piano recital tonight

[kevinli123]

Hey guys,

I stopped playing piano for about a year and this is my first piano recital coming back and I'm playing Haydn's Sonata No. 23 Presto. I've attached a quick recording (not my finest). I am super nervous about forgetting it as I don't have much time to practice (still a student, 14).

I would appreciate any tips,

Thanks,
Kevin

[lukediv]

Hey kevin,

First of all, best of luck, I'm sure you'll give a great performance

I went through a similar thing only last week, about to walk on i knew the first note but the rest was blank haha.

What i would do is practice really hard in the coming days of the performance (I'm still a student too, i know how hard it is to find time) but maybe run through it once or twice a few hours before. What i've figured out in my own experience (and with the help of some people on this forum) is definitely don't over-practice the day of the performance.

As soon as you play the first note you will go into auto pilot and your hands will just remember where to go

Good luck

[mike_lang]

Sounds good!  Just a few quick things that could make it even better:

1) I would try to ground the measures a little bit more -- not necessarily an accent on the downbeat, but try to avoid rushing in the second and third beats.  You may want to put the metronome on to see where your rhythm is stable, and where it could become more so.

2) When the RH comes in on an off-beat, e.g., the "and" of one, make sure that the LH is giving enough support that it has something to bounce off of; otherwise, we end up hearing an unintended accent on the first of the sixteenth notes (I assume this is in 3/8?)

3) Avoid ritardando on the last notes!  It's emphatic enough as it is.

Very good performance, and very best to you for your upcoming recital!

Cheers,
Mike

[jlh]

Good comments.. in addition: lighter and more articulate

Best,
Josh