O Come, O Come, Immanuel

Listen to the song here
(Can't see an audio player? It might not work if you're viewing this in an email client. If you are on the site directly, you may need to try a different browser.)


Recording your music gives you a window into your past playing. On the other side of the coin, it can be more stressful than even a live performance. Once you play the notes, they don’t disappear in the air; they’re saved for you or others to listen to at any time. The recording defines how I sounded playing today’s song in 2021.

I'm happy with how this recording turned out, but oftentimes when I listen to my old recordings, I think of new techniques I’ve learned that I could have used. Sometimes I’m even disappointed with how I stumbled through a difficult section. 

I think I'm forced to be a perfectionist in some sense when I record. I can't escape it; it's just part of the process to keep trying until your recording is the best it can be.

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Listen to the song here
(Can't see an audio player? It might not work if you're viewing this in an email client. If you are on the site directly, you may need to try a different browser.)

 

I’m planning to post 4 Christmas songs this week, but I can’t think of 4 ideas to write about, so I’ll take my 1 idea and split it up. Who knows, maybe you don't have the time to read 4 posts in one week!

Today’s recording has gone through a long wait to be posted here, so now is the time. One advantage of making recordings is that I get to hear what my playing sounded like 2, 3, or 5 years ago. I don’t have to sit and try to remember; I can just listen!

Nocturne in Ab, "The Murmur"

At long last, Maria Szymanowska is coming back. Here is another piece I know by her, a Nocturne in A flat. It was written for 3 hands, so I layered two recordings of myself together.


Listen to the song here
(Can't see an audio player? It might not work if you're viewing this in an email client. If you are on teawithliya.blogspot.ca, you may need to try a different browser.)

Prelude in E

Today, I am playing a Prelude in E Major by Maria Szymanowska. It is the third in her set of 4 Preludes. Szymanowska was a Polish composer who doesn't get nearly as much attention as Chopin, but could be considered a forerunner of him. Who knows how many composers there were like her who have simply been forgotten despite their achievements?

Listen to the song here
(Can't see an audio player? It might not work if you're viewing this in an email client. If you are on teawithliya.blogspot.ca, you may need to try a different browser.)

Waltz, op 64 #2

I've decided to continue with romantic era piano pieces, and that means it's time for Chopin. With so many admirers of his unique style, we couldn't forget about him. Even one who has heard very little classical music will have come across a Chopin nocturne or waltz at some point. "Favorite" or "most influential" composer lists can never be proven "right," but whenever one is made, he is usually in the top 5.

Somehow, I didn't know much about Chopin for my first, say, 5 years playing the piano. At that point, I had not learned any of his compositions yet. I remember having little to say when my teacher made a pun regarding a "Chopin board." Granted, I was very young during those years. This was the time when I didn't know how to pronounce Liszt and all I knew of Rachmaninoff was that he had big hands. As I noticed from my folders of sheet music, I have played a lot of Chopin since then.

Listen to the song here
(Can't see an audio player? It might not work if you're viewing this in an email client. If you are on teawithliya.blogspot.ca, you may need to try a different browser.)

Liebestraum #1

Yes, I have already made a Liebestraum post, but I failed to mention in the title that it was the third Liebestraum. I have changed that now, but eventually, someone will be confused that I played the third piece in the series before the first one. (This was most likely because I heard it before the other two.)

If you have heard that piece, or if you saw me last month finding flour in Budapest, you also know who we are talking about today. Before someone suggests that I rename my site Tea with a Lisztian (TwL), I have a good reason to bring the famous pianist back.

I just discovered that Franz Liszt played this piece at his last-ever performance, just two weeks before the fateful day of July 31, 1886.

137 years ago. (Sometimes I don't appreciate the force of how long that is.)

Listen to the song here
(Can't see an audio player? It might not work if you're viewing this in an email client. If you are on teawithliya.blogspot.ca, you may need to try a different browser.)

There Will Never Be Another You

I think now's a good time to get back to some songs that have been sitting in my folder, waiting to be posted. Here's one that has been there for 2 years.

Listen to the song here
(Can't see an audio player? It might not work if you're viewing this in an email client. If you are on teawithliya.blogspot.ca, you may need to try a different browser.)