One year to changeOctober 30th, 2009
I know I have not written a post for a while… The recent weeks have been difficult and I had neither the desire nor time to write something. Today I’m going back to my blog after a bad flu which has left me weak and tired. As usual, I didn’t want to go and see a doctor, and that did not help. But here I am, at least partly. Partly, because I’m not playing the piano seriously these days.
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On rituals and lucky charmsOctober 2nd, 2009
Last week I wrote here about going on stage and I evoked the “lucky charm”. Today I will focus on pre-concert rituals as well as these charms. Some do not have rituals or lucky charms, and others elaborate complex rituals which become totally obsessive. Star’s whim or real necessity?
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Going on stageSeptember 24th, 2009
Concert evening, in the dressing-room. Tonight, I’ll be playing a recital methodically prepared during the last weeks. Final moments before appearing on stage. Someone is knocking at the door. A glance in the mirror, last check for the presence of our good-luck stuffs and other necessities. It’s time to go. A few more moments to wait backstage, and suddenly the stage manager asks if I’m ready, opens the door, and motions to me to go on stage. Read more …
2010 has been declared Chopin year!September 18th, 2009
Each year represents an opportunity to honor a particular composer, and 2010 has been prepared actively. Indeed, pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin was born in 1810 and next year will be HIS year. We will “discover” the genius of Chopin and his complete works will be played over and over again. Not that it bothers me, Chopin is a composer with whom I have a particular connection, but why would 2010 serve as a pretext to highlight Chopin’s work as it could help to better know less “media-friendly” composers but at least equally interesting ? Read more …
How to choose a new pianoSeptember 11th, 2009
So here it is, you are close to your dream: owning you own new piano. You get the impression to reach a stage, but I tell you, the adventure has only just begun. You will see that choosing a piano isn’t that easy. What range of price, which size? It is not that easy to find one’s way around as each manufacturer has very convincing argument points. Read more …
Blog season 2: IndependanceSeptember 2nd, 2009
It’s been a year already since I started writing this blog. After two months of well deserved rest, I am back on the web, I mean on my blog. It was a sincere pleasure to share my ideas and my wishes with you last year.
My vacation was studious: no articles, but the 33 variations on a waltz by Diabelli (those who follow me on Facebook already know it), and some work projects I had not completed yet. I also relaxed, don’t worry, and I finally could enjoy a summer in my beautiful city of Prague, siping a few cocktails on the banks of the Vltava, or walking around the many parks of the city. I had the need to recharge my batteries after a particularly trying year. Read more …
Things that irritate usJune 26th, 2009
I was talking a few days ago with an eminent colleague pianist, expatriate as myself, who, while on holidays in her native country after several years of absence, was asked by friends what she was doing in life. She naturally answered: “I play the piano” . Not satisfied with this answer, they asked her what she was seriously doing in life. Tragic… isn’t it? But all musicians will tell you, it’s typical! Read more …
Recording is never so easy.June 18th, 2009
To all those saying that recording is easy, I say, perhaps they should pay a visit to a studio. Of course, you can cut, past, redo, but it is not always an advantage.
The first shock when recording is a bit like the one you feel when hearing your own voice for the first time. Years later, I still find it hard to bear. Indeed, even if you have spent whole years working on planned works, you have never heard them from the microphones perspective. In short, you do not really know how it sounds like for the audience. You have an idea of it, you work so that it sounds as you want in the concert hall, but the microphone is the moment of truth! No one can be more objective than it is. Read more …
The Chopin’s 24 studiesJune 4th, 2009
A few days ago, I was slowly recovering from the worst nightmare of my youth: The Chopin’s 24 studies. My god, they tortured me so much! However, with hindsight, there was really no reason to flip out… It was certainly more a psychological than pianistic blockage. I even find it very funny to work today!
Except some pieces, Chopin wrote almost exclusively for the piano and was able to push the limits of his instrument. The studies, op. 10 and 25, are still the number one reference in terms of difficulty, especially when it comes to playing both opuses on stage. Read more …