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Thoughts and Updates on Repertoire | ||||||||||||||||
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Monday, June 23, 2025: New Repertoire / recording roll call (brain-storming for the rest of the year and beyond): Mendelssohn, Album Leaf "Songs without words" Chopin, "Minute" Waltz (from memory) Chopin, Grand Valse Op. 42 (because this epitomizes a really catchy, unique waltz) To Zanarkand, Final Fantasy VII theme (if I can find the sheet music) Schubert, Wanderer Fantasy (first two movements at least - epitomizies my metaphorical journey through life) W.A. Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 20 excerpt / piano solo rendition (the ultimate, and final Mozart creation to record)
Friday, June 13, 2025: | Chopin's Grand Valse Op. 42 is progressing as quickly as "Flight of the Bumblebee" did. I don't have time to completely memorize this, nor any other piece. Unless it's a quickie. Sometimes, you can memorize a piece or something unintentionally. It's called, "visualizing" and "emoting". For a complete memorization, a pianist would have to study the notes a bit. As usual. I haven't practiced this in awhile, but I'm usually not rusty. As long as a piece is inspiring enough to savor it. I'm quirky in the sense the opposite effect applies - "I practice or play better if I don't practice or play too much or often" haha. But this shouldn't be relied on. I prefer to play or practice often, simply because I enjoy it now. K. 540 cometh first however.
Thursday, June 12, 2025: | K. 540 piece would make a nice follow-up to the frenetic "Flight of the Bumblebee". It's a solo piano piece not in Sonata form, but more like a second movement Adagio (gentle, slow). With repeats, it's the polar opposite of a fast piece like either Flight or even Chopin's Minute Waltz. It'll clock in quite long. Adagios are sometimes more difficult to express than fast ones. Which means, you have to pay that more attention to specific dynamic markings or even put some emphasis on expression. There are a lot areas or sections that are ripe for expressive interpretation in this one.
Sunday, June 08, 2025: | Mendelssohn - what makes the "Songs without words" stand out to me? 1. They aren't played or heard much. *Checking the check box. 2. They are still melodic - I'll put some emotion into it to add flavor / inspiration if anything (while the composer might have just shrugged off these pieces as just regular pieces). *checking the check box. "The Flight of the Bumblebee" is a piece I thought I'd never finish. If I can do it, so can anyone. My approach - you want to familiarize or know the melody first before the notes. Having the imagery of a bee buzzing around helps. It's a type of piece that places more importance on the pacing and fluidity in my opinion, as long as you've gotten the handle of the important lines / phrases, notes or chords. The bass line of chords helped with the pacing. Afterall - a bumblebee's flightpath is not linear. It can often be unpredictable and chaotic, buzzing around frenetically. The composer only writes the notes. I'll "sock it back to ya" haha. It's a done deal. I'll still probably play this on and off, it makes for a fine exercise or an etude (chromatics in the style of a bee's flightpath up the wazoo) to get the fingers fired or warmed up.
Tuesday, June 03, 2025: | Some vague ideas for the solo excerpt from Piano Concerto No. 20's second movement. Essentially - just play the piano parts, and hum / air conduct the orchestral parts (making for a quirky video without any real orchestra but just my terribad voice). I just pass muster in terms of tone deafness, and since the orchestral parts are in my head anyway (most of them if not all) - might as well hum the melodic line of any instrument. Or just play the piano parts straight through, with just brief pauses. Regardless, quirkiness is the new norm. Everyone has listened to, watched or heard concert after concert, over and over, since the beginning of time. So why not do something quirky, different, or new. This Concerto stands out. Along with 21, 23. They might be all exceptional.
Thursday, May 29, 2025: | I went back into past repertoire for pieces I put away or took a break from, and there are some I can re-work or finish. Roll call: Mendelssohn, Songs Without Words "Album Leaf" W.A. Mozart, K. 540 and Excerpt / Solo rendition of "Romanze" from Piano Concerto No. 20 Some Brahms pieces. Brand, new repertoire or pieces is fine and dandy. But sometimes, "new" repertoire or pieces is going back or digging deeper into past repertoire that one might have not finished or abandoned. Other than currently working on the trifecta of "The Flight of the Bumblebee", "Wanderer" and a Grand Valse, I do have my hands full. Oh, it's on. It's damn on.
Tuesday, May 13, 2025: | I haven't forgotten Chopin's Grand Valse Op. 42 in A-flat. It's a magnanimous Waltz, which also has that Fantasy-type atmosphere or feel. I'll be focusing on this, in addition to the Wanderer and The Flight of the Bumblebee. It has tricky passages - playing or practicing a lot of J.S. Bach or W.A. Mozart would help with that. I'll be uploading the third movement of K. 576. Some might consider this Piano Sonata the most difficult, although I think it differs between pianists. This third movement could arguably the most tricky movement however. I still say K. 311 has the trickiest passage in terms of fingering and leaps.
Monday, May 12, 2025: | I've been having a jolly, swell time practicing these pieces: K. 576, "Wanderer" Fantasy, and The Flight of the Bumblebee. A very modest or humble repertoire. K. 576 is about finished with the final movement. The Flight of the Bumblebee definitely sometime this year (perhaps even soon - lest I forget about it all of a sudden or there is no time all of a sudden). But there has been progress, which is more than I can say than before; when I put it on-hold for awhile before or just stopped altogether. The Wanderer is going to take more time. There's a lot of energy and emotions involved in this one. It can be metaphorical journey of emotions, or through life in general. A journey of self-discovery, realizations / epiphanies, or tragedies experienced. A perpetual Wanderer who's been looking for a place to fit in or acceptance in a world or society where you don't belong because of the way you look. The piece is split into four sections or movements. Since there are no repeats, I might record the first two movements together. But then again, a listener's attention span might not last more than 20 minutes. For me, I can only watch a video that lasts 25 minutes maximum. I might describe or what I think about the movements more after I'm done. I feel like taking out my aggression in the final movement. While intense, you don't want to approach it too harshly. It's probably far from that, but it is catharsis to me. It's very taxing on the hands / fingers, unless you have a long reach.
Tuesday, April 29, 2025: | A lot of pianists take beginner's or easy pieces for granted, when some of them are more beautiful and inspiring than the most technicially-challenging pieces out there. Technically-challenging pieces are fine if you just want to prove that you can accurately play a million, gajillion notes or chords in just a few measures. There are youtubers who just focus on that - if there is an audience for that kind of stuff, to each their own. But there is absolutely nothing inspiring about that to me so I completely avoid them. "Fur Elise" is an example of a an inspiring, beautiful piece that is considered on the easy side (still challenging than most however). The piece's anniversary was a few days ago, and I'm ashamed that I was one of them who just took the piece for granted; so never took the time to learn or absorb the melody. I highly recommend Lang Lang's The Piano Book, which showcases some of the most beautiful or known beginning pieces out there. To show the world that they actually are relevant to the classical repertoire. As for the tempo for "Fur Elise". There is no "correct" way, perhaps only "proper" way. It's all a matter of preference. If you want to play it a bit more brisk, so be it - depending if you want to interpret it as a more happy, light melody. If you want to delve in the emotional aspect of it, it behooves a pianist to play it slow or take your time. Of course - playing a piece "too slow" or "too fast" is always a No-No. I learned the hard way. I don't shrug off pieces because they are easy, but mostly because they are either over-played, over-heard or not inspiring enough. "Fur Elise" is an exception however - it is always inspiring.
Saturday, April 26, 2025: | How can I forget about "The Flight of the Bumblebee" - I'm still practicing it, intending on uploading this sometime this year. I haven't had much solid practice time recently (I try to find time whenever possible), so even the Grand Waltz and Wanderer Fantasy is going to take more time than usual. I'm intending to record this without sheet music due to the tempo, pacing and the nature of the piece. Mimicking a Bumblebee's frenetic flight path and the bee's dancing or buzzing around in air is an imagery that is important to picture in playing this piece. It helps with subtle dynamics, accentuations, phrasing and pacing.
Wednesday, April 16, 2025: | Roll call (my current practice regimen): Chopin, Grand Valse Op. 42 Schubert, Wanderer Fantasy (select) W.A. Mozart, K. 576 Piano Sonata The learning process involves trial and error sometimes. Re-listening, re-doing and re-recording are all part of it. Countless takes. How do you know when you are absolutely ready - when you stop hesitating, doubting or over-thinking. Let the melody come to you. Suffice it to say, the K. 300 and K. 500 series of pieces are some of my favorites. It's been a process of elimination to just keep the ones I'm truly happy or content with. Of course - nothing is going to ever be ideal or perfect. But you have to know or absolutely be self-assured about it.
Wednesday, March 19, 2025: | Chopin's Grand Valse Op. 42 in A-flat is a very dynamic, melodic piece as valses go. Valses in general have a brisk tempo. But there are moments in this where I can I imagine playing certain phrases or sections very "Vivace" (the argpeggios) and other some sections more "tender" "gentle", punctuated with "grandiose" moments (Chopin's usual big, fat chords). Page-turning on a Waltz piece is not easy, since they are brisk. Unless the sheet music has favorable momentary breaks or slow downs. But if I can figure it out without compromising the tempo or stopping, then this Grand Valse is definitely a project to record and upload. I also need to re-do some Waltzes. A lot of videos are blurry - recorded on the old camcorder standard (non-HD). Fortunately, I switched over to the new camera phone and saving them HD. I'll probably keep Mendelssohn pieces as they are. Happy with them. Unless there is time.
Monday, March 17, 2025: | So I'm looking at another Chopin Grand Valse Brillante (one that I didn't finish as well), the first section / movement of the Wanderer Fantasy (guilty pleasure - I enjoy this so much, and my hands are more conditioned), and of course, "The Flight of the Bumblebee". Eventually. I've decided to finish the K. 331 with the Turkish March since it's the last movement. It's a famous piece, and I tend to avoid pieces that are often over-heard or played too often. I've heard this played briskly or moderately. Either way - it's more fun to play it briskly or Allegretto. Or the plan is to play the second melody more tenderly without compromising the tempo. And then the final section - end it grandiose style. This should keep my busy for awhile. Also - if I can find any short pieces in-between working on these. Who knows.
Saturday, March 08, 2025: | If I were to tackle the "Wanderer" Fantasy again, it would probably just to focus on one or two movements to record (most likely, the first two. Although the first and last movements are my favorites and most intense - they establish the atmosphere of a beginning and end to "life's journey" well. The final movement or section is such a doozy, it would certainly take awhile. But I enjoy the piece so much, it is still possible. These days, individual movements can be played as standalone pieces. Although the piece would not be complete without the rest of the movements, it is just a highlight of the piece. Sort of how "Youtube Shorts" are just snippets or sections of a full video. Nothing wrong with that. Even most recording artists are just recording individual movements.
Monday, March 03, 2025: | Most concert pianists perform at Carnegie Hall once in awhile in their schedules. It is sort of the benchmark of all performance venues. But there is none equal to the two best in the world - Lang Lang and Nobuyuki Tsujii. Check out their official sites for touring information and program list (if available). Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy is an epic piece, probably the most difficult C major piece out there.
Thursday, February 27, 2025: | "Sock it to meh!" Don't worry. K. 331 Variations and "The Flight of the Bumblebee" are the next recordings. I'm not sure after that. Oh, it's on. It's damn on. And you know it. Hahahah.
Saturday, February 08, 2025: | "Would It Be Too Much To Ask To Learn The Notes First?!!" Well - I've taken this quote to heart ever since re-listening to my rough recordings years ago haha. Practically all of them have been re-recorded or re-done, or just removed. While learning "The Flight of the Bumblebee", what are my priorities: 1. Make sure my fingers are conditioned enough to handle the pacing and the frenetic tempo, especially the right-hand main melody (probably the ultimate in an etude-like chromaticism. otherwise - don't bother with it) 2. Focus on the left-hand supporting chords to make sure they are played at tempo and accordingly 3. Add dynamicism and make the piece come alive, as if the listener can picture or imagine a bumblebee buzzing around Page 2 |