May 28, 2005 at 6:19 AM

I have seen a few wonderful recitals by friends in my studio lately, and tonight after watching a classmate's recital I was inspired to go and actually practice for my own--something I had been generally avoiding for a couple days now. I worked well on my second movements, especially the Brahms, which requires excruciatingly long, sustained bows. I definitely feel better that that is a little more under control now, and I hope the slow movements will hold some of the more poignant moments of my recital. However, tomorrow I have no choice but to wade through the technical perils of both of the Beethoven cadenzas, and most of the Beethoven in general. I think in addition to having some mental blocks about technique, I also have a mental block about cadenzas. I performed the Mozart Concerto No. 4 with for a student conductor's recital in the fall, and noticed from the recording that the cadenzas were conspicuously less solid than the rest of the concerto. With the Beethoven now, considering that everything has to be so pristine, I probably owe it just as much to Kreisler to clean up all those double-stops and get them in better shape. I do think time has helped me a bit: I've been working on this concerto the whole school year, and when I played the first movement cadenza at my lesson the other day, my teacher thought it had improved although I hadn't much worked on it. So familiarity is at least working with me here. I think if I try to put my anxiousness aside and make tomorrow no-nonsense technique day, I can start to feel really secure and positive about Tuesday. Tomorrow I have the hall booked for a dress rehearsal at night, but my accompanist is so busy this time of year that she probably can't make it. So I get some time to practice and to get comfortable with the hall (at which I have already watched a couple recitals, and played a quartet recital, which helps).

And since it's all I talk about of late anyway, here are official recital details for anyone who may be in Evanston:

Tuesday, May 31 @ 6 pm
Garrett Seminary
2121 Sheridan Rd.

Beethoven Concerto
Brahms Sonata No. 1 in G Major

Jessica Hung, violin
Andrea Swan, piano

Reception to follow

All in all today went surprisingly better than I expected. I also spent some time having a late dinner with a dear friend who's very happy and doing well, and that makes me happy in turn. She is looking into some early music programs for grad school, and I think Case Western is reputed to have a good one, so she may visit me next year in Cleveland.

Up tomorrow to shower and get all respectable-looking for my photos. Bed before 2--this is a first for me in quite a while. Goodnight, fellow v.commies!

May 28, 2005 at 6:19 AM

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