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I've Changed.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I asked Eric to suggest a not-long piece that would stretch me to just a little beyond my current capability. He suggested this.

Oh my. That looks and sounds hard. I looked up the level, and it is listed as Grade 11 on the Piano Syllabus site. For comparison, Maple Leaf Rag and Chopin's F Minor Nocturne are both Grade 8. The Mozart that I want to learn is Grade 7.

[Note: I think "grade levels" are often arbitrary because simple pieces can have difficult elements, and vice-versa. But at the same time, they can be useful to get an idea of what I might enjoy learning, and what I might be able to learn in a set amount of time.]

Am I Ready for a Grade 11 Piece?

My gut answer is "no." Even though my other piece will be a Grade 7, I don't know if it's wise for me to take on something so difficult. (Also, keep in mind that I'm working on "Bare Necessities" too, which has its own challenges.) If I really, really loved the Dohnányi, I might consider it. I did this years ago with Bach's Grade-10 C# Major P&F (WTC 1), and also with Liszt's Grade-9 transcription of Schubert's Ständchen (Serenade). I loved both these pieces and gladly embarked on them, even as I knew I would be living with each one of them for a year or more.

(That being said, I'm not sure they were worth it. I cried many tears of frustration over both, I never got either to a point of satisfaction, and I gave them a combined two and a half-years of my life when I could have been working on shorter, more accessible pieces for my level at the time.)

(On second thought, they were worth it because I learned so much and gained important technical skills. And I loved them. They yielded tears of joy as well as of frustration.)

Anyway, on top of my gut answer being "no" to the Rhapsody, I'm not sure I want to live with this dissonant, though at times beautiful, Grade-11 piece by Dohnányi for the year or more that it would require for me to learn it well.

If Not That, Then What?

I love and appreciate that Eric has such faith in my capabilities, but I think I'll be better off working on something at a Grade 8 or 9. Maybe something by Debussy (Arabesque No. 1 or Clair de Lune, which people are always requesting), or perhaps Schubert's Impromptu in Gb Major. I did The Eb major impromptu with Carol and always dreamed of moving on to the Gb next. All of these peoples are slow and lush, and would be a nice balance to the Mozart and the stride/ragtime Bare Necessities.

How I've Changed

The title of this post is "I've Changed." Here is the change:

Ten or fifteen years ago, and certainly 30 or 40 years ago, I would have been so flattered at the suggestion that I try such a showy and difficult piece as the Dohnányi that I would have taken it on without a thought. I would have relished the opportunity to wow people with its crazy, passionate dissonance and its lovely, rhapsodic arpeggios. And I would have made myself miserable trying to learn it and play it perfectly. (See: Bach P&F in C# Major; see also: Liszt Ständchen.)

Now? I just want to play pretty music that makes people feel happy or sad, or whatever it is that the music is meant to express.

I don't want easy pieces because I am always looking to challenge myself. But I don't want to spend a year on anything at this point, unless I absolutely love it. Come to think of it, I don't want to spend even a month on anything at this point, unless I absolutely love it!

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