Piano

Winter has given way to spring. British Summer Time. Longer evenings and flowers, although the weather remains unpredictable.

In the early evenings, I practise the piano, using headphones to avoid disturbing the neighbours. I’m currently reworking the Prelude in G-sharp minor by Rachmaninoff, the C-minor Arpeggio Study by Chopin (no 24), the Etude in D-sharp minor by Scriabin, and a Rhapsody by Brahms. In particular, I’ve been concentrating on the technique required, with a focus on relaxation of the neck, shoulders and arms.

I’ve kept quiet about this so far – but since the autumn of 2022, I’ve taken up a relatively unknown Acupressure-based art and have committed to the self-management aspect on a daily basis.  Inevitably, this has helped enormously with shoulder tightness and discomfort, as well as with some of  the complications caused by Lockdown.

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In closing, I share a prose-poem that I wrote about four years ago, which is based on an old novel draft concerning a group of piano students who meet at an International Summer Piano School.  The atmosphere of the place and a relationship with one of the other students has a bewildering effect on the main character, who, in the poem below, searches for the other student, having become obsessed, even though he has only known her a few days.

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I hear the pianist practising the Poeme Tragique
rapid octaves set against falling sixteenth notes
loud and furious

I search through the grounds in the clammy August air
past clusters of trees and miniature water fountains
down the grassy mound to the Remembrance Garden
sweat pouring from my forehead and face

And still the pianist plays
cascading madness
his fury and despair matching my own

And still I search
but in vain