What are you playing now?

[jon-nyc]

Working on/brushing off three Rachmaninoff Etudes-tableau and two preludes. Hopefully they’ll be in serviceable shape for late March for my midwestern visit.

[George K]

@Klaus said in What are you playing now?:

I always found these parts to be rather difficult, if you want to play them truly "con brio".

I re-listened to Robert Greenberg's lecture on the Pathetique the other day. He was given permission to use Claude Frank's performances for his lectures.

Go to about 1:40

It's a bit frantic for my taste - not "pathetic" enough.

Link to video

[Klaus]

@jon-nyc said in What are you playing now?:

Working on/brushing off three Rachmaninoff Etudes-tableau and two preludes. Hopefully they’ll be in serviceable shape for late March for my midwestern visit.

No, they won't, and if you are honest to yourself they were never in anything close to serviceable shape.

[Horace]

I picked up piano again last week. The Schulze Pollmann actually sounds pretty good.

Goldberg Aria
Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring
Brahms 21.1
Brahms 116.4
Maple Leaf Rag
WTC1 c# Major prelude

[Copper]

around 1:53 in this Van Cliburn recording, a little less con brio, much better

Link to video

[kluurs]

@Horace said in What are you playing now?:

I picked up piano again last week. The Schulze Pollmann actually sounds pretty good.

Goldberg Aria
Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring
Brahms 21.1
Brahms 116.4
Maple Leaf Rag
WTC1 c# Major prelude

That's great to hear given all you've been through.

[Horace]

@kluurs said in What are you playing now?:

@Horace said in What are you playing now?:

I picked up piano again last week. The Schulze Pollmann actually sounds pretty good.

Goldberg Aria
Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring
Brahms 21.1
Brahms 116.4
Maple Leaf Rag
WTC1 c# Major prelude

That's great to hear given all you've been through.

Thanks Kluurs. The thumb is a minor hindrance, but I think it won’t make a big difference after I get used to it.

[jon-nyc]

@Klaus said in What are you playing now?:

@jon-nyc said in What are you playing now?:

Working on/brushing off three Rachmaninoff Etudes-tableau and two preludes. Hopefully they’ll be in serviceable shape for late March for my midwestern visit.

No, they won't, and if you are honest to yourself they were never in anything close to serviceable shape.

True, of course they’ll be superb. I should dispense with the false humility already, everyone here knows I’m a genius at the piano.

[kluurs]

@Horace said in What are you playing now?:

@kluurs said in What are you playing now?:

@Horace said in What are you playing now?:

I picked up piano again last week. The Schulze Pollmann actually sounds pretty good.

Goldberg Aria
Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring
Brahms 21.1
Brahms 116.4
Maple Leaf Rag
WTC1 c# Major prelude

That's great to hear given all you've been through.

Thanks Kluurs. The thumb is a minor hindrance, but I think it won’t make a big difference after I get used to it.

It's truly wonderful news. I was saddened at the thought that someone with your talent wouldn't be able to play.

[Horace]

@kluurs said in What are you playing now?:

@Horace said in What are you playing now?:

@kluurs said in What are you playing now?:

@Horace said in What are you playing now?:

I picked up piano again last week. The Schulze Pollmann actually sounds pretty good.

Goldberg Aria
Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring
Brahms 21.1
Brahms 116.4
Maple Leaf Rag
WTC1 c# Major prelude

That's great to hear given all you've been through.

Thanks Kluurs. The thumb is a minor hindrance, but I think it won’t make a big difference after I get used to it.

It's truly wonderful news. I was saddened at the thought that someone with your talent wouldn't be able to play.

Thanks Kluurs! Not sure about the talent part, but I'm surprised at how fun it's been getting back into it. Piano sounds better than I remember. And something gelled in my head with sight reading, so that now, while I'm still a horrible sight reader, at least practicing it isn't painful to my brain.

[George K]

Bach is hard.

[jon-nyc]

I hear you. I’ve barely attempted him.

Rachmaninoff is hard too. And I’ve spent years with his music.

[George K]

@jon-nyc as a kid, I learned the C#minor prelude (I forget the Op and #). I had under my fingers pretty well.

I looked a the G minor a few days ago. The arpeggios in the B section are doable, and, as a matter of fact, so are the A and C sections, if I don't hurry (or, as my teacher says, "snowball.").

I'm working on Bach's Italian Concerto, and as much as I love the music, I find it so frustrating that "muscle memory," doesn't work. You have to really KNOW what Bach was doing.

For example here...

Look at what he does...

In the bass clef, he ascends in the key of F major.

In the treble clef, he ascends starting on the D.

So many patterns...

[Horace]

Been working on the 9th two part invention today. Would like to get it into my fingers and then live with it for a few years.

[George K]

@Horace said in What are you playing now?:

Been working on the 9th two part invention today.

The inventions are fun...and frustrating. I have the Bd under my fingers. The A-minor works - sometimes.

I always found the F major fun, and tricky.

[LuFins Dad]

Spider Solitaire… I have beat ever single Daily Challenge this month!

Oh… You meant Music…

[Horace]

@George-K said in What are you playing now?:

@Horace said in What are you playing now?:

Been working on the 9th two part invention today.

The inventions are fun...and frustrating. I have the Bd under my fingers. The A-minor works - sometimes.

I always found the F major fun, and tricky.

A Minor was always one of my favorites. But something about 9 is drawing me in. I never found a three part invention that I really liked, oddly.

[kluurs]

I've been trying to get my hands back in shape and playing WTC Bk1 c-minor prelude along with the last movement of Beethoven op 57. Why play Hanon when one can work on these and get a great workout?

[George K]

@kluurs said in What are you playing now?:

I've been trying to get my hands back in shape and playing WTC Bk1 c-minor prelude along with the last movement of Beethoven op 57. Why play Hanon when one can work on these and get a great workout?

I had a conversation with Mark J. about this. His teacher always said not to bother with Hanon and other exercises.

If you can play the pieces that you mentioned, you’re going to get all the exercise that you need!

[Horace]

Bach outsmarted all the copy editors with the ninth invention. I have three different editions and the accidentals don’t agree between any two of them.