quote:

Ever done much improv / lead-sheet playing. With that ear it should be a breeze, right?

Ya would think, right? But as my teachers from 11yrs old on focused exclusively on sight-reading and playing traditional classical music repertoire I stopped relying on my ear as much and I am now stuck in a nether-world where neither my sight-reading nor my ear were developed to their full potential.

And my training has been purely classical to a fault. I wish improvisation were still part of the classical curriculum.

My secret desire is to take a few years off of classical playing to learn to improvise and do jazz and blues. There is always some reason or other to put it off but some day I will do it. I think both Laura and I should do it and come back as a jazz duo!

Dol:

quote:

St. John's - how did that happen?

Mr. EHpianist had come to visit me in Madrid (we had been dating then for 2 years) and flew home to NY on 9-11-01. His Delta flight, along with another 25 international flights, was diverted to St. John's. Funny thing is that whenever we flew over Newfoundland on our way to or from Europe he would say "I'd like to visit there some day".

Well, he was stuck there for 5 days. First day, he was walking down the main thoroughfare of the city and as he passed someone on the sidewalk the man asked him, "Hi, how are you?". At first he took this to be one of those niceties people say as they pass eachother to which no one rexpects a response but then he realized the guy had actually stopped and turned to him waiting for a detailed reply. This took the Newyorker aback and the next five days he spent discovering the small city of St. John's and talking to people and falling in love with the landscape. Of course, it helped that September is always a beautiful month to go to NEwfoundland.

For two years he kept talking about it, and how wonderful it felt to be there, and how he wanted to buy a property. All I could think of was why in the world I would want to move to the middle of nowhere where I knew no one. But I agreed and I went with him in 2003 to see the place. Within the first 24 hours I was smitten and got an overwhelming sense that I wanted my children to grow up there. By our second day there we had been invited to a housewarming party downtown where we befriended many of the neighbors in the area and by the time we left we had purchased a house there. It has been a totally impulsive decision but one which I have yet to regret.

And to make things seem even more like it is our destiny, our daughter, who was due on August 30th, was born on Sept. 11th, 2006, at 2:45 PM, [twighlight zone music] the *exact* time her father's plane landed in Newfoundland in 2001. [/twighlight zone music]

Kathy

quote:

When did you first learn English?

My father is more comfortable with English, my mother with Spanish. At home my father speaks to my mother in English and she replies in Spanish though they both understand both languages perfectly and each has a slight accent on the language they are least comfortable with.

The first language I spoke was Spanish and did not begin speaking English fluently until I was about 4 or 5.

quote:

About piano technicians. . . Love them? Hate them?

Any stories to tell about how techs made or broke a concert for you?
Our teachers tell us to never expect any acknowledgement.
We are like plumbers, only called when there's a smelly problem.
The best a tech can hope for is apathy.

I love piano techs! I have had about 99% good-great experiences with piano techs. The guy that preps the pianos for the Performing Arts Center in Puerto Rico (and who eventually became the tech for my piano at my parents' house) will work on the pianos until they are exactly the way we want them. For one concert they had been left particularly beaten up and he did an incredible job voicing them and getting the repetition working flawlessly for a piece the required a lot of repeated notes.

When we were at the duo piano competition in miami the Steinway tech that worked on the pianos whenever there was a break did miracles in a very very short time.

I don't think a tech ever broke a concert for me, not that I can remember.

I haven't had any experience with alternative temperaments, would love to play some pianos like that to hear the difference.

quote:

Of course, I must hear YOUR worst-piano story.

I don't have any earth-shattering ones though I have played some pretty awful pianos for performance in my career. When I started out, and then with Laura as a duo, I was invited several years to do concert tours sponsored by the University of Puerto Rico at their various campuses around the island. Piano maintenance is not a high-priority for the smaller campuses and with the hot, humid weather and airconditioning going on and off in the performance spaces the pianos got pretty awful. pedal sqweaks, sticking keys, pedals that didn't work, incredibly irregular voicing , out of tune pianos. One of them was out of tune by a half-tone which was extremely disconcerting.

But the most curious issue I ever had was when I played the Trout Quintet in Queen's College, Belfast. We had no chance to rehearse ahead of time in the space we were going to be in and went in cold. We started, and I was on an unbelievably bright piano (had we known we would have left the lid completely down), so I went to use the una corda. The keyboard moved, piano went softer, I lifted the una corda but the keyboard didn't slide back. When I had a moment I would physically pry it back pulling on the black keys. The problem is I kept forgetting there was a problem with it and would keep using it only to have to quickly pry it back whenever I could. I'm sure the audience was wondering WTF I was doing.

LL

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I played some of the old hasbeens - Beethoven's Pathetique,

I played that too!! They get soooo sick of hearing that!! (jurors:)

I had no idea you were training to be a concert pianist!

So why do you regret not going to NEC? What did you do instead?

quote:

One of them was out of tune by a half-tone which was extremely disconcerting.

LOL! Did you say that on purpose?


"I had no idea you were training to be a concert pianist!"

Oh, no no no...I wanted to teach not play!
I was already teaching and wanted to learn more about pieces, techniques, psychology behind things, etc. NOT PLAY on stage! I was not good enough nor have the mental stamina for that!

Yes, I regret not going to NEC but I studied teaching at a state college where I could commute and continue with private lessons (and teaching) at Baldwin Studios at the same time. I had 30 students plus a church organist job. I loved one on one teaching.

Oh, man - this thread needs a big bump! These months just fly by.

How many months of the year have you managed to stay at NF since you have had the house?

Any new pictures of the house?

Tell us about your first encounters with Laura. And, how did you decide to become a duo?

Oh, and a great thread to be memorialized here.

Elena's Cuban Heritage

Elena,

At NEC did you ever hang out with voice students, or are the pianists a separate tribe? The reason I ask is that the director of music at our church is an NEC grad. McNorton is her married name, but perhaps you knew a voice student with the rather distinctive first name of Phaedra while you were at there. Quite a voice! She has just asked if Anthony wants to work up Phidylé by Henri Duparc with her.

On a different topic, I'm still chuckling over the Pathetique horror stories between you and lilylady. Is it that bad to play such a warhorse? I guess that's important, because Anthony will soon start another of Mr. B's sonatas and he's saying things like, "well, why don't I just finish off the Pathetique." And I just cringe at the thought of judges shaking their heads at yet another rendition of the high school favorite.

how did i miss this thread?

i 'fondly' remember our early correspondence Elena.

What do you envision yourself doing in 10 years.

quote:

Originally posted by EHpianist:

And to make things seem even more like it is our destiny, our daughter, who was due on August 30th, was born on Sept. 11th, 2006, at 2:45 PM, [twighlight zone music] the *exact* time her father's plane landed in Newfoundland in 2001. [/twighlight zone music]

I remember reading about that--how cool. What a great story for La Chiquita to have in her life.

There was a news show done not too long after 9/11 (something like 60 Minutes, but I honestly can't remember) where they went to Newfoundland, interviewed people--both Newfies and visitors--about those days. It was absolutely heartwarming. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Newfoundland because of that--and knowing you guys personally, who benefitted. One of the many times that tragedy has brought out the best in people.

Kathy:

quote:

How many months of the year have you managed to stay at NF since you have had the house?[\quote]

Last year was the most, 8 months, or May-Jan. The locals all say the most miserable time is March-May, when it seems it will never end

[quote]Any new pictures of the house?

Not recently, I will have to take some when we get back and I'll post a thread. The house is STILL not done but at least now it is in a semi-livable condition. The piano room still has to be finished, and we have no closets or bookshelves yet, which makes for a messy house. But floors are in, some furniture is in walls are painted and trim is in on most windows and doors.

quote:

Tell us about your first encounters with Laura. And, how did you decide to become a duo?

Laura arrived at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin at the beginning of my second year there. Everyone at the school kept telling me "have you met the new girl from Spain?" and they would tell her "have you met Elena from Puerto Rico?" but even though it is a very very small school (housed in two connected townhouses in the city) we somehow kept missing eachother the first week she was there. Laura was very brave and went to study in Dublin barely speaking a word of English and she later told me that first week she was desperately trying to speak in English and make herself understood. After never running into eachother she finally decided to write me a note and left it with the entry guard. I opened a note, it was written in broken English. She "forgot" I spoke Spanish.

That same day she we finally met as she found the practice room I was using. She also started talking to me in English! We hit it off right away. She likes to tell the story of how, the following day, we had to take a bus together to a recording studio where we had enrolled in a recording techniques class (part of the course offerings) and we sat next to eachother on the bus. I then turned to her and asked "Does my breath smell like garlic?", as I had just eaten a bunch of garlicky pasta and was worried I reaked of the stuff before class. She said no, but I'm sure she lied.

While in Ireland I performed the Schubert Fantasy for piano duet with an Irish pianist friend called Aoife O'Sullivan. It was my first performance as part of a piano duet and I really enjoyed the experience. Laura and I would occasionally joke about starting a duo but I don't think either of us seriously considered it.

Upon getting my MAster's I then moved to Madrid where I lived with a Colombian roommate who had gotten her PHD here. We frequently had guests staying at our apartment and one time we held a party while one of her friends from the Canary Islands was staying with us. Laura came to that party, I remember she played and sang a pretty funny song from her youth on the guitar. Then she and I sat at the piano where she sight-read the primo part of the Schubert Fantasy and I played with her. We just did a few pages for fun. Our houseguest then said that she had never seen piano four hands and had loved it. She was friends the director of a concert series in Lanzarote, the Canary Islands and said if we sent her our CV she would pass it on to him.

So we made up a fake duo CV. We claimed to have played in various concerts in Ireland, which was only partly a lie. We had played in the same concert, just not at the same time. I also sent in a recording I had of Aoife and I playing the Fantasy and said it was Laura and I.

To our amazement, we got the gig. So we got to work and performed our first official concert in a hall Laura had always wanted to play in. We so enjoyed the whole experience we decided this was our calling.

The organizer in Lanzarote invited us back for three more years, until they ran out of money for concerts because the mayor had been stealing it. After we had become friendly with the organizer we confessed our fake CV and recording. He said he didn't care, that he hadn't even listened to the recording and that he just looked at the solo CV's we had also sent him and tha, along with our friend's recommendation, had been enough. He said if he had gotten the package out of the blue without the contact he would have thrown the envelope right into the wastebasket without opening it.

quote:

Originally posted by Piano*Dad:
Elena,

At NEC did you ever hang out with voice students, or are the pianists a separate tribe? The reason I ask is that the director of music at our church is an NEC grad. McNorton is her married name, but perhaps you knew a voice student with the rather distinctive first name of Phaedra while you were at there. Quite a voice! She has just asked if Anthony wants to work up Phidylé by Henri Duparc with her.

Sorry, the name doesn't sound familiar. I was there 91-95. When was she there? Don't know the Duparc, how is it?

quote:

On a different topic, I'm still chuckling over the Pathetique horror stories between you and lilylady. Is it that bad to play such a warhorse? I guess that's important, because Anthony will soon start another of Mr. B's sonatas and he's saying things like, "well, why don't I just finish off the Pathetique." And I just cringe at the thought of judges shaking their heads at yet another rendition of the high school favorite.

The only way the judge's ears will perk up upon hearing the same thing another 70 pianists have played is if it is played so amazingly that it outshines the rest. It is much more competitive now than when I was applying. Put yourself in the jury's shoes, after hearing so much of the same, wouldn't you just remember so much more that very well-played program of pieces no one else brought? More of the same is not something that will stand out.

Unless it is a blow-you-away type performance, which rarely happens in juries.

Whatever he plays, he should choose pieces he really WANTS to play and cares about, not just to fill in the requirements.

quote:

Originally posted by apple*:
how did i miss this thread?

i 'fondly' remember our early correspondence Elena.

What do you envision yourself doing in 10 years.

Me too.

I am not the kind of person that sets long-term goals. I kind of take things day by day.

I would love to be able to make a steady income off of the piano without resorting to teaching kids who don't practice. My ideal is 2-3 well-paid concerts a month. Or a teaching job at Music School of the university in St. John's, though I don't know if they require a Phd, which I don't have.

I also want another kid, I want to stay in place long enough to really feel like a part of the community and become and active player in it, and I want to learn to play jazz.