Liszt and Tapioca

March 7, 2007 at 11:53 PM

This weekend was SO exhausting. Lots of rehearsals and playing and driving. I'm just now starting to recouperate and exit the "fog" of total mental and physical run-down. In order to prepare well for the coming weekend.

I'm trying to nail Liszt's Les Preludes symphonic poem no.3 and Sibelius's "Tapiola" aka tapioca...
The liszt is proving to be a real pain. The arpeggios that go on FOREVER with awkward changes and fingerings are one section of screaming frustration, also trying to get the bow to keep a good bounce that LONG!!! as well as play the right notes and in tune. Hello second position, how are you doing?
Then there is the section on pg.5 that I can't really find a good fingering for....and the bowings are pulling my brains out my ears.

We took a walk in the woods across the street, exploring today. I'm glad we did that, it is helping with the afternoon, if that makes sense.

This past weekend we played with the concerto competition winners. The violinist played Tchaik first movement. We all wanted to throw our instruments in the river by the concert hall. She was AMAZING!!! Sometimes it is hard, though, to hear a young person play so well. Part of me remembers the zeal of being that age, and the intensity and hope everything had in it. Compared with the way I approach music now, it is so different. It took me a whole day to recover and realize that I'm not unhappy with where I am, what I do, and how I do it. I don't profess to be a virtuoso soloist, and I don't wish to be one. I work very hard at being an orchestral player, and that is what I've wanted to do with my life....I'm doing it. So, there's nothing to be dissappointed about.

Do we all have those doubts, though?
Back to liszt and tapioca.

Sals,
Jennifer

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