Practice Journal #13

Last night's practice probably began around 5:00 p.m. until about 12:00 a.m.

Memorial Day (USA)

​Rachmaninoff:  Liebeslied

• Perfect the notes and choreography, and I got it to about Quarter Note:  123
• Fritz Kreisler was interesting, I like his music.  I remember going to hear my piano coach's brother Robert McDuffie perform with the Macon Symphony Orchestra (Adams:  Violin Concerto, Glass:  Violin Concerto, Kreisler encores, and Margery McDuffie Whatley:  Gershwin:  Rhapsody in Blue)- I believe this concert to be in 1997 or 1998 or so....I have the CD as well, autographed of course.  
• I love the Bolet Version, as well as Earl Wild's
• Bolet's playing started my obsession with Transcriptions, due to the Steinway series of CDs back when of the great pianists.  

Ralph Carmichael/Dino Kartsonakis:  "A Quiet Place"
(Sunday's Prelude)

J.S. Bach:  Partita V:  1:  Praeambulum
(Sunday's Postlude)

Tricky last two pages- never has gotten easier, and only more fascinating after I first learned the piece at age 16.

Ravel:  Miroirs Une barque sur l'océan” (A Ship on the Ocean)

• Probably my favorite of this set.  The surprises are infinite.  I have learned/re-learned/borrowed/stolen/bastardized most aspects of this piece.  There are so many fantastic things that the improvisationalist can borrow and learn.  -Especially to these young improvisers- you don't always have to play loud, sloppy, and miss note after note, and mess up every middle section of a song because it is tricky to remember- also tip #1 UNO Supremo: learn to read music!
• The surprises in the piece are the random notes that come in and out of the arpeggiated patterns- color notes- just fractionary ones that change the temperature immediately.  Beautiful and perfect writing.  I love the Alfred Masterworks version, alas, I can't find my copy.  I am certain that a rotund hateful pianist took it and never returned it.  Pig eyes.  I am instead using the oversized Henrly Urtext edition.  Of course, the lack of editing makes the lazy pianist such as myself have to decipher fingering.
• My favorite recording still is Werner Haas

Rachmaninoff:  Flight of the Bumblebee 

• Perfecting the notes and choreography, and I got it to about Quarter Note:  150

Schulz-Evler/Strauss:  Concert Arabesques on the themes of The Beautiful Blue Danube

• Is this is hard as it looks?
  • Yes
    • Why?
      • The speed in which makes the gossamer textures sound decent, take swift and fast performance fingering.  Unfortunately, it took me until age 30 or so to realize, that sometimes, crossing under (also debilitating in some ways) fingers, and doing elaborate finger planning to be scaler-correct, one does NOT ALWAYS have to follow the traditional "correct planned" formula.
        • I realize that in this piece, that in the course of three hours, the notes that have to fly by quickly, take fingering to a whole different sort of level of trickery.  There is a lot of 1 1, 5 5, 4 4, 325, sort of fingerings.
          • The Fingering has been edited by Paolo Gallico.
            • While I was not aware of Mr. Gallico, I was thoroughly furious with him until I started practicing the piece faster.  I thought his fingerings may have been in error for the left hand, but no, it is indeed right hand fingering that is a pain in the ass.  This could turn X rated really quickly! HAHAHAH!
              • Please Read about Mr. Gallico Here:
              • www.encyclopedia.com/arts/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/gallico-paolo
          • This piece has always been on my radar since the Great Pianists set by Steinway CD collection was put out and I listened to Jorge Bolet play it, it sounded so fluid and easy.  Was I ever wrong!!!!!!  The piece is challenging, though if you can make it through the introduction and first waltz then, you have reached my club house with snacks and free co-colas!  
            • If you notice, some of the old, old recordings made earlier of this piece- a lot of the pianists leave out the introduction.  I wonder which came first?  Was the earlier publication sans intro?  I could research, but who cares?
            • Praise Report: The spinning and gurgling of the accompaniment figures is gorgeous, unpianistically pianistic, clever, and do-able with slow practice to learn the notes, but as quickly as possible, do try to speed it up faster and faster as soon as possible to start understanding the "Concert Performance Fingering."
            • 
              
              

Alexander Rosenblatt:  Variations on a Theme of Paganini

• I skipped variation 8 in practicing because Henry was already pissed of that I didn't spend more time just looking at him.  I did however practice all the piece, aside from Variation 8.  
• GREAT PIECE
• Accessible piece, not extremely difficult, not easy.
• Plays well and makes sense in the hands.  Sounds GREAT!

Franz Liszt:  Trois Etudes d'Concert:  Un Sospiro

• My piano coach from age 14-24 was Margery McDuffie Whatley.  And, she plays this on here "tape" - Album ;)
  • If I am not mistaken, I believe that she enjoyed the Claudio Arrau version of "Un Sospiro."
    • Interestingly enough, I believe that both my teacher, and Arrau added an extra arpeggio at some section.  After re-listening many times over the years, I never noticed or paid much attention, though, indeed there is something super special about both their recordings.
  • The Cadenzas in the Whatley (nee McDuffie) version, are so glamorous, and fluid, that I really just don't know what to think.  It sounds so airy and swift with the chromatic run especially after the the first large arpeggio variation of the melody.  Her version is pristine, and for me, the Gold Standard.  
• This piece is difficult.  I learned it when I was a senior in high school, and have been re-visiting, performing, and changing technical issues ever since.  What an incredible theme and variation set.  You hardly know it's an etude because you actually get to harness and control beauty.  
• Control Freaks and S&M folks should like Liszt, technical prowess, on a rheostat, turning up and down drastically the highs and lows of every emotion, and the highest and lowest of technical abuse...Good stuff! LOL Blessed.  Amen #Blessed

Henry is still in bed, it is 1:15 p.m. I did laundry, cleaned house, vacuumed, and painted the patio furniture.  Now, I have to get a light bulb or two for my car brake lights, as they appear to have sizzled out.  It's a beautiful Tuesday here in Alabama.