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Working on 10 2, 4, 5, and 12.

My thoughts and experiences:

10: not so hard, since all four voices aren't present very often;

4: far trickier, the trickiest of the four-voiced variations. Working out and keeping track of which voices are held, which should be legato, which staccato takes a lot of time but is worth it!

2: also surprisingly tricky to make it feel relaxed and beautiful, especially in the first line of the B section;

5: once you work out exactly where your hands should go, it fits very nicely; I switch the roles of the hands (i.e. I "uncross") for a few critical measures in the B section, and it makes life much smoother;

12: one of the really hard, taxing, dense variations, with new ideas coming at you every measure!

-J

About to go work on Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody 12!

Thanks for your suggestions but I'm not sure we are referring to the same things. I was referring to Chopin etudes op10: 2,4,5 and 12

Oh you're referring to the Goldberg variations. Lol sorry. I'm not there yet. I love the variations though.

How on earth was one supposed to get the right context?

I guess it relies on a very careful parsing of the missing comma after the "10". Even still, you can't just go up to a pianist and say "I'm working on some from 10 these days"... Chopin's not *that* much the default...

-J

You're absolutely correct. I should at least state "op x No y"

The only reason why I said it like that is due to my own bias. Anytime I see the numbers 10 4 or anything I immediately think torrent etude Chopin. Lol

That's exciting and good luck!

I was reading through the Mendelssohn Op 106 this afternoon, fits very well under the hands, and was quite amazed at how soon I lost interest. (At bar 5?) But of course Mendelssohn never published it.

Of more interest today on the radio this morning was Cecile Chaminade's C minor piano Sonata. I was in the car at the time, so couldn't totally focus, but from what I heard, it was expertly written (some nice counterpoint in second subject of exposition), and one does have to wonder if this might not be better known had she not been female.

Amongst the 'ladies', she is certainly more talented than Amy Beach, and we will forgive Chaminade for the re-enactment of the Flying Dutchman Overture in her Concertstück for piano and orchestra.

It is for someone with Chopin in their username.

I started the Bach English Suite no.3 this week. It seems easier for me to learn compared to the English Suite no.2 (that prelude is a bear, I love it though!). I was going to learn another Liszt piece but I found myself coming back to Bach after fiddling around a few potential candidates (I guess I will work on it after the Bach).

Got my Medtner sonatas in the mail, practiced Night Wind, some of the op.11 ones, Reminiscenza, and Romantica. My god Medtner is a nightmare to play...

Also practiced Scriabin 9 a bit. Much less intimidating than I last remembered, thank goodness.

Polishing Beethoven's sonata #22 Opus 54. Halfway through Haydn's Andante and Variations in F minor.

I played those Haydn Variations a couple of years ago; they are quite wonderful, aren't they? I don't think I got a chance to perform them in the Summer Academy because, for that venue, they are too long.

Currently working on Schubert Sonata in A major, Op. 120 (D.664), movements 1 and 2 and the Brahms Ballade, Op. 10, No. 4 for a recital in October.

Also working on Mozart Sonata in F, KV332 for a recital in January.

Regards,

Bruce, I am eager to hear you play the Brahms ballade, Op. 10, No. 4. It is one of my very favorite piano pieces.

I heard Bruce play it at the Victoria academy - it was a highlight of the two weeks!

They are lovely. Without the repeats it might run 8 minutes. I wasn't able to play the last movement of Beethoven's Opus 110 at the Academy this summer because of the length. That was a huge disappointment. I'm going to have to learn something short. Chopsticks perhaps?

I can remember exactly when I heard that for the first time(in a master class at IKIF 15+ years ago) and thought it was beyond incredible. But then I heard Adam Golka play it at the IKIF recently and didn't like it so much except maybe for the middle section. I guess my taste has changed a little.

My favorite recording I've ever heard of it is Michelangeli. I played all four of the ballades several years ago... I really want to re-study them! Maybe I will. I'm trying to think of more solo rep to work on after the Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody 12 is in my fingers, and I think that would be a great idea.

Mozart: G Major Sonata, K. 283.

I got Maria Tipo inspired to revive this. Last time around, I jammed my RH pinky against the front of a black key in the last mvt.--a feat, indeed (especially on a Kawai piano, since the fronts of the black keys are so angled and rounded). Maybe I won't do THAT again!

I'm playing that rhapsody as well!

Have been playing it for quite a few months now, performed it on several occasions...

It's very, very difficult though, the hardest part is the bit in the Stretta Vivace section, where the right hand plays a trill while playing the fast melody with the thumb, while the left hand is doing the accompaniment. The rapid right-hand runs immediately following it, are a pain in the ass as well :p

The most difficult, and most musically rewarding of all the rhapsodies, IMHO So have fun with it!