Handel, Mendelssohn, Mozart and Rachmaninoff!

By Informance, 2021-06-24 Posted in: Practising

In this month’s practice clinic, Graham Fitch answered questions on trills, fingering, legato octaves and gave practising tips for tackling a difficult passage. Works featured include a Gavotte by Handel, Mozart’s Sonata in a minor K331, Mendelssohn’s Venetian Gondola Song Op. 19 No. 6 and Rachmaninoff’s Etude-tableau in G minor, Op. 33 No. 6 / 8.

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Practice clinic questions

  • GF Handel  – Gavotte in G, HWV 491 by (Bar 11) – Is the trill in bar 11 played differently to the other trills in this piece? My trills are often “louder” than the notes before and after. What practice methods can I use to keep the dynamics consistent?
  • Felix Mendelssohn – Venetian Gondola Song in G minor, Op. 19 No. 6 (Introduction, Bars 7 & 11) – I’m struggling with the pedalling in the introduction and the LH accompaniment from bar 7 is tense, awkward and unreliable. I also find the RH fingering in bar 11 next to impossible, because of the stretch between 5 and 4.
  • WA Mozart – Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331 1st Mvt (Bars 59 – 62) – The octaves in measures 59-62 are difficult to play completely legato. Can you please provide some suggestions on fingering and good technique for these measures?
  • Sergei Rachmaninoff – Etude-tableau in G minor, Op. 33 No. 6 / 8 (Bars 26-29) – I have been unable to get this section to my satisfaction and am looking for new approaches to practising. I find it becomes a mess especially as I go on with a lack of clarity, inconsistent rhythm and accents.

Next practice clinics

Our next practice clinic takes place on Wednesday 21st July on our Facebook page at 12:00 BST. Please sign-up to our mailing list here for updates on future practice clinic dates.

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Further information on how our practice clinics work is available here or please click here to find out more about the Online Academy.