Saturday, December 22, 2007

Piano 101: Coming Out (Again)

When I started practicing again I had no idea how much pure joy I would get out of just playing. I'm excited every time I step out to practice at the University or a friend's house, or even when I play bits and pieces on pianos at the store. And when I'm done my head is so full of music that walking and talking and chewing and breathing all feel locked to some rhythm. (I probably look like a dork).

But my goal of all this was to be able to play piano again in public on demand. And my target was Christmas. Well, today is December 22... and yesterday I played in a little Christmas recital at the home of a friend who teaches. I think that counts for "in public", even if the public was pretty small.

I performed two pieces: a Chopin Étude (Opus 10, Number 3) and a piece from Isaac Albéniz' Iberia Suite (El Puerto). They're kind of challenging to play, but I think it went pretty well. I hope to record these two over the next couple of weeks and post the recordings on this blog.

Afterwards, the host of the recital suggested I might be able to perform at one of the upcoming recitals at a music school she's involved with here in Austin. If it works out, I might be able to find leads to other recitals, too.

Hm... better get back to practicing!

7 comments:

  1. Kenneth,
    I'm so glad to hear the recital went well, and I will look forward to hearing the pieces when they are recorded. What kind of piano did you play last night?
    Mom

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  2. Dear Kenneth,
    So, I am already one step closer to hearing you play!

    If your words so clearly convey the joy and excitement that you are experiencing in playing again, what will your music itself say to me?

    I am eagerly watching this space for the answer.

    Lucy

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  3. @BJ: What kind of piano did you play last night?

    Ha! It was a G2, but not as nice as yours. It's pretty good, but it needs voicing and regulating pretty badly. And it'll be my practice piano this week, since Recital Hall @ UT is closed.

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  4. Kenneth,
    I am glad you like my piano better. I am very fond of it myself. These days I am playing mostly Christmas carols on it. I have some lovely arrangements.
    Mom

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  5. "They're kind of challenging to play, but I think it went pretty well."

    lol....You must have been thrilled with your performance to write that.

    Probably a dumb question, but don't you have a really good piano keyboard with weighted keys to practice on?

    Chris

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  6. @Christian: You must have been thrilled with your performance to write that.

    :-D

    Well, I had my expectations set pretty low. I said to myself: "Look, you'll probably muff a few spots, but you aren't going to trainwreck. Don't panic, make it musical." And that's pretty much the way it went.

    And I can use the KX-88 for some things, like memory work. But it's shocking how far off it is other things.

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  7. Funny thing....I can't imagine you NOT playing the piano. For me, it's one of the biggest parts of who you are (since I knew you best during your "ancient history" days).

    I'm glad you are back to it and enjoying it so much.

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