I've been participating in this forum for about a year and a half but I don't think I've formally introduced myself. I joined this forum because I started playing the piano again after around 20 years of not playing consistently and around 15 of not playing at all and I wanted to discuss my love of the piano and also gain encouragement. I stopped playing a few years after gaining my ARCT diploma in piano performance (from Canada) because my studies took up too much of my time and then I moved around for work, to foreign countries and I just never counted on my absence from Canada being well, permanent. I had considered studying the piano further but for various reasons, most notably, being convinced that I could keep it up as a hobby in contrast to my other, academic interest, which needed to be pursued professionally otherwise not at all, I only took a couple of advanced theory courses in university: 20th century and advanced analysis. And I had to lie myself into that, by formally auditioning for their music program, and getting in, and then auditioning further by passing some theory tests, just to be allowed to take them! For various reasons I'm trapped now, in another country, where my descendants come from so it's not totally foreign, and since I did not anticipate staying here, I did not even consider getting a piano despite all the years I've been living here. But finally I decided that a piano will make me whole again. I'm trapped here partially because I've acquired a lot of cats but also because I tried to make a career for myself in academia (physical sciences) but I had some falling outs with my employers in the different countries I worked in - including the one I'm in now - and right now I'm being prosecuted in criminal courts for speaking the truth since the cases have taken a life of their own and a lot of other parties have gotten involved. I'm basically infamous now in the country I'm in, within legal circles, even at the supreme court level. I guess it's not that hard to guess which country in Europe has the least freedom of speech as well as a kangaroo justice system. Not as scary as it sounds, as it's all a load of crap, but it takes up all of my time. I suddenly realized that the antidote to the cynical world of lawyers is MUSIC and this will give me the power to hold my own. I believe that my musical background gave me the courage to stick it to the staid establishment. My science background too. A "deadly" combination! I did make a post near the beginning of my reentry detailing how it felt to get back in to piano playing, how my sense of pitch was off, but otherwise, I didn't lose much technique. I really have been practising diligently however. On average 2.5 hours per day. My main love was always Bach, so I started polishing the Bach Toccata I played for my ARCT exam way back when (e minor) and immediately began learning the rest of the Bach Toccatas as my confidence grew. I can't say I play them at recital level yet, but that's because I worked on around 10 pieces simultaneously, having picked up my old Beethoven sonata (Tempest) and added a couple more new ones (op.2 no.3 and Waldstein). 10 pieces was not enough, I had to make up for lost time so I started ripping through the WTC. So far I can play - to a decent level but not quite recital level - Book 1: C# major, c# minor, a minor, b-flat minor as well as some from my distant past which I don't like too much
Book 2: D major, E-flat major, e-flat minor, f minor, F# major, G major, g minor, g# minor.
I've also picked up from my distant past, the Art of the Fugue, specifically Contrapunctus IX which I used to be obsessed with and still am, and started learning I, II and IV. However, given the volume of this repertoire, it's no surprise that nothing is up to performance standard yet. Well, some are close.
I find myself disliking playing romantic music but I've dusted off one of my old pieces, Chopin's F# major impromptu and started learning the Ballade no.4 which I half-learned way back in the day, sneaking into piano practice rooms on evenings and Sundays at my university campus (since I didn't have my own piano on campus).
Just as a diversion, I started learning Copland's Passacaglia, which is a neat piece but I haven't looked at in in around 3 weeks.
I have a lot of time to make up for. I enjoy playing and my next step I think will be to try to polish a few pieces and try to organize some kind of recital, possibly with other people. I think I have a problem with my memory however. I haven't even begun to try to memorize anything or rememorize any of my old pieces.
Topic: Introduction