Chapter 14: Russian Nationalism

"Before your fingers touch the keys you must begin the piece mentally--that is, you must have settled in your mind the tempo, the manner of touch, and above all, the attack of the first notes, before your actual playing begins. And bye-the-bye, what is the character of the piece? Is it dramatic, tragic, lyric, romantic, humorous, heroic, sublime, mystic--what?" I think this is something too often forgot about. For me, I perform much better if I take a minute and mentally prepare to play. If I think of the opening measures, the rhythm, character, dynamic, etc., I will usually start more confidently, which can then hopefully continue through the performance. I think Rubinstein is wise in saying this.

I enjoyed reading Lhevinne's description of the technical standards of the Russian Conservatories. Scales and arpeggios are important, and probably an important aspect of daily practicing. I think that these fundamentals are often forgotten about in the practice room, and would be something beneficial to add to our daily practice routines.

The production of tone at the piano I think is somewhat hard to explain. Recently, I have been experimenting with similar directions that Lhevinne gives. The wrist and arm are to be loose, but the fingers must be firm and direct. In trying to resolve my tension problems, I developed flabby fingers, which then produced a whimpy tone without much direction and substance. I am currently experimenting with finding the right balance between firmness in the hands and looseness in the wrists and arms. It is not easy, but I feel like my tone is improving, and therefore, think there is something to what Lhevinne has to say about tone production.

I like Horowitz's description of the process in practicing. It is more valuable to work on sections and details, rather than constantly playing through the piece. This is a hard think to do, and requires a lot of discipline and concentration. However, the outcome is worth it; by focusing on details and working slowly from one section to the next, provides a greater learning curve for the piece than continually running the entire piece. I also like the idea of working on parts of one movement one day, and then choosing a different movement or piece the next day. Variety in practicing keeps it interesting and allows reflection in between each session on a particular piece. Then, when returning to that piece, a fresh approach can be taken, rather than a monotonous one.