I'm sort of confused. Last week, Dr. N commented on my playing of the Chopin Etude Op. 25, No. 7 (C-sharp minor). She recommended that I not use as much rubato in the piece or else the piece will lose 'its momemtum'. However, I remember a couple months ago where she raved about Pollini's recording of the Etudes. But listening to the Pollini recording (of this piece), Pollini probably uses more rubato although he builds momentum by driving forward (with tempo and rhythm) in certain sections of the piece. I know my instructor has a penchant for steady, metronomic rhythms for a piece, but I think I'm gonna have to respectfully disagree with my instructor on this aspect, only because this is Chopin. If there's a composer who demands rubato (at least a moderate amount), it's him.

this week's lesson notes

Monday was the last day of the Spring semester. Kind of sad because there won't be
piano lessons during the summer. However, I'm excited about the homework that my
professor assigned me. It's quite a load! (at least for me it is)

1. Bach Preludes and Fugures (pick one prelude and fugue).

2. A Debussy Prelude

3. Prokofiev Visions Fugutive (selections)

4. Rachmaninoff Prelude in G Major

5. Mozart Sonata in C Major (K309)

6. Add more color (i.e., pedaling) to Mendelssohn's Spinning Song. Practice slowly
to make everything sound even. Also, work on Songs without Words, No. 2 "Regret", and focus on tonal continuity and phrasing. Make sense of the phrase structures/patterns.

7. Continue working on Beethoven's C minor Piano Concerto (review the first
movement, cadenza, and start studying the second movement).

8. Review some Chopin.