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Mozart Monday: Rondo alla Turca Update

This weekend yielded some good, focused work on Mozart's Rondo alla Turca. I still feel like I've hit a ceiling with it, though. It sounds okay, but it doesn't glitter. It doesn't shine. But at least it's better than it was last week. In my opinion.

Here is my latest video of the full piece. I'm playing it at about 110 bpm, and my goal is about 120. I need to do more slow practice, and I also need to work on the little turnaround at 1:32 and again at 1:52 (which sounds great at 100 bpm but falls apart at 110).

I also don't think I'm paying enough attention to the dynamics. It's like I'm remembering to think about them just in time, or just a little after the fact.

The coda still isn't great. It needs to sparkle, glitter, flit, and shine, and right now it sounds like a sledgehammer to me.

Just so you know that I'm not feeling completely negative about my performance, here are some things I am happy with:

  • My sixteenth notes are (mostly) even.
  • The tempo throughout is pretty even.
  • The rolls/broken chords in the left hand sound good and crisp.
  • I'm playing the octaves more cleanly then I was last week (though there is still work to do).
  • The broken-octaves section may sound like a sledgehammer, but at least it's no longer sounding like a train wreck.
So, I am progressing. I would love to have this one in good enough shape that if I happen to stumble across a public piano when we are in Europe next month, I'll feel comfortable playing it for whoever is willing to listen ... and I won't make an embarrassment of myself, trying to play Mozart in Mozart-land.

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