Upon completion of my Book 7 recital, I felt quite satisfied with the whole experience, and I felt like all the work I put in really paid off. Surprisingly, I felt a lot more comfortable during the recital, and was a lot less nervous than previously, which definitely helped my playing, and allowed me to be more expressive.
In the weeks leading up to the recital, I was responsible for scheduling rehearsals with Ms. Sonomi, and although that was a responsibility that I hadn’t had to take care of in the past, it was important, and even though I struggled a bit with communication at first, it soon got easier.
Regarding my playing, I think that it went smoothly for the most part; there were some slip-ups here and there and I played the wrong piece by accident, but I was actively trying to implement all of the techniques that I worked on such as using my elbow, using the right amount and intensity of vibrato, using my arm (especially for more tone-related pieces), and trying to keep my tempo consistent (such as in the 1st movement of Bach A minor and the 3rd movement of Handel A major).
Some pieces were, of course, less challenging than others both regarding technique, and how easily the musicality aspect of it came to me, but even though playing them was like taking a small break, it was still a bit of a challenge to remain engaged while that was happening.
In contrast, pieces such as Legende were far more difficult. I had performed Legende once previously, and because of that, it made this performance of the piece go more smoothly. I was able to get a better grasp of what I wanted the piece to sound like and be, and that allowed me to be more expressive and lean into the musical aspects rather than only focusing on the technical parts. Of course, I did have to pay significant attention to things such as intonation, given its rather lengthy passage of double-stops and chords, which although was something I worked really hard on, some sections were still difficult but I tried to not let that stand in the way of the piece overall. Despite all of its challenges, I enjoyed playing Legende again, and I think that it was definitely a great experience.
Overall, I think that I did well in my Book 7 recital, and I am proud of the progress I made between this recital and the one prior. I was able to not only grow in my technical abilities, but also in confidence and expressiveness, and scheduling rehearsals and communicating with Ms. Sonomi helped me improve my communication skills and become more responsible.
Finally, I would like to thank Ms. Sonomi, Ms. Diane, and Ms. Marie Ann so much for everything they’ve done in order to make the recital possible. To Ms. Sonomi, thank you so much for all of the effort and time you put into this and thank you for being patient with me throughout the rehearsals. Ms. Diane, thank you for working on the pieces with me and helping me improve certain sections over and over again, and also for making the amazing programme. Ms. Marie Ann, thank you for bearing with me especially when I had some communication related mess-ups. Last but not least, thank you again to everyone who came and made this experience so memorable.
