Feeling a bit wistful tonight on All Hallows Eve. Didn't celebrate really except for wrapping up some harvesting yesterday, as blogged.
Lately I've been tinkling the ivories more. It must be the reading that befuddles my brain, and impels me to wander away from the books to do something more tactile. And it's more immediately rewarding even if I can't play well. I've been practicing some dinky arrangements of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, mostly the third movement, but sometimes the second movement, Adagio sostenuto, as well as the 18th Variation from Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Technically, I think I'm in over my fingers as I haven't made much progress on either in over a decade. That may be why I never left them behind.
It will be colder starting tomorrow, All Saints' Day. I remember and look forward to warmer times for Beltane in the spring.
4 comments:
I'd stick with Chopin if I were you... Rachmaninoff is strictly for those strange creates who can somehow translate a page thick with small black notes into coordinated finger movements.
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto #2 is one of my favorites and my first record purchase. It helps if one has big hands or very fast finger movements to play his music.
I wonder if my affinity for Rachmaninoff was predetermined. I'll have to ask whether my mom played it for me in utero. I know she played Mozart's Horn Concertos a lot.
Yes, I definitely have trouble hitting all the chords and passages, so either I need larger hands or an extra finger. It's amazing to me that Rachmaninoff could improvise on his pieces. So complex and beautiful.
I've never played Chopin... but he seems very dense and regular. Given my lack of technique, I'm not sure he would inspire my practice. But I like listening.
I have asked your Mom that you probabally heard a Rachmaninoff record of piano pieces and falled in love with it immediately when you were as big as your thumb. She said you may try a Mozart's Sonata when you have a chance and see what happen.
Enjoy youn music and grow with it!
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