Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner First day at piano camp

Aggg, I'd forgotten how much I treasured this last year! Nothing to do but retreat into music with a whole lot of people who like to do the same thing!

It's not just piano, but chamber ensembles. There's a reading orchestra that the pianists don't participate in but this year the pianists now have their own studio class at which they can share a solo piece and then perform it on Saturday.

I wasn't going to share anything but two pianist friends from last year who are also participating again this year encouraged me to step up to the plate and do it. So I will. I'll share the Brahms 118/2 and perform it. On a real stage. With an enormous Steinway D and a spotlight. *shudder*

Tomorrow starts coaching with my ensemble, which is the Prokofiev flute sonata. We'll be participating in a recital of it on Monday.

Anyway, great fun. We started the piano studio class today and seven pianists including myself. We've got:


Chopin – Nocturne in G Minor, Op. 15 No. 3
Chopin – Mazurka in C# Minor, Op. 50 No. 3
Bach – Partita No. 1 in Bb Major
Mozart – Piano Sonata No. 12 in F Major, K. 332
III. Allegro assai
Brahms – Sechs Klavierstücke, Op. 118
II. Intermezzo in A Major: Andante teneramente)
Schumann – Waldenszenen, Op. 82 (selections)
Chopin – Piano Sonata No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 58
I. Allegro maestoso

Is it a secret where this piano camp is, and its name? Have a great time!

Sounds like fun, enjoy it!

Please, DO NOT miss out on the opportunity to perform the Brahms on a STEINWAY D! It's the kind of piece that requires such high-end piano, so it should be glorious to play it on that beast.

No, it's not a secret, particularly! It's at the Curtis Institute of Music, which is a conservatory in Philadelphia. Its facilities are really terrific and the people are beyond spectacular! It's a pretty small conservatory and the summer program itself is rather intimate so you really get to know everybody.

I enjoy every minute of it.

There's a distinct possibility I will simply move in under one of the many beautiful pianos in the practice rooms and they will have to drag me out while I maintain a death grip on one of the legs.

Because I live in Philadelphia, it didn't make sense for me to stay at Curtis in their dorms, but had I done so, I could have practiced all night. As it was, I had to leave at 11 and did so leaving my four hand partner from last year still hard at work with her ensemble. I think my key card starts working again at 6am. I plan to find out!

Enjoy every minute! You must be a kid in a candy store this week. Keep us posted and we will understand if you are posting at 2 am Eastern time.

Have fun TwoSnowflakes!

Well, I demo-ed the Brahms, and in front of a pretty intimidating group of only pianists. I made three or four serious errors in the first section from nerves, but recovered and had some pretty long stretches there where I was playing how I wanted to play.

The reaction was positive! As always, there were so many things I normally do but couldn't do because of the general inability to ignore the setting. There are parts of it I don't even remember playing so they can't have been that good, but I'm fairly certain they weren't that bad, either. And that's an improvement. But I know in general I got to show what I want to do with it and I think it was at least moderately clear that over time and with exposure to people listening I can expand that confidence to the whole piece.

Tomorrow we do the open recital, and I'll get about 5-7 minutes at the piano onstage before they shunt us backstage to practice pianos in the wing behind the recital hall. The recital is being advertised as a free piano recital at street level, but I'm hoping that nobody notices the sign, haha. I think that if it is a very small crowd, I stand a good chance of not playing any worse than the demo version today.

Then it's more coaching for the Prokofiev. It's a tough piece and I seize up in places when I feel like I have to drive the tempo. The flutist, while a pleasant enough player, is a bit hesitant and is often behind the beat and then the tempo drags because she doesn't really fit herself to the piano part. So it's kind of up to me to wait a smidge and bring us back together because I'm always cognizant of what she's doing and how the parts make the whole. Of course, my problem is that while I have the shape, tempo and structure all set, I'm not always 100% note accurate so it feels sloppy to me in places and phrasing suffers when I'm simply trying not to totally blow the notes. I hope I can tidy that up by Monday's recital.