133: Pandemic Practicing

Welcome to the first episode of the podcast relaunch! There’s a lot to catch up on since my last Play It Again Swig episode in 2020 (there were about 140 episodes, so I’m numbering these starting in the 200s). This episode is a long one, with me talking while walking in the woods for a while before I get to the piano; future episodes will be from the piano and will usually be 20-30 minutes. No AI was used in making the content of this episode. I did ask it for help figuring out the RSS feed and connecting my microphone to my computer. I’m still working out microphone specifics, so I appreciate your forbearance with the audio. I will keep at it, but I didn’t want the perfect to be the enemy of the done. You can support Agnes Tyrrell’s music by subscribing here to Jocelyn Loves Agnes or with a tax-deductible gift to The Agnes Fund. Thank you! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jocelynlovesagnestyrrell.substack.com/subscribe

I’m relaunching my Play It Again Swig podcast, where I give myself a piano lesson in each episode. When I started the original version sixteen years ago, I was a new mom and I was practicing the complete Chopin etudes. Now my life is different: I’m a new empty-nester, and I’m practicing music by Agnes Tyrrell, and a Chopin etude just isn’t the right thing for the theme music anymore. It’s got to be music by Agnes. So which of these two do you, dear subscriber, prefer? Vote below!And thank you so much for being my practice buddy!If you’re reaching this podcast from a different outlet than Substack, you can vote at https://jocelynlovesagnestyrrell.substack.com/p/vote-for-podcast-theme-music Thank you for listening! You can support Agnes Tyrrell’s music through a free or paid subscription here or with a one-time donation to the Agnes Fund. Option 1 is from Etude Op. 48 no. 6:Option 2 is from Die Mühle: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jocelynlovesagnestyrrell.substack.com/subscribe

Not practicing very much in the pandemic; Bach as comfort food (and an example of how muscle memory is totally unreliable); a perk of playing music by live composers; three of the Four Pieces for Piano by Katerina Ruzickova Pinosova; Valse Boheme by Celeste Heckscher (and some thoughts on ledger lines); Cortege by Lili Boulanger. […] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jocelynlovesagnestyrrell.substack.com/subscribe

Play-throughs (with some a little yelling) of last week’s porch concert: Katerina Ruzickova’s Four Pieces for Piano, Lili Boulanger’s Trois Morceaux, Dorothy Rudd Moore’s A Little Whimsy, and Florence Price’s Silk Hat and Walking Cane. Plus a first play-through of Rachmaninov’s Prelude in G major, Op. 32 No. 5. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jocelynlovesagnestyrrell.substack.com/subscribe

A project I hope will help me find meaning in these strange times. Also bits of, and questions about, Katerina Ruzickova’s Four Pieces for Piano, and a not-quite-memorized performance of Bach’s C# major fugue from WTC book I. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jocelynlovesagnestyrrell.substack.com/subscribe

Pauline Viardot’s Mazurke (and how I’m stepping up my work and thinking about it), and a fun project I got to work on this weekend. You can see me play Viardot’s mazurke live on Tuesday April 14 on All Together Now, with other guests and host Bobbie Steinbach, coming together to share music and stories […] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jocelynlovesagnestyrrell.substack.com/subscribe

https://playitagainswig.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/pias-134.mp3 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jocelynlovesagnestyrrell.substack.com/subscribe

These times are good for practicing, as I texted a student today. In this episode: an insight about Chopin thanks to Pauline Viardot, with bits of mazurkas by both of them. Also a look at some small hand workarounds in Lili Boulanger with some moments of improvised practicing in Boulanger and Rachmaninov. And a report […] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jocelynlovesagnestyrrell.substack.com/subscribe

I’ve been reading through lots of music, “shopping” for pieces for a solo recital. Bits and pieces of those, and thoughts about putting together a program, and a possible title (tell me what you think of it–I need to know if it’s terrible). Plus a play-through of Chopin’s Fantasie-Impromptu Op. 66, with way too many […] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jocelynlovesagnestyrrell.substack.com/subscribe

Almost done reading through Beethoven sonatas, Volume 2; some thoughts on hearing auditions; ornamenting Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu (and a glass-half-full report on a lackluster performance of it); the most obvious epiphany in the world, involving a moment with Led Zeppelin, with a shout-out to @yogawithadriene Thank you for being my practice buddy!       This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jocelynlovesagnestyrrell.substack.com/subscribe