Piano Forum

I think that with these level pieces there are different levels so to speak.  Of the publicly presentable  levels, one of the first would be able to get through the entire piece playing for a group of peers or a masterclass with your teacher's students.  It doesn't have to be completely polished yet to do this, as the main goal is to bring yourself to a mindset to where you can play through a piece no matter what happens.  Are you prepared to land the plane successfully in the event of an engine failure?

It is often after this initial performance, than one becomes comfortable working on refinement as one knows one can get through the piece beginning to end.  

I studied Appasionata while in university, so there was a "deadline" as it eventually had to be played for a jury.  My teacher held frequent masterclasses and encouraged everyone to present their work-in-progrees, even if they felt they were not ready.  Scary, but very rewarding.  After all those masterclasses in front of my peers, the music felt much more secure for the jury.  

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What previous Beethoven sonatas have you studied? How long did it take you to learn them?