The three are actually pretty unrelated...
My school had its Arlene Kaplan competition today. I entered, along with 2 pianists (one of whom had tendonitis!). I was playing the Courante from the first Bach Suite, Haydn C Maj. 1st movement & Elgar 1st movement ... I have also been sick for the last 4 days or so ... So, minus a memory slip or two in the Bach, and a little bit of slop in general (from fighting against my body just to play normally), I played the pieces the best I've ever played them (and man does that mean I need to up my level by *a lot!!*). I was also awarded one of two prizes, which was pretty awesome. I didn't really enter the competition for the sake of winning, or anything of that sort, just for the sake of the process you go through in preparing for them (that is, after all, why they're important/valuable). Anyway, I'm really proud of myself for earning that, and for the progress I've been making lately ... got a lot more to go though just to get any of those pieces into *real* shape ... but anyway, I'm breaking on them for now, because I have 4 concerts next week and am working on a Popper etude, plus the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto for this week ... it's amazing how much easier the Popper Etude is at this point ... it should be a breeze to get through...
Well, guess I've covered the Popper bit ... while doing Popper/afterwards, I discovered that playing with a mute makes deficiences very clear (like unintentional slides, or pitch errors, poor bowing ... stuff like that) ... so, I'm gonna play with it more often ... if I can get an amazing tone with one, then I can get an even better one without one ... exciting!!
Playing on fingertips is something I've rediscovered (though I never thought of it that way before) & finally my fingertips are callousing the way they used to ... so inspiring ...
Can't wait to get to practicing tomorrow ... so much to work on ...
P.S. - Emily - I got the Strings Magazine & have been meaning to call and say hi/thanks, but have been pretty busy and sick as you can see. Hope all is well.
-Mike
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