when i was younger murray perahia was my authority on mozart concertos. soon i also learned (after listening to a serkin recording that left me a bit disappointed) that i also preferred his style for beethoven. and still later, as i prepared the chopin ballad no 1 for a scholarship, his was the cd that i constantly referred to over and over again. and i do mean constantly, for perahia was like a secondary teacher to me. in the week (or two weeks, if i were feeling especially motivated ;P) prior to the competition i would play his cd measure by measure, and record my own playing of that measure on tape. then i would compare cd and tape, measure by measure until they matched, and only when they did would i move on to the next measure. and thus i went through the whole piece. it was a painstaking process, but through those hours of practice i would learn via emulation perahia's amazing phrasing, shaping, and imaginative coloring of tones. yesterday, for the first time ever i was able to listen to and appreciate the warmth, sensitivity, and lyric of perahia live! his rendition of beethoven's 1st concerto brought the audience to its feet, the performance hall thundering with applause and vocal appreciation. after the performance i was able to talk my way backstage where i had the opportunity to tell him face to face how he had helped me in my growth as a pianist when i was younger- i recounted the way i used his cd's, to which he exclaimed, 'oh my god!...' (i think there was an unspoken 'you are crazy!' in there somewhere) but it was an honor nevertheless. it was so exciting! posted by testimonies 9:59 AM Add a comment . . .
