~by Isabel Zeng

In hindsight of my book 6 recital, I am satisfied with my performance despite some of its errors. My book 6 recital was composed of 8 pieces, one of which being a sonata with 4 movements, and it was also my first solo recital, meaning that I had more freedom with the order of the pieces, but I also didn’t have the support of a friend doing the same thing with me, nor did I get a longer break in between pieces. 

One of the challenges that I faced during the performance were the more technical aspects, such as fingerings. This was especially prominent in pieces such as the 2nd and 4th movements of Handel Sonata in D major, the runs in La Folia, etc where there are multiple shifts combined with (personally) awkward fingerings, in which I need to press on two strings. This was a large challenge, since when I was playing a fast piece and I messed up a few notes, it stayed in my head and made me nervous about the next section which I know to be difficult as well, which then causes my hand to tense up and makes it even more difficult to correctly play. During the recital, there were some things that I knew were going to be issues with, whilst there were others that were completely unexpected.

Another challenge was my posture, since I have a tendency to slouch after a period of time, and that impacts my contact point on the strings and overall tone. I tried to improve this by practicing with my scroll level with a fixed point, and whenever I realised that it was too low, I would reset my violin and continue playing, trying to fix my posture before it was too late. During the recital, I did the same, except without the option of putting my violin back on my shoulder.

Something that I am proud of is my Rameau Gavotte, which I personally think was my best played piece. However, during the middle of Gavotte II, I made a mistake which really shook up my previous confidence, but since I got back on track quickly, I was able to move on. In spite of this, I feel good with my vibrato and tone in Rameau Gavotte.

I feel that my performance of the Handel Sonata in D major was the worst, despite me focusing on it the most. In the 1st movement, there was an issue with counting that although I had made the error before, it hadn’t happened in the week or so beforehand, and the 2nd and 4th movements both had areas where I got off track, but thankfully remembered where I was in the music. The 3rd movement was mostly fine.

In order to prepare for the recital, I practiced often and focused on the aspects that needed improving, whether it was more technical or musical things, or listening to the piano recording to understand how my part fitted with Ms Sonomi’s. On the day of the recital, I focused on each piece and its sections, then ran through all of the pieces how I would in the recitall, including sitting and bowing. Afterwards, I didn’t practice, instead opting to listen to the recordings in order for me to relax a bit. I think that this helped me prepare for the recital because if I made a mistake during my practice, I would teach myself how to get back on track quickly and solve the problem, and also because being tense was one of my biggest issues and also caused (and causes) most of my mistakes.

For my book 7 recital, I hope to improve my organisation and planning skills in order to schedule rehearsals with Ms Sonomi, and to better allocate time to each piece so as to anticipate and deflect problems.

To Ms Sonomi, my collaborative pianist, thank you very much for taking time out of your daily life to rehearse with me for this, as well as helping me take my mind off worrying before the recital, and in general just being amazing! Thank you to Ms Diane for all her years of tutelage and helping me gain confidence in my playing, telling me what I need to improve on and how, and complimenting me when I do something well. You make my musical journey both fun and educational, and I truly wouldn’t be where I am now without you, both as a person and as a musician! 🙂 Finally, thank you to those who watched my performance, whether it be online or in person.