Surprise recital

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We found out Friday that Violet’s piano studio’s fall recital was this Sunday. (Well, I found out, anyway. I am not usually the driver.

Violet and I played a duet — sorry, no photo, only video — and then she played a Beethoven Sonatina. I was very proud — she played many sections of the sonatina quite musically. Some of the older students in her teacher’s studio are so talented! They played many college-level pieces very nicely, as they are preparing them for the Minnesota Music Teachers’ Association competition in February.

Violet will be playing for the first time at MMTA too! Her teacher has not yet given her the music, because as she said to me this week, she’s learned that if Violet plays a piece for too long she begins to lose focus. I suppose that is part of being young, and I liked the way that her teacher just accepted that as information and decided to work with it rather than scolding Violet and demanding that she focus longer than she is really able to.

We have been very fortunate to find a teacher who seems able to find students’ strengths and work with them while still giving them a gentle push to keep improving. Violet has noticed the difference between the teachers who fawn all over her (“Oh, that was so wonderful!”) and teachers who are positive but also encourage growth (“Very nice. Now, let’s talk about phrasing . . .”) She does like the fawning, of course, but she also likes the sense of accomplishment when she stretches on the piano. (Why can’t that carry over into all areas of life?)

Here is a very poorly lit photo from the recital:

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