Reflections on solo recital 11 October

A couple of thoughts about my solo recital a couple of weeks ago at St. Nicholas's Church (11 October). What I was most pleased about was that the Schoenberg op. 19 Klavierstücke seem to have come across well despite some slight memory lapses - I had some very appreciative feedback. And also that the Chopin A flat Ballade felt very secure, meaning that I was able to relax into it, take a few risks and build a good intensity at the end I think. The technically challenging passages that I'd spent a lot of time on seemed to come off really well! It's thanks to a lot of help from my teacher Yuri and a lot of time spent thinking about and working at technique that these kinds of challenges now seem essentially soluble to me - it's just a question of working out different ways to practise them and then putting some time in. Looking forward to the next solo challenges! I've got a few ideas about different things to work on, including some Schubert, Brahms and Debussy.

In the more immediate future I've got some interesting concerts coming up with two excellent locally based singers and teachers: Yvonne Patrick and Lucy Mair. There are details now on the events page: http://www.joewardpianist.com/concerts-and-events/