July 1, 2004 at 1:24 AM

So, I made it. And I have a new teacher. *sigh of releif*.

We left for Philadelphia around 1:30pm (only after I had made myself sufficiently nervous for the whole ordeal) and drove down listening to Milstein's Bach and Perlman's Beethoven Sonatas. We arrived at around 3, and I convinced my dad to sit around in a Starbucks until 4, when I was to meet Ms. Kwalwasser. After searching around for a bit (she had inadvertantly given us an adress with one wrong number), we finally found the place, and took the elevator to the twenty fifth floor of the building. I had to knock a few times; apparently her husband was giving a piano lesson on their Steinway grand.... (how DO you get a grand piano onto the twenty fifth floor of an apartment building??). Ms. Kwalwasser finally answered the door and let us in to a beautiful and spacious apartment with a fantastic panoramic view of Rittenhouse square, and the Delaware river on the other side. She led me down a hall and into a room with ANOTHER grand piano ( so not only had they gotten one into the apartment, but down the hall and into an office...).

"Ok. Play something," she said.

I introduced the first movement of the Bach D minor and started playing. Man, was I nervous. The beginning was a little shaky, I'll admit, but in the end it didn't turn out so bad. When I was done, I was to play a G major scale, and she rattled off every possible way of playing it. Octaves, thirds, different rhythms, bowings, and distributions. After a short "hmmm" and a nod, she told me to do something from a concerto. I started playing the third movement of the Saint-Saens, which was not bad, but also not fabulous.

"I never liked that piece, play something else." Ok, so she's very frank.

I had to think for a minute. I hadn't expected this. I radomly chose the Beethoven, which was dumb of me, but I've been practicing it a lot anyway. Again, I got through about the first two pages before she stopped me. Another nod.

"Do you play Bach concerti?"

I launched into the Bach A minor, third movement. Stopped again. She asked for the second movement. I did. Stopped. Another "hmmm." No facial expressions, just a "hmmm." It was all making me extremely nervous. She thought for a moment, and told me I could play one more piece, anything I'd like. So I chose another Bach. G minor, first movement. I actually got all the way through it. And it was really, really good. When I finished, I gave a HUGE sigh of releif (inwardly, of course) and I was told to sit down. And finally, she did what every student wants to see from their teacher, or an auditioner. She smiled. Yessssss! I was in! Hallelujah! After a brief discussion about possible lesson times and my willingness to commit to a studio, we actually had a lovely little conversation. Ms. Kwalwasser is quite a charming lady, and she has a lot to say about life in general. She was a Galamian student; sent to New York at age 13 to study with him. Fascinating.

Then my dad and I went to dinner at a pizza place, and took a trip to Barnes n Noble to buy some books. And drove home. I listened to more Beethoven as the sun went down and I felt really really good.

Tomorrow, I leave for Tanglewood. I still have to pack, so I should probably get crackin' on that. 6 weeks. Phew. I can't wait to get there.

I wish you all lovely summers, and stay musical!

Ciao,
Elena

July 1, 2004 at 1:24 AM

Subscribe

Laurie's Books