What are you practicing/playing right now?

[erinmr]

I thought I'd put a new spin on the "what are you listening to" post. So, for those who play, what instrument do you play and what are you working on right now?

I play the piano and right now I'm working on the Brahms Capriccio in f# minor, Brahms Intermezzo in A Major and Mozart Sonata #12 in F Major. I am also working on some of my own arragments of some hymns and common melodies.

~Erin

[jbuck919]

I thought I'd put a new spin on the "what are you listening to" post. So, for those who play, what instrument do you play and what are you working on right now?

I play the piano and right now I'm working on the Brahms Capriccio in f# minor, Brahms Intermezzo in A Major and Mozart Sonata #12 in F Major. I am also working on some of my own arragments of some hymns and common melodies.

~Erin

Sight reading material.

Y'all didn't know that about me, did you?

[Auntie Lynn]

Wow, where do I start...been doing ALL the late Schubert sonatae, except for the A major, got assigned the B major the other day. De Falla's Three Dances from the Three Cornered Hat, the Liszt transcription of the g minor Fantasia/Fugue - also his transcription of the a minor Prelude and Fugue; rehabbing Beethoven Op. 90 in e minor (all the others have been rehabbed); Janacek's Overgrown Path, first two Schumann sonatae - the second done in recital recently, the Haydn English Sonatae, Chopin Polonaise Fantasie, and a buncha other stuff, more later...

[Teresa B]

Hey erinmr,

It so happens I LOVE those pieces. Great choices! I play the piano too, and play the Brahms Intermezzo op 118 no 2 and the Mozart Sonata in F major. Those Brahms pieces just get better the more you do them. (So, jbuck, just keep up the sightreading. )

I'm working on Beethoven's Piano Trio Op 1 no 1 (Yes, jbuck, WITH all repeats!!). Also I continue to do battle with Chopin's G-minor Ballade (overplayed as it may be, but hey, it's good stuff)--ONE day I shall not succumb to the blasted coda, but shall emerge triumphant. And I keep looking at Debussy's Poissons d'Or and weeping.

All the best, Teresa

[Donald Isler]

Don't worry, Teresa. I heard Horowitz play the G-Minor Ballade in concert two or three times, and never was the coda note-perfect!

[MartinPh]

Cello here...

Working on Mendelssohn's first Sonata, and the prelude from the Third Bach suite. With Martinu's Pastorales thrown in for relaxation.

With my orchestra we're rehearsing Mendelssohn's stunningly beautiful Psalm-setting 'Verleih uns Frieden', which has gorgeous parts for divided cellos throughout. And Brahms's second Serenade, with some pretty challenging bars that are not particularly idiomatic for the cello (though it is a wonderful piece).

[herman]

Pieces from Schumann's Humoreske

Pieces from Prokofiev's Visions Fugitives

I'm terrible. I couldn't play my way out of a paper bag.

[Teresa B]

Don't worry, Teresa. I heard Horowitz play the G-Minor Ballade in concert two or three times, and never was the coda note-perfect!

Hi Donald,

Well, that's a relief! I understand you are a superb pianist yourself. Any tricks you can impart as far as the relentless pursuit of pianistic perfection? (OK, practice...)

Teresa

[Donald Isler]

Hi Teresa,

Perfection, no, but to make it better........................

Keep listening to everything you're doing and think about what you're not happy with, and if possible, why.

Also, I like to record my playing from time to time and have learned a lot from listening to myself as an "outsider." Sometimes hearing yourself on tape will immediately let you know what's wrong, and what needs to be done to fix it. And sometimes it will tell you you're doing better than you thought!

Regards,
Don

[Teresa B]

Thanks, Don! I've done the recording trick, and it does help. And yes, really listening, rather than mindless repetition, is so important.

All the best, Teresa

[matti]

Beethoven's op. 81a, Les Adieux over the weekend. Great fun, though I'm a bit rusty, haven't played anything this challenging in ages.

Also some Grieg's Lyrische Stûcke.

[aurora]

OK… here goes…..

for orchestra(s)-
Rachmaninoff symphony #2, Beethoven Pastoral symphony, Weber Clarinet concerto, Mussorgsky Night on Bald Mountain…soon to be added: Mozart Requiem & Clarinet concerto….. first violin for all of ‘em.

I’ve done the Requiem & Pastoral before so that won’t require too much of my time outside of rehearsal…. unlike Rach 2 which has some beastly bits. After the first round of concerts, I’ll be devoting a chunk of my x-mas vacation to learning Mahler 1 & dusting off Tchaik 4th, but I also hope to go on a chamber music excursion then.

for chamber music-
my regular 4tet has a coaching session with a local professional this week, we’re doing Mendelssohn op.44 #2… 1st violin for me again. Later this week I’ve got a Mendelssohn octet get-together(violin 3), then I have my regular piano trio in which we usually do Mozart, Beethoven & Brahms, then another 4tet get-together which will be all-Beethoven ‘cause we realized haven’t done any in previous get-togethers. I’m hoping for op. 18 #4 & if I have to do first violin for a late LvB (we switch off), it’ll have to be op. 132… which suits me fine.

In practice sessions I do mostly technical work & sight-reading as they benefit my chamber-music (group-music playing in general, actually), plus the tricky bits of my orchestra rep. When possible, I do work on things I worked on in lessons hoping to polish them off (I stopped taking lessons a year ago). Right now it’s Brahms sonata #1 & the Bach Solo Sonatas & Partitas. I’ve read through the other 2 Brahms & I’m hooked so I plan to work on them as well as going back to concertos I’ve done- Mozart 3 & 4, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Sibelius & Saint-Saens 3. I only did the first movements so I’d like to see if I can finish them off.


…..too little time!

[MahlerSnob]

Various things. Beethoven 4 in preparation for tomorrow's conducting class, two settings of southern hymns by Thomson for the youth choir, Copland's In The Beginning for the same group, various other choral pieces I might have to run rehearsals on. Otherwise... Mahler 9, Fledermaus, the on-going project of learning the Shostakovich symphonies, etc. I've also been plowing through Bach Chorales (both Book 1 and the long-lost Book 2) when I get bored.

[janewilko]

I am working on singing Schumanns Liederkries. It's a great collection of songs. I'd like to be able to perform the whole thing but it would take a lot of stamina! Not sure if I'm ready for the challenge just yet.

Also working on 'Hear Ye Isreal' - the soprano aria from Mendolssohns (spelling?) Elijah. Another one that's tough going and lies very high in the voice for the most part.

[Harvested Sorrow]

To be blunt: Nothing...

[Jennifer Grucza]

In orchestra: Hindemith Mathis der Maler, Wagner Tannhauser Overture, and a Mozart flute concerto.

I haven't taken lessons for a few years, so I'm still looking at the Bartok viola concerto off and on, which was what I was working on when I stopped taking lessons. There's plenty to keep me busy in that piece!

I'm taking a little break from chamber music, since my wrists have been bothering me, and I didn't want to make them worse by overdoing things.