Tag: Chopin

10 Famous Compositions in G major/E minor
10 Famous Compositions in C major/A minor

10. Franz Schubert: Fantasie in C major, Op. 15, “The Wanderer” Let no-one say that pieces written in C major are easy! The Wanderer is widely considered to be Schubert’s most technically demanding piece, to the extent that the composer himself had difficulty playing it! It is performed here by Alfred Brendel. Honourable Mention: Ludwig…
Chopin Barcarolle Op. 60: Weeks 4 & 5, Practicing to Perfection

During the past two weeks I have been practicing the first 35 bars and made a start on the next next section. I finally managed to get the camera up and running, although transferring the recorded content to the computer was another matter. Now that I have got it all done I am going to talk…
Chopin Barcarolle Op 60: Week 3

I had hoped to video my progress this week and write a commentary on it, however the battery in my camera has died and I am waiting on a new one, so it will have to wait until next week. Until then, here’s my breakdown of bars 23 – 35, followed by bars 84 –…
Chopin Barcarolle Op. 60, Week 2

Having read the piece through and divided it into sections last week, the next job was to take those sections one at a time and methodically work through them. This involves testing out different fingering, deciding how ornaments should sound and playing the notes at a speed at which it is possible to get everything…
Chopin Barcarolle Op. 60, Week 1

This week has been busy; I have had two new students start and I was booked up on Saturday at Ford Lane Recording Studios for some session work. Finding time to practice in between has been tricky, but I have been able to read through the Barcarolle and start work on the first section. Impressions…
New Piece: Barcarolle in F Sharp Major, Op. 60, by Chopin

Having just finished my last concert until September, I have decided that now would be a good opportunity to add some new pieces to my repertoire. This has coincided with the launch of my new website, so it seemed like a good idea to start a practice blog. This practice blog has two purposes: firstly…