Week Three: Vive la musique fran莽aise!
Hello and welcome to the WEEK THREE Main Thread for this challenge! 
Alright everyone - this is the thread where we'll all be posting our daily updates.
Make sure you've read the rules before replying (<- click)
Twice a week between May 23 - 30 I hope to be reading your daily updates in this very thread right here!
Please use the following format when commenting (feel free to copy & paste!):
- Piece you worked on:
- One thing you found easy:
- One thing you found difficult:
- (Optional): a video of you performing it!
Sample daily update:
- Piece you worked on: Ravel's Prelude
- One thing you found easy: Learning the notes, and rhythms were rather straight-forward, and not challenging!
- One thing you found difficult: Shifting the Hands was a bit tricky to get smooth!
Feel free to make these updates as short or long as you wish!
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- Piece you worked on: Debussy's Arabesque No 1 Andatino con Moto
- One thing you found easy: with no fast jumps it's reative easy to be secure with the piece
- One thing you found difficult: the opening, for some reason I find this incredibly hard to start, especially since the opening doesn't have the right-hand leading voice at the entrance. I feel if I get a good opening the piece works right away, else I feel like I struggle to get it to flow correctly
Enjoy the video of my week #3 practice performance. I really feel energized (joie de vivre, perhaps) after my vacation in France last week. I think it has infused my playing, allowing me to create a more magical atmosphere in my playing.
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Michael Very beautiful and sensitive playing, Michael! Ideal for this music!
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Angela Fogg I would sign up for a piano wine tour :)
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Vidhya Bashyam thank you so much for the kind words!
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Michael Simply wonderful, Michael. You really hit the nail on the head with your light, "French" touch. I think we ALL want to go on vacation with you next time! Which places did you visit?
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Gail Starr we stayed in Paris but did a few days trips. We started off with a bunch of champagne tours in Reims. Then we did a trip to Giverny to see Monet's gardens. It was quite lovely (everything was in bloom, the perfume from the flowers was amazing). However, I HIGHLY suggest to you go early. I got there when it first opened. So I had a relaxing time in the gardens. But the tour bus arrived very quickly and it gets packed. Lastly we went to Versailles. It was really a nice vacation. Weather was perfect which was a pleasant surprise considering the forecast before week left :) It was the first trip I have taken since 2019!!! so was very grateful that it turned out so well.
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Michael Wow! Sounds like you had a phenomenal vacation.
I actually lived in France as a teenager, and went to some of university there AND worked there up until our son was born. So, I love all the places you got to visit! I haven't had a vacation since before COVID, but I did get to fly out to San Diego for the 1/2 marathon this past weekend and it was a ton of fun. I'd love to get back to France soon, although most of our relatives are no longer there.
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Michael Wonderful performance, Michael! You play this very delicately and with great attention to all the different colors and sonorities.
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Michael a little late, but just wanted to drop in to say that it sounds beautiful! Thanks for posting the video!
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Natalie Peh thank you for giving it a listen!
