Comments on: Prokofiev Sinfonia Concertante in Amsterdam

By: Alban

Alban — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 00:39:27 +0000

To tell you the truth, I am not just writing whatever I like, I am playing like that too. No, honestly, I sometimes feels like it, you know, not having a clear script and fixed idea of what you want to say, but just start saying something. Makes life so much more interesting if you don’t know what you are going to do with the exposition this time around.

Yes, moments of doubt are constant, believe me – not so much the doubt of being able to stay alive, but the doubt if this makes sense at all I am trying to do on and off stage. We have to be very self-assured to do what we are doing, but at the same time I sometimes feel I don’t know what this is all about. Very strange sensation. Self-criticism is the other necessary evil to keep on working – never be completely happy, always find a hair in the soup to keep you going, to do a better “job” in the next perfomance.

Just re-read what I wrote after the first night of Prokofiev, and funny enough, while I tried to avoid any self-indulgence in the slow passages, a cellist from the orchestra came to me after the second performance and praised the fact that I had taken more time to express certain things 🙂 And I was aiming at the opposite….

By: Guanaco

Guanaco — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 16:25:48 +0000

Your post-concert writeups are fascinating. It is so interesting to learn what the performer thinks of the setting, the audience, the playlist, and his own performance.

As an adult beginner, the prospect of playing in our small community orchestra is quite terrifying. It helps me to know that even the best among us have moments of doubt and concerns about their playing. I like how you candidly discuss your own perceptions of the concerts – what you felt went well and what you felt didn’t quite work. It also helps to read your perceptions of the minor details and how you handle the all-too-common challenging moments.

Please don’t stop you.

By: Mette

Mette — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 11:06:38 +0000

You just keep on writing whatever you like! I think in fact that it’s VERY interesting to hear some of your own thoughts about your concerts – it makes me understand that the hard self-criticism, that we as musicians suffer from, will probably never go away – no matter HOW GOOD we become! So we better learn to deal with it… and the nerves as well!

By: George

George — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 23:00:13 +0000

Please continue to write after your concerts if you have time and feel like it!
If you don’t…don’t…It’s totally understandable either way…Your comments post performance, though, do much to convey the mood of what took place..(i.e the elevator ride and descent down the stairs)..and that’s very cool….Congratulations on a succesful performance.