[TheConservativeParty]

I was scared silly for my first recital. Got better each year after. Still never liked it. Someone told me the potassium in bananas calms the nerves.
I played for an hour tonight at the family Christmas gathering. Was fun.

Cheers

[Publius]

My last recital was at age 15 when I played the Chopin "Fantasie-Polonaise in A-flat" and the "Fantasie-Impromptu in C# minor." I didn't have nerves because the other pianists were so bad. As soon as I sounded the first note of the Chopin, I could feel the audience coming to attention.

The critical challenge of the "Fantasie-Polonaise" is creating the sense of homecoming when the A-flat theme returns in triplets at the very end. It requires incredible concentration to make it work. I did it reasonably well, but years later when I heard it played by a professional, I understood how it should really sound.