Week 3: Discovering Schubert Month
Dear Pianists,
As we're coming up to the last week of Discovering Schubert Month, I'm keen to hear of your insights and takeaways from your month's work.
Here's the Week 3 thread, where you may post your text and video updates! I've only got one question for you this week:
What does it take to build Schubert into your life?
I've previously asked you about the piece you are working on, a passage you are satisfied with, and one you're less satisfied with. I've also learned a lot about your musical imagination and pianism by asking you how you might describe the character of your piece, the pianistic tools you use to convey the aforementioned character, and particular elements of the piece you notice by playing it. I'm always so moved by the process of learning a piece of music, playing it, performing it, and continuing to live with it. Playing piano has always been a bastion in my life and I hope that through your regular ritual and practice it can be a source of comfort and empowerment for you too.
I hope you'll consider proposing your Schubert piece for Piano Community's upcoming Community Concert, and to share your work with other supportive members of our community! I really believe I am awarded deep insights when I take the time to deeply consider the elements of my colleagues' successes.
If you're new to the Schubert gathering this week, welcome-it's never too late to join! You may find the guidelines for participation in the Rules and FAQ thread.
See you below, 
Hilda
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Hi Hilda, Thank you for update and the wonderful reflection question.
For the Watch Party, I would like to play the following Valses Sentimentales (yet to be recorded)
1-2-3-4-5-11-13-14-16-22. As well, I will have a Monika's Very Sentimental Waltz that I will submit separately. Question: I was planning to repeat the second half of each waltz; will there be time enough got that or should I skip the repeats?
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Monika Tusnady I enjoyed your "Monika's Very Sentimental Waltz"! Congratulations! Your compositional skills are impressive!
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Monika Tusnady I applaud you on your original composition! It seemed very Schubertian to me!
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Hilda I think that is a great question, and it's something I've been thinking about a lot since I decided to re-"build" Op 90, No 3 from the ground up. By entering this challenge I discovered that I had "learned" this piece very haphazardly, and it simply didn't hold up under the pressure of recording and sharing. In the process of re-learning the piece I am really discovering Schubert. The tenderness of the melody, the sophistication of the harmony, the economy of structure (not a single superfluous note), and the ever-present pulse... these all become apparent with careful study. Loving Schubert is easy, but learning Schubert is difficult. I now approach this piece with much more humility and respect. I think I understood immediately what you meant by your question. By building Schubert into my life I am learning to practice in a much better way. I don't know if I will have it ready in time, but my practice has certainly benefitted from trying.
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Charlie Gesualdo this impromptu is very challenging to play well, in my opinion. I thought you sounded very good on your first recording! Your piece will be very strong after you rework any sections that are bothering you, and it is great that it sounds like you are enjoying the process.
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Susan Rogers thanks for the words of encouragement. I will give it my best shot, and if I can do it reasonable justice by next weekend I will share. I will certainly continue to work on it either way.
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Hi Hilda! Thanks so much for all of your work and care for this community! It is truly inspiring.
Being in the throes of learning repertoire for an upcoming concert, my time was limited with Schubert, but I have been able to learn the last sonata he wrote. Here is a recording of the first movement. I hope to have time to record the rest! It has been a wonderful experience to learn this music.
To incorporate Schubert into my life, I will program his music more in my recitals. I admit that he has been neglected in my repertoire. But this month has challenged me to change that, and so I give you all my thanks for broadening my musical horizons with Schubert's music.
The dissonances among the consonances remind me, personally, that death and despair are always close at hand - indeed, they are mixed in even with the harmony of life. We cannot have one without the other and they usually come together in pairs. There is no spring without winter, and for Schubert, there is no consonance without a little bit of dissonance. He reminds me to enjoy life while I have it and to constantly keep my own death before my eyes, constantly in my awareness…..
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Brother Will Green fantastic! Thank you very much for sharing!
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Brother Will Green Beautifully and sensitively played. Your hands are wonderfully free of tension, something I’m working to rid myself of. What a nice way to begin my day… and that is a very sweet-sounding piano. Thanks for sharing.
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Brother Will Green that is a wonderful piece under your hands. What strikes me most about your performance are the moments of tenderness where the music dissolves into pure feeling. Hard to believe how much you have learned in such a short time - BRAVO!
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Andrea Buckland Thank you!! :)
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Charlie Gesualdo Thanks, Charlie!!
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Monika Tusnady Thanks, Monika!! xxx
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Brother Will Green beautiful, warm and expressive playing. Thank you so much for sharing! I agree with your last paragraph about Schubert reminding us of the thin veil between life and death. Very well said. This is one of my all time favorite pieces of music. Your wonderful rendition reignites my desire to learn it - I got about 5 pages in a few years ago.
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Brother Will So beautiful. Thanks for sharing!
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Susan Rogers Thank you, Susan! It is an incredible piece. I would love to hear you play it. I hope you are well. Thanks for listening. xx
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Vidhya Bashyam Thank you, Vidhya! xx
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Brother Will Green Thank you Brother Will Green for remind us of the beauty of this music! Your playing has an enormous sensitively and musicality.
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Charlie Gesualdo Lovely answer, which I shall borrow, if you don't mind, as my thoughts are the same.
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Brother Will Green So well done to have this under your belt in such a relatively short space of time. You have captured Schubert's style! I like your audio settings too.
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Brother Will Green It is so pretty! I would like to play this one day too. Thank you for sharing!
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Juan Carlos Olite Thank you, Juan Carlos!!
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Roy James-Pike Thank you, Roy!!
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Qingzhi Thank you!! :) xx
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Brother Will Green very beautifully played!
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