unaccompanied
series
At the end of March 2020, my graduate recital was canceled. Many others also experienced the disappointment of having our hard work being abruptly cut short. In an effort to maintain momentum, I decided to start my Unaccompanied Series - perfect during this time when I am unable to work with a pianist.
Many of these works I have never played or performed before. It is a challenge for myself to learn new music quickly and effectively. This series is about progress rather than perfection in execution.
If perfection was the goal, I may never post anything at all!
All these videos can be found on instagram on my page or at #unaccompaniedseries
Order : most recent videos appear at the end of the page.
Gary Schocker - Solosuite, movement I.
We really haven’t been hiding what a struggle 2020 has been, and I am far from an exception. My practice habits have been nonexistent since March, and the last month I have been trying to slowly get my sound back. I’m finally feeling a bit more like myself!
I started this piece only yesterday - and since I get to housesit in a great open space, I got eager and couldn’t wait to post it! Who knows, I might have several more videos in the next couple days revisiting my old favorites.
This is the first movement of Gary Schocker’s Solosuite - I was gifted lots of music from a good friend, and this was in the mix so it seems like a great way to ease back in
Claude Debussy - Syrinx
I’ll be the first to admit that I am never satisfied with my performances. But really, is anyone??
But Debussy’s Syrinx is a special case - I’ve had a long journey with this one that causes lots of unnecessary fear every time I perform or record it.
Today, I know I didn’t give it the time it deserves, as I mostly wanted to play it in this space before am back home tomorrow lol but that [hopefully] doesn’t change the fact that this is one of the most beautiful works in our repertoire ♥️ and one that allows for lifelong exploration. This is just one of many more future performances!
Ferroud - Jade
I wanted to start this weekend off with some joy.
Admittedly, I’ve only played this movement for like 30 minutes cumulatively, but my postings are supposed to be about progress right? And this piece has so much life and energy, it felt like the right place to start today.
I feel like life has been getting me down. And by life I mean anxiety. I know I have been isolating myself more lately and my desire for external validation has been keeping me from feeling confident enough to post videos the last few weeks. I’m back in this great space and wanted to start off with something I love, without huge concern for the end result.
I’m sure I’ll get around to the outside movements soon, but Jade didn’t want to wait ♥️
Fukushima - Mei
*excuse the audio distortion, it was too late to fix*
This piece explores the relationship between trance-like sounds and silence, based on the principle of “ma” meaning emptiness/openness. (this description is highly reduced - there is SO much more)
Resurrecting this piece that would’ve been on my recital in April. It has been a while, but it felt like time to go back to something that already felt accomplished and see what happens this time around. I really struggled with the learning process, but this is one that really is worth the struggle of finding the right method of pitch bending and dynamic contrasts. In its time it was extremely experimental, especially in use of quarter tones and exaggerated contrast.
I know this one is unusual, but I hope you find it’s beauty ♥️