Hi cwjalex,
I have some "good answers" but they are deceptive in that they don't look/sound like good answers. They need to actually be tried out which some may or may not be willing to do. They will require some trust/faith in that they will work. Maybe another user will agree with what I am about to write which should at least lend some credibility to them.
The first two issues can be handled effectively at the same time. I am going to recommend practicing HANDS SEPARATELY one phrase/hand position at a time. The speed needs to be worked up to at least 160 BPM. 168 BPM would be better if you can manage it. 176 BPM would be even better still.
Photocopy the score. Circle each phrase to be practiced or get a piece of paper and write out something like bars 1-4 R.H. 168 BPM, 5-7 176 BPM etc. All the phrase do NOT need to be worked up to the same speed and some might not be able to. That is OKAY! This should take care of the HANDS TOGETHER speed.
Soreness will now be addressed. Draw a line down the middle of that piece of paper. There should be 2 columns. Label the 1st one RIGHT HAND and the 2nd one LEFT HAND. There should be two phrasing/hand position lists of near equal length. If you alternate RH phrase work with LH phrase work then one hand is resting/recuperating while the other is attempting to work harder than it has before. I do this all the time. It works for me. The whole piece can be done like this.
Advantages are:
1. I know what I practiced and what I didn't.
2. I know what still needs work. Anything below 160 BPM.
3. I know what doesn't need to be practiced. Anything 176 BPM or higher. This saves times!
4. I know what's minimally acceptable and could be worked on. Anything exactly at 160 BPM.
5. Most Importantly, working like this gives me a tremendous feeling of accomplishment and I have written EVIDENCE of my before/after practice tempos. If I increase from 100 BPM to 120 BPM I know I increased 20%! This is from maybe 5 minutes of focused practiced and not much more. A short one handed phrase can be repeated many times in that short amount of time.
6. I usually have the phrase memorized and look at my movement. Are my fingers being lifted too high? Is my wrist rotating? Am I moving to the next position efficiently! etc.
7. I can now work the minimally acceptable, hand separate phrases, hands together since I know where they are. These should be done first before doing the whole piece hands together phrase by phrase work, which may now surprise you how much these phrases have improved from all the hands separate phrase work that was done.
8. I can now continue practice/study on the most troublesome spots since I know exactly what, where and why they are/were. This is so much better than just playing from beginning to end or whole sections at a time which does have it's place of course but so does this INTENSE spot practicing.
I know all these things because I keep track of things! I don't work like this all the time. It's just a tool I use when I feel it is necessary.
I have been doing this for so long that on easier pieces I don't need to write anything down. I don't sight read well but can learn a page in 1-2 hours this way. I only write things down when I am learning/attempting a challenging piece near the upper limits of my ability.
For a warm up, I would play the piece at home that morning and maybe go over/review one or two trouble spots. I have seen/heard performers do this the day of the performance on a piano that they have never played on before, just to help them get acclimated to the piano and perhaps feel a little more confident/secure about things. If it's good enough for the Pro's then it's good enough for me.
I hope I have been helpful, Joe.
P.S. This may seem extreme and/or insane to some people who have never worked/practiced like this before but there are some of us that do.
P.P.S. It may not sound like it but I learn pieces incredibly fast this way. I never, ever took something like 6 months to learn something. My motto is work smarter and not harder.
Topic: a few questions