That makes you a true musician, since you follow this practice even though it is not for financial gain.

@@TheIndependentPianist Thank so much for your kind words. As a matter of fact, I thought I would've quit music all together but just this morning I find myself still composing my own works. I guess I love music more than I thought. Anyway appreciate your videos as always and wish I could support the Patreon now but will do so in the future.

Thank you for the comment!

Hmmm, there are a few things to clear up in your comment. First of all, I don't believe there is a record of Liszt ever playing a complete recital by memory. In fact it is estimated that of his (actually rather small) performing repertoire, he played only about half of it without the score. Clara Schumann did in fact start the practice of playing entire recitals by memory-and was roundly criticized at the time for it. She ended up going back to using the score in her old age, for whatever reasons. You are also misquoting me. Stephen Hough is the one who said that he leaves about a year from starting a major work or concerto before venturing to play it in public by memory. Andras Schiff said something similar in a lecture that he gave. If I recall he said he didn't perform the Goldberg Variations in public until he had been studying it for about 3 years. Note, this is not about exactly how long it takes to memorize. I am sure Stephen Hough probably has that "major work" memorized pretty quickly. But it's one thing to have a piece memorized, it's another to feel comfortable performing it flawlessly day in and day out on a concert platform. That requires time. Of course people exhibit feats of memory all the time, either in regards to memorizing quickly, or to playing large selections of music by memory. It is interesting that you mentioned Arrau. His major memory feat was to play the complete Bach keyboard works (I think it was in Mexico City) in a series of recitals. He also said he practically had a nervous breakdown from the strain and exhaustion, and that he suffered some small memory lapses here and there. He also did not say how long he prepared to do this. I don't doubt many of those works he had been playing for years before that. It's tempting to put artists on a pedestal and imagine that they can accomplish the impossible without effort. The reality is quite different. Although the talented can of course memorize rapidly and put themselves to the test frequently if they wish, that takes a toll on the nervous system, and can lead to various neuroses. If what we really care about is the music, then memory is not going to be our major concern. We memorize because we study the music very well and know it well, and we want to have freedom from the printed page. That is fine, but not everyone is going to feel comfortable with that at all times, and I think that is OK!

Yuja says she never practices.

@@mickizurcher8450 No she didn't.

Well, I certainly wouldn't have a problem with the kind of situation you are describing! If we can just get some billionaires watching this channel.... :-) Thank you for your comments Peter, as always!

Great! I will be talking about that soon.

Thanks for your comment Mark, very glad to hear from you.

My pleasure.

Your perspective is very interesting, and it sounds like you certainly got a great deal out of your studies! And about memorization-everything you say is quite true. There are tradeoffs either way, and no doubt it also has to do with the music you are playing. It can feel irritating and somewhat pointless to memorize repetitive accompaniments and very dense atonal music. On the other hand, music that follows a clear tonal plan and has clear physical cues is much more natural to memorize. Any passage beyond a certain difficulty has to usually be in memory to be played at all. Certainly some feel greater inspiration when they don't have the score in front of them-for me I'm so used to both, that I don't feel much of a difference-only there is far greater comfort and ease if you have the music there. Also preparation is more thoughtful and connected to the material, if you don't have to worry so much about the kind of memory "training" necessary to feel confident under pressure. I'll talk about it more in a video on memorization. Thank you for your interesting comment!

@@TheIndependentPianist I look forward to the video. You are right for sure about how easy it is to memorise more difficult/technical works. I had basically auto memorised winterwind and op25 no 6 while I learned them but am trying to memorise op 25 no 7 now and it's much trickier.

Yes, this is very hard. Unfortunately the best that can usually be accomplished if there is no way of ascertaining what their playing/personality is like, is to go and meet them in person and have at least one lesson. This incurs an unfortunate expense, but alas, it is usually the only way. Nowadays you might be able to arrange something over Zoom as well that might help, but this is never for sure. When you go for a lesson, its usually best to try to see if they are able to communicate in a way that seems compelling to you, and also if they are able to make a concrete difference that immediately improves your playing or gives you a new insight. Many teachers do make an effort to travel, perform and give classes in many different cities for precisely this reason: they want to make themselves available to students who might not otherwise find them. So being as active as possible in attending events like these when they are in your area gives you a definite leg up in being able to find artists who will be a good fit for you as a teacher. Even then, there is always the danger that a relationship with a teacher won't pan out for whatever reason. I think we should be open to the idea of changing teachers, or even transferring to a different school if this happens-don't just accept the status quo! Of course this should be done with tact, but it is too important an issue to be ignored, even if you do end up ruffling some feathers.

@@TheIndependentPianist Thank you so much for your thorough and helpful reply! I've got a much better sense of what to do now

I'm so sorry I didn't reply to your very interesting comment before. I saw your comment back when the video came out, and was going to reply, but got distracted. My apologies! You raise very interesting points-most of which I am going to be addressing in my video tomorrow on memorization. I do totally agree with you about the importance of technical foundation leading to musical freedom-although sometimes the correct musical approach will also show the correct technical solution. My thoughts on the rest of your post I believe will be sufficiently explicated by my next video... I would love to hear your thoughts if you get a chance to see it!

@@TheIndependentPianist No worries, outside of the internet / youtube we all have 'mad/real' lives! Look forward to more of the chanel. By the way love the Clementi sonatas - they were always favourites of mine. I tend to feel that the likes of Clementi and other, what I describe as 'peripheral' composers, with respect, add to our understanding of the 'greater' ones but that does of course not diminish their place historically.

Yes, certainly, but maybe not forcing yourself to put your memory to the test again and again, especially when it is fresh! And some artists are quite capable of playing with freedom and personality when the score is in front of them-it does take practice, and you need to hold yourself to the same standard of preparation as if you were going to perform from memory.

Agreed!