Chopin - Etude Op.25 No.3 - (Performed live at competition winners concert)

[ajlongspiano]

Hope you guys enjoy!

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[chopinlover01]

Great performance!
One honest question; you're very "happy faced", if that makes sense, very much making your body motions fit the mood of the piece exactly. I just am curious, do these come purely as a result of the music, or do you add them to enrich your playing?
Your teacher, (the fantastic) Mr. Wright, also does them as well and I'm curious if that's just something that's rubbed off, or if it's of your own accord.
Thanks, and great performance!

[ajlongspiano]

Thanks so much! It's completely organic, I never really force it. Once in awhile if I'm very nervous I'll make a face to distract myself and have something to focus on other than being nervous haha. But other than that, its very natural.

[pencilart3]

As I said, this is much better than it was before, it sounds like it could be from a high-end CD or album!!

[ajlongspiano]

@pencilart3 - Thanks, Noah! I appreciate your support and friendship.

[kawai_cs]

Beautiful! Congratulations on winning!!!
AJ, can I ask you how do you handle stress and play so well in live performances? Or maybe you are not that stressed? How do you stay so focused? I am asking because I am extremely nervous to perform  

[ajlongspiano]

@kawai_cs - Thank you so much! I appreciate it a lot. I think putting everything into perspective and realizing that the music will always be greater than a performance of it could be helps ease the tension. We put too much strain on ourselves thinking things like " if i mess up the world will end!!! " haha. In reality, its just one performance out of many .