Mid-Contest Update

Long story short: I'm in the finals!

Short story long: It was some pretty bad playing. I mean, I did well, obviously, I made some really good music, everybody on the ground had good things to say. But I kept hitting notes that I never hit before and scrambling to reassemble the melody around those notes. It could have been a lot better. Everybody was having a bad day, myself included. Its a non-standard keyboard spacing, so that might be a part of it, but as Geert says, if you really know your music, it doesn't matter.

I don't really know my music. And I know that. I had the choice of spending time in front of a practice carillon or spending time in a blossoming romance, and I think I chose wisely. But still, it doesn't mean it feels good today.

Tomorrow I play for Gustav Leonhardt (harpsichord) and Wieland Cuijken (gamba). Yeah, I hadn't heard of them either :). But they're really big over here, like world-class experts in baroque music. I play for others carillonneurs too, but somehow it feels different - even the best carillonneurs in the world I'm on a first name basis with and they've heard me play when I'm more prepared. Here I feel like I'm representing the community to outsiders and I'm not going to make the impression I would like. (And of course this will probably be the one and only time those two ever hear me play, so it would've been nice to blow them away, and have them invite me to their special parties where all the world famous musicians gather to play beer pong and pin the tail on the gambist) It felt so good to play in Bolsward, because when you're prepared, you just go up and make music. When you're not, you're running around like a maniac trying to hold it together. And that just feels kinda gross. I just hope I don't embarrass myself or the instrument.

Oh, one other thing. Normally if you're in the finals, you're golden - even if you are the worst of the finalists, you're at least getting a title and a cash prize of some sort. Not guaranteed here. Leonhardt is famous for refusing to give a first prize. If that's the case for this contest, and I'm the worst of the 3, too bad for me.

Oh, did I mention I haven't really been working on the 3rd piece that I'm playing for the contest, because its only for the finals and I was focused on the preliminary round? Sure, I've played it in concerts, but that extra level of polish and familiarity? It needs some serious renewal.

Hangin by a thread here... but as I said, I made my choice and it was a damn good one, so I'll do what I can do and whatever happens, happens. Its almost kinda fun in a sadistic sort of way. Lets see how well I can do under adverse conditions. Nothing to lose, eh? Well, now, I'm off to practice :)