Hanging above my piano, I have framed pages from three pieces that have been meaningful to me in my piano education. I love how this turned out, and I love looking up and seeing these pieces on my wall - it's motivating, that's for sure!
Here are the three pieces I have framed:
1) La fille aux cheveux de lin, or The Girl with the Flaxen Hair by Debussy
This is the first "real" classical piece I learned. I studied for years with a wonderful teacher in my neighborhood, going through mainly just method books (finishing both the entire Eckstein and Schaum methods), never really learning any "real" classical pieces except for versions that were in my method books. My Dad has always loved classical music though, and was always so supportive of me and my music. He came to me one day and encouraged me to learn this Debussy prelude, one of his favorite pieces. So I learned it all on my own and loved it! I used it to audition with my next teacher, who really got me playing correctly, playing some wonderful literature, and who really encouraged and inspired me to become a piano teacher.
2) Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto in G minor, Op 25, 3rd movement
I played this concerto with my high school orchestra my senior year of high school. It's important to me because it is the piece that helped me get into the piano program at Brigham Young University, where I wanted to study piano performance. I had actually already auditioned and had not been accepted, when I performed this piece with the school orchestra. It went so well that my piano teacher got all determined and decided to send a letter, along with a video recording of me playing this piece, to the piano department of the school, asking them to reconsider. Pretty soon I received a phone call from the head of the piano department, telling me that they had watched the video and decided to move me to #1 on the waiting list. I was so excited and so grateful when I got another phone call letting me know I had gotten in! My 4 years in the piano program at BYU were so amazing and have been so important to me in my life.
3) Polonaise-Fantasie in A-flat Major, Op. 61 by Chopin
This is the piece that I concluded my senior recital in college with - sort of the peak of my college career I guess you could say. This piece is meaningful to me because it reminds me how much I learned and accomplished during those four years.
Which pieces have been meaningful to you as you have studied piano?
Labels: Your Studio Space
