I think we can universally agree that the start of a recital is the weakest - they maybe haven’t warmed up and nerves play a part. So things get better as things go along - they get into a flow - but where do they peak?
Both musically and technically - Do they run out of steam near the end?
Does a mid-recital break help or hinder their flow?
I’m curious about your experiences both with playing yourselves and especially attending recitals…how have each performer differed?
I know that some pianists get better and better during a recital and even peak during encores!
Think we’ve got it here, the worst topic in SDC history.
No I don’t know… I’ve never detected a pattern with it, or thought damn this would have been so much better if it had been played 20 minutes ago. First piece might be a bit stiff with some pianists perhaps, but even that is hardly a rule. Even with the encores what I think it really is is that the main program consists of pieces they’ve played over and over and over and over and over again the last few months or years, and it might be hard to make them sound fresh and spontaneous after that. Encores on the other hand are often simply some smaller pieces they’re in to at the moment.
What I can say however is that the FIRST BAR of the first piece is often special. It’s often a tad too soft, a tad too loud or similar - it takes a few chords to calibrate.
Interesting insight there, I just wonder at what point that flow state is entered and how it can be done so quicker.
A pre-concert warmup is a great luxury if possible, even if it is interrupted.
I remember an interview with John Petrucci of Dream Theater in which he talked about pre-show warmups being essential but that he often used to make the mistake of peaking during his warmup as he made it too long
In the context of my life - I started posting a lot again on here shortly after my hernia surgery and a difficult year generally with regards to mental health. I was given a 3 month sick note after a doctor deemed me again to be unfit for work both physically and mentally.
So with a lot of time on my hands that would have been otherwise spent on negative rumination -reconnecting with this community in earnest has been a great source of solace and has given me a renewed social passion for sharing discussions and ideas about music and piano - an outlet for which I have zero connections in my real personal life.
So it’s come to the point where I’ve become overly zealous in my creation of too many relatively trivial topics like this - and I understand it can be annoying to others, so I’m definitely slowing it down drastically.
My old teacher was watching a Perahia master class at college. The student had played, perahia hadn’t even touched the piano, then went up and demonstrated perfectly. Hr gathered everything he needed to know by ear and and sight. Bloody freaks.
Anyway zorry tho BREW. I iz literally trying to finizh my farm fo tha year and get da fuck outta here fo a minute diz time of year. tiz a ztrezzful zheeyat…
