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Meanwhile, I have no such policy, require only payment in advance of continuing lessons, 24 hour or more for cancellations, etc.
Well, I would really like to hear from this teacher and find out her reasoning and whether the policy is working for her.
Well, I would really like to hear from this teacher and find out her reasoning and whether the policy is working for her.
Well, I would really like to hear from this teacher and find out her reasoning and whether the policy is working for her.
I have yet to hear any cadenzas as effective as the Reinecke in the Salzedo edition. The second-movement cadenza literally caused the audience to gasp at its tonal beauty. It conveys the spirit of the Mozart so well, and fulfills the possibilities of the two instruments, really without leaving style. There is little he did that is not possible in classical style. Perhaps nothing. I have heard some so dull and lacking in any pizazz that they detracted from the performance. I have not heard them all. But the Reinecke have star quality. As for the Salzedo edition, he neatly trimmed and pruned Mozart’s lines so they are consistent, smooth and flowing. The things he removed I have rarely heard played well when left in.
One could certainly play it in “period style on a period instrument” but that would simply remove all the improvements made in music since then, and reduce it to salon proportions and little significance, in my thinking. The only thing I might do differently from Salzedo, and only because I have worked on my one-hand trill a great deal, is to play that bit as written, because I had trouble getting the orchestra to cooperate with his re-orchestration. If you have the markings, he has the first chair violins play the harp left hand pizzicato so we can do a two-handed trill which matches the flute better. He also cuts out some of the wind duos that always obliterate the harp solos in the third movement.
Interestingly, I was commissioned to create a version for flute and harp duo with orchestra that I think works quite well. But it’s really not much easier, just good for a professional duo to use.
Because there is no real technical difference in working in different keys, other than string tension, the main reason is musical. When you work in a key for a long time, you build a memory of it, and that is a good thing to have, musically. The more distinct keys are to you, the more musically you will play in each one. C-sharp minor is very different sounding from D-minor, for example.
The Conditioning Exercises by Carlos Salzedo are the best, succinct summation of harp technique building. I have basically used them my whole harp life. There are two scale patterns, two arpeggio patterns and several others to work on. It isn’t so much about what patterns you are playing as it is simply how well you are working in a basic pattern. The only big difference is how you turn around at the top and bottom. LaRiviere gives shorter exercises with more variety, which are good if you extend them or do large numbers of them.
Just keep playing it and you’ll find your way with it again. It takes time for everything to be refreshed. Listen more closely than before.
Just keep playing it and you’ll find your way with it again. It takes time for everything to be refreshed. Listen more closely than before.
Just keep playing it and you’ll find your way with it again. It takes time for everything to be refreshed. Listen more closely than before.
If she spent an additional hour with you looking at a harp she may have spent time looking for, even though she took your time to look at the other harps, that was something you could learn from, you got more than you paid for, so it’s pretty even. I say, either take a few lessons, or pay the fifty. You didn’t say how old or experienced this person is. The context makes some difference. Maybe she will find this policy doesn’t work, or maybe it has. People tend to do things based on experience, and she may have had a lot of bad experiences. I can say that when a student comes for a lesson, you tend to assume they will stay on at least for a while. It’s not fun when they don’t.
