What Are You Learning?, ...and how's it going? Options

[davidmackay]

I'm currently working on Tchaikowsky's Old French Song. It's truly beautiful. And it sounds, well 'French'. How does he do that?

Had my lesson tonight and teacher has introduced the sustaining pedal for the first time, so currently trying to get to grips with it in this piece.

[Mini_mo]

I'm currently working on Tchaikowsky's Old French Song. It's truly beautiful. And it sounds, well 'French'. How does he do that?

Had my lesson tonight and teacher has introduced the sustaining pedal for the first time, so currently trying to get to grips with it in this piece.

I am meant to Start the 'Italian song' by Tchaikowsky at some point. Will go and have a listen on You tube to The 'Old French song'.

Good luck for using the pedal. I found it a shock to begin with (yet something else to think about (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif) )

Am trying to polish Allegro Grazioso and the first part of Sonatina in G by Beethoven and also working on Marzuka by Delibes from Coppelia and the second movement from Sonatina in G. Plus I did start Indaco by Einaudi but stopped, why did I do that? I really want to learn some Einaudi pieces but I seem always to get absorbed by the classic stuff. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

[DocOx]

I'm currently working on Tchaikowsky's Old French Song. It's truly beautiful. And it sounds, well 'French'. How does he do that?

Yes, I can feel some Frenchiness to it too! (note: I am French... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif))

[Mad Tom]

Tchaikovsky's piano music is excellent. I recently bought a CD set by Postnikova of his complete works and there are many very beautiful pieces amongst them (but some very difficult ones too). I have a vague intention to learn June and October from the (misnamed!) "The Seasons" .... some day.

[barry-clari]

Very rarely will I post here, but I'm working on making sure I play most of the right notes in 2childmum's Pepusch accompaniment for Saturday...

[oldnotes]

Liszt - Hymn to the awakening child. coming along nicely at the moment.

[andante_in_c]

Scarlatti Sonata in F minor, Kp 466. I heard the young pianist Benjamin Grosvenor playing this on R3 on Monday, and thanks to the wonders of the Internet, printed a lovely copy from the Werner Icking archive an hour later. It's improving my 3v2 no end. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Fran*Piano]

Lacrimosa from Mozart's Requiem (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif)

[Solari]

Grieg - Op.12 No.1 - Arietta - 3 part harmony and voicing seems to be my weakness. Not hard to hit the right notes, very hard to get the 3 parts at the right volumes... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif)

Chopin - Op.28 No.15 "Raindrop" - Almost done with this now, I just trip up sometimes at a few specific points. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Various Einaudi for light relief.
Various pieces from the Anna Magdalena book.

[pianist_flautist]

I've recently been going over the Raindrop prelude I learnt when I was 15, about 2 years ago to play in a compeition, and realised how much of it I forgot! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

I've also got a Bach piece to perform in a month, and it still sounds awful, but it's half term, so I have no excuse to not have lots of practise time!

I've also got the Haydn piano concerto coming together gradually, it's not very hard at all, I just keep falling into that all too familiar trap of playing it with bad fingering, not correcting it each time, and then when I realise it doesn't work, I have to re-teach myself the right fingering, but keep playing what you've learnt perviously! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blush.gif)

[madbassoonist]

I'm learning Ravel's Menuet sur le nom de Haydn for Grade 7. There's a bit in the middle in 3 staves that has lovely chords, but is impossible to play! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) That will need LOTS of practice - it isn't going very well!!

My piano teacher's choir has a concert in a fortnight where I have to accompany them for 3 pieces. I have learnt 2 but the 3rd is proving quite difficult! 3 flats, so not too bad, but it's still hard.

Scales/arpeggios.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blush.gif)

[rites_of_summer]

Scarlatti Sonata in F minor, Kp 466. I heard the young pianist Benjamin Grosvenor playing this on R3 on Monday, and thanks to the wonders of the Internet, printed a lovely copy from the Werner Icking archive an hour later. It's improving my 3v2 no end. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I heard this too! I was still tidying up breakfast stuff and settling my three children down to some serious painting, cutting and sticking they 'needed' to do.
I wrote down K466 on the side of the cereal flap, the only thing I had to hand.
Off to dabble on the internet and find the music now! Thanks for the internet tip off.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[oldnotes]

Scarlatti Sonata in F minor, Kp 466. I heard the young pianist Benjamin Grosvenor playing this on R3 on Monday, and thanks to the wonders of the Internet, printed a lovely copy from the Werner Icking archive an hour later. It's improving my 3v2 no end. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I heard young Benjamin Grosvenor play it live, during his recital at the Ribble Valley piano week, two years ago. It's one of my favourite pieces from that era.

[Robodoc]

Scarlatti Sonata in F minor, Kp 466. I heard the young pianist Benjamin Grosvenor playing this on R3 on Monday, and thanks to the wonders of the Internet, printed a lovely copy from the Werner Icking archive an hour later. It's improving my 3v2 no end. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

What a coincidence: This must have been the Breakfast show (about 10 past 9 ish): Later on Monday I was in the audience at the Wigmore Hall for the Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert (broadcast live) where none other than Ben Grosvenor stepped in at short notice. He played 3 pieces by Kapustin, The Liszt B minor Sonata, the Chopin C sharp, Op posth Nocturne, the 3rd Chopin Scherzo and an encore I didn't recognise . . . but no Scarlatti.

(Edit - the encore is on the BBC iplayer on listen again, from about 56 minutes in and is apparently a transcription by Liszt of Chopin's song "My Joys").

I heard young Benjamin Grosvenor play it live, during his recital at the Ribble Valley piano week, two years ago. It's one of my favourite pieces from that era.

I also heard him play it at Ribble Valley, presumably the same recital, where I thought most of his program was overly morbid for a pianist who, though brilliant, was still only 14. His encore that day was the (solo piano arrangement of the) finale from the Carnival of Animals: It was the first time that he really came alive. I must say he has improved with age!!

[fsharpminor]

I have just started playing Clementi Sonata in F#Minor (!) Op25 No5. I might play the first movement at the next 'event' I attend.
Most young pianists are introduced in the middle Grades to his Six Sonatinas Op36, but he wrote quite a few proper Sonatas as well. One or two are of dubious quality, but there are perhaps half a dozen well worth an airing and similar to Haydn in style. Beside the one above, there is the B flat one in this years Grade 8 list (first movement, though in 1984 my daughter played it complete for Gr8) . But my favourite is the one in C (Op33 No3), which Sofia Gulyak played in the semi final before winning the Leeds International competition last year. I recommend these to anyone wanting a change from Mozart and Haydn sonatas