LCD for my recital

[tds]

ok, i was just informed by my concert manager that in my up coming recital (nov 20), a "3 x 4" LCD will be installed. ok, in this country, people use metric system, and so will it make it a 3x4 sq meter screen ( approx. 10 x 13 sq feet )!?

the thing is i dont know how to feel about this "addition". manager said ".....so everybody can see you hands and fingers".  hmm...ok. anyone has a similar experience? please share. best, tds

[pianistimo]

how cool.  it's going to be hard not to want to turn around and watch your hands yourself.    that might get a little confusing though.  you must have a fairly good-sized audience! 

as long as it's not a distraction for those in the front row.  i mean seeing you and then seeing your hands.  maybe the screen can be sort of angled behind you to the left more so it's not directly behind you??

so it doesn't seem dental-officish, i would also bring another 'distraction' yourself.  a big boquet of fragrant flowers (perhaps on pedestal) and place them near the piano.  that way people's eyes will be most directed to you on the stage - and whoever is sitting farther back will see the screen when they want.

have you ever been to a recital where they have a water-feature in the background.  somehow, i REALLY REALLY like that.  even if it is slightly noise producing - it is sort of a cool 3rd distraction.

[tds]

pianonut, thank you so much for the good input. i didnt think about that. yeah, i'll talk to my manager. warmest, tds

[pianistimo]

you probably already wrote somewhere else what you are playing, so instead of asking you the whole program - what are the pieces you are most looking forward to presenting?

[tds]

how cool.  it's going to be hard not to want to turn around and watch your hands yourself.    that might get a little confusing though.  you must have a fairly good-sized audience! 

a 500 seat hall. tickets are almost sold out now.

ps  so it doesn't seem dental-officish, i would also bring another 'distraction' yourself.  a big boquet of fragrant flowers (perhaps on pedestal) and place them near the piano.  that way people's eyes will me most directed to you on the stage - and whoever is sitting farther back will see the screen when they want.

pss  have you ever been to a recital where they have a water-feature in the background.  somehow, i REALLY REALLY like that.  even if it is slightly noise producing - it is sort of a cool 3rd distraction.

did you just add ps and pss, pianonut? sorry, i dont quite understand the ps. could you please clarify?

oh God, talking about distractions...... i've had some before. and guess what, now i am getting used to them.

[pianistimo]

having just finished reading half of kochel's letters of beethoven, i am highly distracted by the idea of letter writing and not short messages.  (good excuse, huh)  project gutenberg is interesting. 

anyway...as you say - post script is really a thing of the past.  like someone whispering in your ear.  i mean with cell phone and everything, we just make another message really quick and so there's no need to put it all on one piece of paper.  yeah.  i'm kinda outdated in many ways, tds.  and, due to age, succeptible to many forms of distraction. 

wouldn't it be really strange to make a whole audience cry?  what's the most distracting distraction you've had?

[tds]

you probably already wrote somewhere else what you are playing, so instead of asking you the whole program - what are the pieces you are most looking forward to presenting?

yes, i have, but not here in piano street. the program is somehow shorter than the usual piano recitals. here it is:




Sonata in b minor Hob 16/32                                                           Haydn

Oiseaux tristes                                                                                  Ravel
Alborada del gracioso                                                                        

La Campanella                                                                                    Liszt


                                                  short  intermission


Prelude in G Major Op. 32 no. 5                                             Rachmaninoff
Prelude in B Minor Op. 32 no. 10
Prelude in B flat Major Op. 23 no. 2


"Waldstein" Sonata Op. 53                                                        Beethoven
       Allegro con brio
       Introduzione. Adagio Molto
       Rondo. Allegretto Moderato-Prestissimo

                                                         -----------

encore: Grieg Lyric Pieces Op. 43 no. 3 "Melodie"
                                         Op. 71 no. 3  "Puck"
             Chopin Fantasie Impromtu

[pianistimo]

that's a beautiful program!  hope everything goes really well!  no rigged piano or anything.  wish i could hear it.  how long have you been performing anyway?  and, are you , by chance, famous?  i  like your selections, the order, and the clarity.  it's hard to pull off that kind of clarity with everything from haydn to ravel, to rach and beethoven.  you must be confident of your abilities (and memory).

[tds]

wouldn't it be really strange to make a whole audience cry?  what's the most distracting distraction you've had?

hehe..make a whole audience cry isnt an easy thing to do, or it is?

distractions....hmm, ok, the biggest distraction of all is when a recital is underprepared! that'll itself generate a series of serious distracting thoughts before and during recital.

now talking about external distraction. ok, i think being surrounded by many cameramen. some of them think, i should be videoed sooo close. ok, thats why i prepared campanella on this recital, so i can legitimately smack their camera while doing the leaps. hehe,.........no, i was just joking. but wait, it was annoying when you are flocked like this. i like my space and value it. but as i said before, i am getting better handling distractions.

[tds]

that's a beautiful program!  hope everything goes really well!  no rigged piano or anything.  wish i could hear it.

thanks pianonut, i hope so too. the piano is good. i played on it before. its a yamaha grand ( cant remember the size exactly ), but its about the best piano you can get in this city ( get the picture? )

[pianistimo]

good one, about a performer being their own worst distraction.  that would apply to me sometimes, but you sound like you have performed enough to know when you are adequately prepared.  does one always get to a point of dreaming about the recital, or is it just that you can envision every aspect of the recital away from the keyboard?

[tds]

what are the pieces you are most looking forward to presenting?

LA CAMPANELLA!

heh...no. though i know audience loves it ( specially when i play it! ....yeah right! stop it, tds! )

the waldstein, i think. its such a challenging work. i hope to play it better than my last performance. i think it has grown alot this past weeks. i won the best beethoven performance prize in an int'l piano competition in europe with this sonata. but, yeah, its waldstein i am most looking forward to presenting.


and NOT la campanella

or fantasie impromtu

.....


tds

[pianistimo]

wow.  i had a feeling you were one of those humble, yet up in the stratosphere pianists.  now koji atwood has a recital coming up, too, doesn't he.  i hate my broken leg.  i will hobble to his recital if it's not gone past yet.

btw, the waldstein has got to be my favorite FAVORITE piece when performed with passion  (don't care if there's a few minor mistakes).  the fingering is really cool when you get it all worked out.  i mean, in some of those five finger sections, i just literally use all five fingers on the black notes.  it works much better than trying to 'tuck your thumb'' or something in those incredibly fast sections.  i like how it smoothly transitions from one movement to the other, as well.  that had to be something new that beethoven was experiementing with.  (as well as remote keys and digressions that seem IMPOSSIBLE to come out of).

i hope you have some nice bass on that piano.

[pianistimo]

remind me where you live and where you are performing.  it's been awhile since i read those introduction threads.

[tds]

good one, about a performer being their own worst distraction.  that would apply to me sometimes, but you sound like you have performed enough to know when you are adequately prepared.  does one always get to a point of dreaming about the recital, or is it just that you can envision every aspect of the recital away from the keyboard?

i am still learning here. but i am proud that i have made my OWN mistakes. when i was younger, i always thought i could play and prepare anything for a recital. i never thought that time could be my worst enemy, nor did i ever thoughtfully organize my practice time. i have performed badly, and known the feeling of being totally flat in the face. over the years, i started to understand the descrepancy between my naive desire and my real capability. i hope i have narrowed some of this disparity down to some degree. again, i am proud that i have made my own mistakes and am learning. tds

[tds]

remind me where you live and where you are performing.  it's been awhile since i read those introduction threads.

i live outside usa now and will be back sometime next year. now am enjoying my staying out this country for a while heh..

[Dazzer]

hmmm i wouldn't mind one of these babies.

https://www.wwbw.com/Freehand-Systems-Music-Pad-Pro-Plus-i152034.music

[BoliverAllmon]

and where did that come from?

[pianistimo]

i want the hand held tuner that does micro-tunings.  i don't know why.  curiosity.  maybe to check 1/4 tunings and 1/8 tunings.  i could go around telling people how much their practice piano is out of tune (unless of course i can hear that 1/2 or whole step) at wcu. 

can't wait for the NEW PIANOS!!! and NEW MUSIC BUILDING!!!  gotta check out west chester university's web site.  i think they must have a pic of the new music building somewhere.   

[Dazzer]

well that's what i thought he meant when he said "LCD"

i'm sure that would be far more useful.

[tds]

in several hours, i'll be flying to the city where i'll be giving recital at. saw the proposal booklet and it says that the lcd screen is going to be put right where i dont wanna it to be put at; on the right side of the stage--where i'll be watching myself. it'll sure be the first thing i tell my manager tomorrow morning ( thanks, pianonut ).

ps. sup, dazzer?

[Dazzer]

not much...

[pianistimo]

hope all's going well today - and that they moved the screen or the piano to your liking.  i would be terribly distracted by a screen like that, but maybe it's something pianists get used to (if it's common). 

tell us how your recital went, ok. 

[arensky]

Whoa...I thought that said "LSD for my recital"!!!!    bad idea....         

[tds]

just gotten back in town from the recital. it was big success! i was wrongly informed about the hall capacity, it has 250 seats only, and not 500! tickets were sold out 2 days before concert.

i received some glowing reviews from several newspapers. the concert will be partially broadcast nationally, in fact in a couple of hours from now.

quite amazingly, as i was told, the lcd screen was very effective. the audience loved to see the close up takes of my hands and fingers. my up coming recital, dec 10, will also have an LCD screen. i feel good about it, now. pianonut, thanks again for the brilliant suggestion re. the placement of the screen. best, tds

[pianistimo]

so glad your recital went well!  broadcast nationally, too!  you have to send an e-mail of the time that it is playing in pennsylvania.   

[tds]

it all happened outside the usa. sorry, pianonut. btw, how's your leg? tds

[pianistimo]

oh yeah.   i forgot you said that earlier.  duh.  well, anyway - congratulations on a great performance!

my leg is doing exactly what the doctor said it would.  he said, about six weeks to heal - and then more time to just get the bones solidly knit together.  this coming week is week six - so i'm elated to bend my knee (yesterday and today) and have no real pain.  i played on the organ today with my bad leg up on the bench and piano bench together (with a pillow underneath).  the organ is a good instrumetn for me now, because i can use my left foot (a little) and play what i want.  tried scarlatti on it, believe it or not.  it didn't sound terrible (since i used the harpsichord button).  and, of course, bach preludes and fugues.  the barber (trois pieces) didn't sound as good as i thought they might - but i tried some saint-saens and actually practiced for a good 45 minutes (better than 20 yesterday).  yes, tds, i am regaining my momentum.  (that is if i don't fall and break the other leg in some kind of freak accident).  the kitchen floor was covered with grease this morning.  where's the maid?

[Pumkinhead]

I don't mean to be nosy, Tds, but which International Competition did you compete in with the Beethoven? Just a little curious.

[tds]

i'll sure tell you sometime, but not now. 

[tds]

the following reviews have been all translated into the english language:

"An absolutely extraordinary rendition of Beethoven's Waldstein....world class performance on Nov 20, by Maestro 'tds' " SM

Music lovers were all mesmerized and hypnotized by the superb performance of 'tds'. Amazing virtuosity in places and yet total gentleness, and much singing style in many other spots. brilliant performance of this young pianist...most artistic and unique." K

" 'tds', a world class pianist, performed amazingly in a piano recital at X Hotel, X, on nov 20.'' RB


i got to talk to the press at the end of the concert. honestly, i wasnt surprised with the fact that only a few of them knew about classical music. but, oh well, good review never hurts. tds

[pianistimo]

mesmerized and hypnotized.  i like that review.  tds, are you pulling my leg or did you win an international competition with that beethoven as well.  might i ask what language this review was written in?  tds, don't play with me or i'll write my own review, too.  sounds kind of fun.

[tds]

nope, i am not pulling your leg, and i did win a best beethoven prize in an int'l piano competition with my performance of waldstein. haha..., yeah, it must be fun to write one's own review, i can surely imagine--i could've written some really interesting stuff, too. tell me your email address, i'll send one of the full reviews. you will soon decide what language it was written in.

[tds]

if you understand the language, we'll have a good laugh together. for the second time, they mentioned lang lang in my review. tho it's in my favor, i didnt care much to quote on it