What am I working on?

I believe in maintaining and improving the craft that I teach.  I push myself to tackle several new, technically demanding pieces each year so that I keep my learning muscle strong. As I do with my students, I mostly work to 80-95% mastery and then move on to new and interesting pieces.

In the section below are some of the pieces I have recently played so you can see the outcome of my musical process (and effectively what I expect from my students).

I love teaching and showing others the joys of music, but I am not content to just be a great educator. I want to feel the joy of continual improvement and exposure to new music. I hope my enthusiasm for piano inspires others to find the same.

Coming soon: Chopin's Revolutionary Etude

This Chopin piece really challenges left hand speed and accuracy. Even though I did not get up to typical performance speed, it was a nice, short piece to work on.

Coming soon!

Debussy's Arabesque I

I needed a break from working on the hefty pieces of Rachmaninoff and Beethoven, so I turned to one of the very early impressionistic pieces by Debussy.

This was a fast turnover from starting to learn it to date of recording, and I was much more satisfied with its finished quality compared to my earlier 2022 projects.

This is one of my favorite Rachmaninoff pieces; one I waited many years to attempt to learn. It was performed by Emil Gilels at a front in WWII. During the recording, the narrator says (in Russian): "Gilels is playing at the front, to remind us what the war is worth fighting for: Immortal music!"

Recorded at my home studio in Milton, FL on a Kawai KG-2E.

Here is the first movement of the popular Pathétique Sonata (Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13) by Beethoven. It was written in 1798 when the composer was only 27 years old. Amazing!

Recorded at my home studio in Milton, FL on a Kawai KG-2E.

My husband introduced me to this song in early 2022 and I just had to learn it. Published by Liszt in 1850, Liebestraum No. 3 (as well as No. 1 and No. 2) were inspired by poems depicting three different forms of love. The poem for Liebestraum No. 3 is about unconditional mature love. The piece is also known as Love Dream.

Recorded at my home studio in Milton, FL on a Kawai mp11se.