Author: soudet

/ soudet

So far this year I’ve focused all my spare time on exactly 4 pieces of classical music for the International Piano Competition that took place in Paris last month. Repetition, repetition, repetition. And more repetition!

  • Chopin, Etude Op.25, no.12
  • Rachmaninov, Gryaznov Italian Polka
  • Bach, Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue BWV 903
  • Schubert, Impromptu Op. 90, no.3

Now that it’s over, I’m glad I worked through the boredom of weeks of endless practice. My technique has improved and I have a new found respect for the great performers who do this constantly year round.

I’m pleased with my quarter-final result. Hats off to those who spent months preparing and deservedly advanced through the competition. Would I enter again? Yes. But for now, I miss jazz! Come at me improvisation!

/ soudet

A mix of musical preparation and family frenzy, this 2015 holiday season has been a whirlwind!

Timely Christmas motivation arrived in the form of my preparation package for the International Piano Competition in Paris. A looming deadline! The competition looks stiff!

My chosen program:

  • Chopin, Etude Op.25, no.12
  • Rachmaninov, Gryaznov Italian Polka
  • Bach, Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue BWV 903
  • Schubert, Impromptu Op. 90, no.3
  • Rachmaninov, Sonata no.2, Op.36

This will definitely be a change of pace from this year’s jazz focus…

The annual Christmas Concert with Rebecca Lohnes in Méru, a town just north of Paris, was a family-friendly community event hosted by the Sablons Protestant Association. A mix of classical pieces and contemporary Christmas songs, it was a lovely way to get the festive juices flowing.

Have a listen to some extracts here and here.

Christmas with my family is always a boisterous affair – relatives return to France from all over the world (with their instruments!) and we eat too much, laugh too loudly and jam like a garage band – I love it!

I hope you and your loved ones had a wonderful holiday season!

See you in 2016!

/ soudet

I can’t think of a better way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon than with a perfect cup of coffee and pure jazz right next to the Seine. The Caféothèque sources incredible beans from all over the world and sells some of the best coffee in France. No joke. AND in a perfect quirk of coincidence, the 27th of September is also a CAR-FREE day in Paris! The ultimate pedestrian paradise! If you’re in town at the end of the month, come and say hi!

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