Unexpected concert

After an extremely busy March, I said no to a concert on the 9th of April. I felt unprepared and had so many things going on right before the application day that I made the difficult decision to decline. I felt kind of miserable, when I saw every other name on the list, but I convinced myself that it was for the best—that I wasn’t as good as the others. Nearly a week passed, and on the Friday before concert week, I participated in a common lesson (fællestime in Danish), where we listened to each other with piano accompaniment. After hearing how amazing everyone else played, I also took the stage and performed my piece with the knowledge that I wouldn’t be playing it at the concert. I played so calmly and from my heart that it was a big surprise to me. I had no idea I knew that piece so well. A rare occasion: the performance situation made me play better than I had in the practice room. Is it a dangerous thing? I’m not sure why, but it felt like cheating. It felt like an unfair advantage.

Anyway, at the end of the lesson, my teacher and I agreed that I would perform at the concert on the following Wednesday. Additionally, right after the common lesson on the same Friday, I had the opportunity to attend a breathing workshop by Kristian Steenstrup, where I gained new insights into sound that I could immediately use for the concert. Because of the short decision time, I was so focused on practicing that I almost wasn’t anxious before the concert at all. Overall, I’m really happy that I participated and performed at the concert. Even with the minor technical mistakes, I feel like I was able to fully give myself to the audience and the music. Thank you so much for reading. See you in the next post!