Sunday, January 9, 2011

Russian virtuoso pianist performs in Taiwan

"The 25-year-old musician started learning the piano at the age of five and made her first public performance when she was six.
For the Chopin Piano Competition, Yulianna Adveeva said she had spent a year studying Chopin's life and work so that she would be able to interpret his work to the standard demanded by the contest."

I thought it was interesting that she prepared 1 year intensely, studying the life of Chopin - I remember my days when I was in my twenties working towards my own competitions. It gives tremendous insight, reading up on the lives of composers and spending time with contemporaries who write about individual composers, their lives and observations. I highly encourage my students to read about the various composers, their lives, reprints of personal letters, so that composers can be understood and interpreted better. 

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