp minor
Chopin Fantaisie Impromptu

Started but on hold for now:
Debussy Arabesque #1
Chopin Waltz in C-sharp minor (64/2)
Pirates of the Caribbean (Jarrod Radnich arrangement)
David Nevue Sweet Dreams and Starlight

Other:
Sight reading exercises (occasionally)
Scales
Some arpeggios

Finished learning Debussy's Prelude 1 (book 1)! I'm getting more efficient at learning pieces, this took me about a week (with an hour on average spent on this each day). I know, this is still slower than what many people here would take, but this is a personal improvement for me. Got to polish it now before my lesson on Thursday.

Hey Sam, I just started working on Ballade 1 too! Its a great piece of music, have fun with it! I'm still amazed that you are working on somewhat advanced repertoire after just one year of playing. Do you have a teacher (I know I've asked you this question before)?

liszt85, I just got one a few weeks ago. I've had two lessons, and he is fantastic, so things are looking good on that front. I already have most of the Ballade memorized, but I started learning it when I didn't know the difference between a half note and an eight note, didn't know what a tie was, etc. So we are going to go through the piece and polish it up.


Even though I wasn't up to it, I had to skip ahead and learn the Presto con Fuoco section, and now I can't get enough of it. I might record it in the next few weeks. It's so exciting to play.

I can't wait to hear you playing the Ballade! I'm sure by now you can learn pieces so much faster than I can. My reading is far better now than it was a couple months ago, so that really speeds up the learning process for me, but it's still pretty slow.

All I can say, yet again, is that its unbelievable to me that you could even learn the piece without knowing what half notes and eighth notes were (I'm guessing you used the score mainly to figure out what the notes were, and you used your ear to put the rest together). I'm pretty sure you've learned many things wrong (if I'm wrong about that, you must be some kind of mad genius, which is of course a possibility! ;)), but I commend your effort! With your new teacher, you will hopefully do things more systematically to build your technique to a level where you can tackle these pieces more satisfactorily than you have been doing so far.

Good luck!

Yes, when I first started learning the piece I just cracked open my friend's book with the Ballades and tried to figure out the first few notes for fun. Then I got sucked into it. So at the beginning, I was using the way I've heard the piece played to decide how to play it. As I went along, I picked up the notation, so most of the piece is not sloppy like the first page. And it didn't take very long to fix up the sloppiness. So I wouldn't say I've learned many things wrong.

The teacher said it was very good; it's just some of the nuances we needed to work on (on the first page for example, there are notes that need to be held and I was letting them go too early). He's having me do the first couple pages with counting (no rubato) and then I can add that back in later. He said it's important to really know the score first before adding that kind of expression (of course it is, but I didn't know the difference when I started learning that! )

How long do you think it will take you to learn?

If I worked on it everyday for an hour, it will probably take me a month or two. Still not as efficient as I'd like to be because I waste a lot of time playing through what I've already learned just because it sounds good. :P

I've been learning it on and off for over a year while figuring out my technique, learning other pieces, learning how to read better, etc. on the side. My reading is still not very good because I haven't focused on it enough, but my memorization is getting faster. I guess as long as I'm seeing steady improvement I'm satisfied. I think I'm in a good place considering the amount of time I've been playing.

This is so understandable. The music is just fantastic, isn't it? However, the best teacher I've ever worked with (I only had two lessons with her, wish I could have more) told me that you must treat your practice time like it is sacred. It's something I had to work on a lot, but I realized how much more I could get accomplished when I caught myself wanting to play through what I've already learned just because I like the music.

I've also found when I am truly engaged in the music while practicing (which is much more often than it used to be!), I enjoy learning new parts of the music or finding specific things to work on in what I've already learned even more than just playing through what I've already learned.

Sorry if it sounds like I'm getting onto you... I really don't mean to! This just caught my eye and I wanted to throw this out because I think it's vital to your artistic development. You know I only wish all the best for fellow pianist students.