Advice for a newbie?

[thepianogirli]

Hullo everyone, I randomly stumbled across this forum as my bored self was googling my name at 1:14am right now. My new semester begins in 7 hours, but I am hardly in the mood to get to bed and wake up to my new calculus class... "Abe" posted a message a while back about a small SoCal competition that I was in, so among other things, the site popped up in my search.

Anyhow, right now my next piano performance involves the third movement of Beethoven's Concerto in C Major. I've almost finished memorizing the piece but can't seem to be able to add enough life to it. Also, my accompanist doesn't know her part well, gets out of sync with me, and stinks in general. I need an orchestra, lol. Another worry I have is that I'll be stuck with a nasty piano that is hard to play dynamics on for the test (POS PSOs, as they could be named - Piano Shaped Objects). Any suggestions?

As a final note, would anyone be kind enough to introduce themselves? I come across so few "real" pianists these days...

~C

[SDL]

Hi, where are you based?  UK?

[thepianogirli]

Hi, where are you based?  UK?

I'm in Southern California, LA area... You? By the way, why'd you guess the UK?

[SDL]

Because Im from the UK.  I knew after Id posted my reply that you were in the US somewhere, having 7 hours to go for semester (time difference).

[whynot]

Get a better accompanist!!!   I've been accompanying professionally for... you know, I don't even want to say how long.  I'm sure since before you were born, though, and I take it very seriously.  I would never show up to a rehearsal without being able to play my part WELL and stay with the soloist.  When I'm playing for someone, that's the most important person in my life, and you deserve to have that, too.  Are you playing with another student?   A professional will cost you, but if he or she is really good, you'll only need a few rehearsals to feel confident together, and it will be like a whole new piece.  Also, I've had my best coachings not from pianists but from good conductors.  When you get feedback from someone who doesn't know the difficulties of your instrument or your part, they're thinking about what's possible in the music, not what's possible for you, which can be freeing.  And they can suggest articulations and shaping from other instruments that you can put in your own part, markings that wouldn't even be in the full score, the stuff that a conductor and concertmaster would put in (bowings etc).  And whether they'd conduct this part in two or four, which really changes the way you play it.  You could probably get a conductor at your school to spend an hour with you for free.   TIP:  don't ask for an hour, ask for ten minutes, and be sure to start with, "I'd really like your opinion"... no one would turn that down.  You could play or just talk, both are helpful.  And bring them a cooky... teachers never have time to eat.  Good luck!