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As a companion thread to the 'Piano Plans for 2006', what were your best accomplishments of 2005?


I'm not asking for an exhaustive list of what you studied or learned, but rather the one or two accomplishments that stand out.


For me there were two:

1 - Learning LvB's c minor variations. These were a fantastic exercise for me, since they require a very different technique than most of my previous repertory. I also think they'll be a great help in learning any other Beethoven works in the future.

2 - Starting lessons. I started lessons last February and they have made a tremendous difference (prior to that I was self taught). I make more progress with my teacher in one month than I would in a year without her.

Ah! I've been looking for a blatant self-promotion thread! :p

1. Got a good teacher.
2. Rach 2 Mvt 1

Ah, and didn't jam one finger this year! :p

Finished my Masters degree. Given my best recital so far.

My two greatest accompishments in 2005 are:

1 I became an official student of Vladimir Krainev. ( Before I just had 2 a month a lesson from him)

2 Recording my first official cd!

First performance with a broadway touring company.

Several didactic compositions accepted for publication by a well-known publisher of educational piano music.

http://pianoped.com/enesco.mp3
(Warning - file is 8 megabytes!)

Well, I had my first solo recital, my first performance with an orchestra, and I auditioned and was admitted to music school.

<font color="#FF0000">Happy New Year!</font>

I'm new to the Pianist Corner but am often in the Piano Forum.

2005 had three pretty big things for me:

1 I helped get a new Grotrian 225 for my church.

2. I coordinated a dedicatory piano recital featuring our many talented church members. It was a lot of work, but also very gratifying.

3. During the recital I played Liszt's Sonetto 47 del Petrarca. (I am a Liszt fan).

I am a professional accompanist and do lots of solo organ recitals, but have hardly done any big solo piano works in the past 30 years.

For 2006 - I'm having so much fun with the piano that I'm considering more solo performing - maybe getting a teacher too!

I've got lots of Liszt, Debussy, and Bach in my fingers; other composers too. But it is all extremely rusty. :rolleyes:

erm, not much really. got used to being a piano major and have come to accept the lack of sleep and almost non-existant social life(except with other music majors), and started teaching my first student. in other musical pursuits, i have been taking lessons in double bass from my dad (when i'm over here in England). i have actually been practicing it more than piano this holiday

It probably isn't much compared to what most here have done, but I am finally starting to understand Waller and play him with real life. I find, say, a piece such as Gladyse, just as difficult physically as Mazeppa and certainly much deeper musically.

Morton, on the other hand, I have still not grasped. I can play the notes but not the music. In 2006 perhaps ?

learned some difficult pieces: Beethoven tempest 3rd movement & Chopin op.10.9; and found a teacher who has helped me improve my techniques significantly.

I'm sorry to break this ring of fine accomplishments but 2005 was my worst pianistic year

All i have done is play a couple of unfinished small pieces .. visited my teacher only twice this year .. no recitals ..
my only complete achievement is finishing the pathetique mov.3

(i want to cry really, where is the damn icon? and where is pianojerome when you need him? )


At least, i am hoping for bigger achievements the next year (both medically and pianistically )

Bassio - don't sell yourself short. What about your fine performance in the first ever PW duel????

As for me, here are my two highest accomplishments:

1) Joining PW!!! And discovering so much more music from the suggestions of the forumites

2) Attempting to learn Chopin's Fantasy Impromptu (I know, it's not really an accomplishment, but considering I thought it was the hardest piece EVER when I first started piano, I think I've made strides)

Derelux, your Rach 2 was awesome! Keep it up and you'll be jammin out Rach 3 in no time

jon-nyc:
Similar for me. I re-started lessons in April 05 after a mere 23 years break . I'd had reasonable basic training in my teens (ABRSM Grade 8 distinction plus two years more of lessons on DipABRSM-type repertoire), and still played occasionally in the intervening period, but what remained of my technique was horrendously rusty. My new teacher has been a godsend in terms of motivation, focussing my efforts and making my practice much more effective and efficient. I am also gathering information from lots of sources (books, videos, and of course this forum) and I now feel that I am playing better than I ever did before (from both a technical and musical POV), and a growing addiction/obsession has seen my practice times grow from ~1hr to more like 3hrs/day... often more at weekends.

I think my new-found enthusiasm has also inspired me to "learn how to learn" IYSWIM and be more and more self-critical, so that my individual efforts at preparing pieces (for presentation and further study with my teacher) have, according to him, become of a higher initial standard each time. I am 40 years old this year and I know that I'll never be more that a reasonably proficient amateur pianist, but I still feel motivated to be as good as I can be within my ability and as far as family and work commitments will allow. I suppose if one has to have a mid-life crisis, it may as well be a creative and artistic one .

All the best for 2006,

- Michael B.

1) Wrote my first piece ever in an impressionist style! (should be up in a few months if I can learn it in time for the next composer's concert at my school)

2) Got offered a position at the university as the assistant sound tech for the summer and next school year (can't wait, I love audio engineering almost as much as I love music!)

3) Got accepted for a research project course to develop some revolutionary music software! (I was very lucky, normally, only grad students and the odd 4th year student gets accepted for this course, and I'm a 2nd year student, albeit a mature one!)

Yep, those are the big three for me

ps - question for Kreisler - by "didactic", do you mean these are excersize/etude/study pieces you have written? what level are they intended for?

Early intermediate level jazz repertoire.

Going on my piano hunt, ending up 7 months later with a wonder Sauter 6 foot grand, and giving myself a new reason to practice my repertoire in the process

1) Starting lessons/piano at all.
2) everything else that followed.

What did 2005 bring for me musically and pianistically?

1) Discovering the forums, especially the Pianist's forum because this has brought back my enthusiasm and drive to keep going at it.

2) Purchased a new acoustic piano - My beloved Vogel 177T.

After a diagnosis of dystonia (which it may not be afterall, but something more insideous), I went out and bought a real piano. I said to heck with it all, and went for something I always wanted. The thing is, to add insult to injury, I also took a hit financially. Like a slap back to reality, the day I signed papers for my piano, I also received a 15% cut in salary! It was as though someone bigger than me was trying to take this moment away. With my salary cut, I don't go out as often and therefore practice a lot more!

2) Brought back my technique somewhat from a year ago.

I couldn't play for nearly a year. My technique suffered tremendously. With constant work on my new piano, I am now able to play a lot of what I used to, and I am now looking a some new material to start.

So what will 2006 bring? Hopefully finding a decent teacher in my area, and starting lessons again.

John