Sunday 15 March 2009

Student concert yesterday afternoon

The fifth such occasion since May 2007. 13 out of 20 pianists (ranging from 7 to 40-something) were able to come and play. A fun 45 minutes ensued, marred only by several out-of-tune notes at the top of the nice Kawai baby grand in the Gillian Beer Building at Clare Hall.

I name names because if you hire a room with a piano for the purpose of holding a concert you expect the piano to be in tune! I will definitely be fighting for a refund.

Most of my students are getting to be very cool at the keyboard and all of them coped very well with technical errors to bring off fine performances. We had simple, effective pieces at around Grade 2 standard right the way up to Rachmaninov’s Romance, Op.10 and Sindig’s Rustle of Spring (which I have not yet braved publicly!) It took me till I was 18 to give up being a perfectionist…