My lesson was on Saturday this week as David had a conflict on Monday. It was a very good lesson which left me feeling wonderful the rest of the day.
##Audition
We started with audition prep. My audition time is tomorrow, May 15th at 5:10 pm. I played d: Melodic and then F:. As the last note of the F: scale was fading away David said, “I have no complaints about those. Your intonation was very good.” I thanked him and then played Allegro Moderato. It sounded a little scratchy to me in places but again, as the last note was ringing David said, “That’s the best you’ve every played that for me.” He went on to say that there was no need for “mock audition” that morning, that I was ready for Tuesday.
##Bréval Sonata in C: Major
We spent most of the rest of the lesson working on the Bréval Sonata. The exposition section of the first movement is coming along nicely. The various chunks of it are all good, and I’m starting to tie those chunks together now. We worked on the development section, playing together slowly. Lots of pause button work to prepare for the next note. Several times he stressed that I should not “perform” this section yet, rather I should practice small windows, sometimes just a few notes in length, to get the basic structure down. I know that I am a completionist and I want to play the whole thing. I’m learning to be content with completing a couple of measures instead.
##Schröder 32
I have been ignoring this piece to spend time on the Allegro. After Tuesday’s audition is over I’ll devote more time to this étude.
##Lee Étude review
In the brochure for the Cedar Vista Cello camp David is again hosting this summer it mentioned the Lee Études. On my own I have gotten out my Lee book and started reviewing the pieces from the beginning. Some come back almost immediately while others are once again mysteries. I’ve been spending a few minutes each practice session playing or working on the first dozen or so of these pieces. It gives me a nice ego boost to be able to return to something I haven’t played in more than a year and rapidly relearn it. It helps me to see that my technique and ability have grown and are continuing to grow.